The 2022 Super Bowl was a major spotlight for cryptocurrency. During the three-and-a-half-hour program, four advertisements promoted cryptocurrencies, indicating that cryptos have broken into the mainstream sports advertisement industry.
One commercial featured an older LeBron James visiting his younger self, while another featured comedian Larry David, who apparently missed every significant historical breakthrough and is now resisting crypto. The most popular one involved a QR code by Coinbase that floated across the screen to the tune of 60 seconds of instrumental music. Though it surprised many viewers, others used their phones to scan the on-screen codes to get the 15 USD worth of Bitcoin sign-up incentive. The sheer volume of visitors to coinbase’s site caused the website crash, which naturally caused a stir on social media.
As a result of the multiple crypto ads, last year’s Super Bowl was named the ‘Crypto Bowl’ after the three cryptocurrency companies (Coinbase, Crypto.com, and FTX) that had advertising slots.
Read on to find out how the upcoming Super Bowl 2023 will impact crypto sports.
Super Bowl Ads Put a Spotlight on Crypto
Cryptocurrency made an impact at the Super Bowl, broadening its appeal beyond the mostly young and male minority that has adopted digital currency, one of the most-watched and highest-profile advertising events of the year.
In particular, Coinbase’s commercial stood out, with the business claiming an unprecedented 20 million hits on its website in a single minute, which was enough volume to crash the app temporarily. In addition, Coinbase was the second most popular iPhone app in the App Store the following morning.
Similarly to the 2022 NFL season, crypto firms are preparing to spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl 2023 ads as well to increase brand awareness. With multi-year contracts and an estimated sponsorship landscape of $742.38 million in 2022, crypto-sport spending will only rise in the next two years, according to GlobalData. The 2022 Super Bowl drew over 100 million live viewers, up from 91.6 million in 2021. The ad for Coinbase received a lot of attention.
The 60-second advertisement featured a floating QR code, which 20 million people scanned, causing Coinbase’s website to crash. Cryptocurrency ads alongside established companies will indicate the growth of crypto and a trend of future investments and sponsorships in sports.
Increase in App Installs
Many IT companies saw an increase in both brand awareness and app downloads after airing commercials during the Super Bowl. App installs for Coinbase spiked 309% week-over-week after the ad aired on Super Bowl Sunday, February 13, and another 286% the following day, according to a report by app intelligence firm Sensor Tower. The ad, bouncing a QR code on a black screen like the old DVD screensaver, outperformed the competition.
Due to non-disclosure agreements with clients, the company didn’t disclose the exact number of downloads. But, the data does show the impact these advertisements had in the American app market.
It turns out Coinbase wasn’t the only successful cryptocurrency software. Three cryptocurrency apps were among the top five that saw a significant increase in downloads due to ad exposure. Compared to the previous week, eToro, another cryptocurrency exchange site, had a 132% increase in app installs on February 13 and an 82% increase on February 14.
Meanwhile, Cryptocurrency exchange FTX experienced a 130% increase in downloads week over week on February 13, followed by an 81% increase the next day. Gains in U.S. installations for Coinbase, eToro, and FTX totaled 279% on February 13 compared to the previous week.
Merge Sports with Crypto
NFTs are digital assets validated by blockchain technology, providing their owners with proof of authenticity and ownership. Entertainment companies in the music, film, and gaming industries now sell them. The use of NFTs in sports increased in the 2022 Super Bowl, and the trend is expected to continue in the next Super Bowl.
The NFL gave Super Bowl attendees personalized NFTs in the form of virtual tickets that included their section, row, and seat number. In collaboration with Ticketmaster, the league released “historic commemorative” NFTs each day in the week before the game on February 13, as well as an NFT featuring the Super Bowl LVI ticket artwork designed by a local Southern California-based artist.
The two Super Bowl finalists, the hometown Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, also had commemorative NFTs issued in their honor. According to the NFL, the contest winner had their championship-themed NFT released later in the month.
Last year’s Super Bowl only featured mobile ticketing, giving the NFL another chance to test NFTs. By offering customized Super Bowl NFTs, the league enhanced the gameday experience while further evaluating the NFT space for future ticketing and event engagement opportunities.
Create Ad Opportunities for Crypto
Because of the sheer number of eyes on the screen, advertisements during the Super Bowl are highly competitive and expensive. A report by Global Data claims that by the end of 2021, bitcoin sponsorship of sporting events has skyrocketed.
In 2021, the total value of transactions jumped from $16.9 million the previous year to $607.3 million, a rise that reflects the boom in business experienced by cryptocurrency companies in the wake of the pandemic. The entire contract value is projected to reach $3 billion by 2022, with 2022 seeing an increase to $742.38 million, according to GlobalData.
The scope of sponsorship includes competitions in many different disciplines. Deals for NBA-related properties are worth close to $136 million, making the NBA the top revenue generator among soccer, basketball, and esports.
Sponsorship will grow and expand to include additional sports and teams over the next two years. After announcing its support for the BWT Alpine F1 team in the middle of February, cryptocurrency exchange Binance released a virtual fan token for the team’s Alpine supporters. More teams will inevitably experiment with crypto firms as a means of fan interaction.
In Conclusion
The last year has witnessed a surge in interest in cryptocurrency and digital assets. And the commercial advertisements by crypto marketing firms are a means to expand the current crypto sports community by obtaining access to the approximately 50 million television viewers of the Super Bowl and the anticipated extra 10 million online viewers.
The presence of cryptocurrency advertisements next to well-known corporations in this year’s Super Bowl will demonstrate the extent of the cryptocurrency market’s growth and encourage upcoming investments and sports sponsorships.
Also read: Who Were The Three Biggest Disappointments from The 2022/23 NFL Season?
