Crypto Crash opens the door to cyber sponsorships in 2023

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If you turn to a couch mate during Monday’s ReliaQuest Bowl and ask, Wait, what is Reliaquest?, that’s exactly the point.

The cybersecurity company has been around for 15 years, but CEO and founder Brian Murphy said it was already seeing an increase in exposure before Mississippi State took on Illinois. And he’s currently far from the only cyber-actor using sports to build his brand. Fortinet took over sponsorship of what had been the PGA Tours Safeway Open in 2021 while Rapid7 became the Boston Bruins’ first jersey patch partner in September. Acronis and Bitdefender are among the other companies that spend on sports sponsors.

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Since 1978, the style section of The Washington Posts has published an updated list of what’s going on and what’s going on every new year. For 2023, the crypto unsurprisingly landed in the exit column with Bitcoin price down 65% in 2022 and the industry still reeling from the fallout from the FTX implosion. If a long crypto winter continues to chill marketing spend amid expectations of lower economy-wide ad growth next year, B2B companies such as security firms could step in to fill some of the slack. of the gap.

Security is not a discretionary expense, Murphy said. Didn’t really change anything dramatically.

Tech giants like Google and Microsoft have been on a cybersecurity buying spree over the past two years, with Google’s $5.4 billion acquisition of Mandiant being its second-biggest purchase ever.

Reliaquest also grew, spending $160 million to expand its offerings by acquiring Digital Shadows. Based in Tampa, Reliaquest partners with the NBA and has agreements with multiple teams across all sports. His work with the 2021 Tampas Super Bowl Host Committee led to Murphy receiving a call after Outback Steakhouse ended its naming rights deal with what was originally the Hall of Fame Bowl.

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All told, it took us about 18 minutes to make the decision, Murphy said. The company took over the remaining four years of the contract.

Although Reliaquest works with major airlines, banking and healthcare companies, it has also seen the unique challenges that sports teams face. For professional clubs, cybersecurity risks range from point-of-sale devices and customer data acquired in stadiums, to protecting players’ personal information, to monitoring social media conversations around the brand.

NASCAR has even worked directly with the FBI to minimize the risk of cyber breaches. In March, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s director of cybersecurity and risk management, Ekaterina Carayanis, warned that only 1% of teams and leagues had adequate practices in place.

Ransomware attacks also continue to be a threat, with Manchester United among the victims in recent years.

I think people have become a little desensitized to that, because they’re used to it happening so much, Murphy said. But if there is an opportunity, there will be attacks, and there are a ton of opportunities in sports.

Ultimately, sports sponsorships offer a unique chance to buy name recognition (which crypto startups have also taken advantage of) while showing up in front of potential customers and even potential employees.

I think kids are going to listen, they’re going to pay more attention, Murphy said. I’m not going to dress up as a Cyber ​​Guy and walk around, am I?

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