Cryptocurrencies and sports: love at first sight
Cryptocurrencies and sports are a mutual love. Love at first sight business. Crypto companies have recognized sports as an area where they can improve their brand image. Clubs and athletes, a potential area of interest to bet on. Three years after falling in love, the relationship has blossomed.
The marketing departments of crypto companies focus on competitions, teams or professionals from different disciplines. According to Nielsen Sports Sponsorglobe, the advertising investment of these companies in the sports industry will skyrocket from 2019 to 2021, which is obvious. If we combine crypto, blockchain and NFT companies, the growth rate is 1100%.
It is arguably the ecosystem that contributes the most to sport, well ahead of traditional market leaders such as the automotive industry (81%) or insurance (27%). Airlines that are always very active in racing, deploying or sponsoring see their influence reduced by 28%. A reality that already exists. Nielsen Sports Sponsorglobe predicts that by 2026, these three types of companies will increase their investment in sports marketing by another 776%, even close to the total investment of automotive companies. As for cryptocurrencies, the future depends on two factors: legislation (for example, stricter in Spain) and the acceptance of fans.
The evidence for these efforts is growing stronger. In December 2021, Crypto.com spent $700 million to name the Staples Center, home of the Lakers and Clippers. The same company is a Super Bowl hero and has featured LeBron James in commercials. The Lakers superstar talks to young LeBron about what the future holds for him. “I can't tell you everything, but I will tell you one thing: you have to do it yourself,” she advises. "Fate favors the brave" is the campaign slogan. Coinbase or FTX also paid for advertising in macro campaigns.
Why Formula 1?
They are not the only companies investing millions of dollars in sports. Formula 1 was one of the first major races to raise money from cryptocurrency companies. In the main association, Bybit stands out with the Red Bull team. The amount of the contract is 150 million dollars in three years. One of the attractions of F1 in the cryptocurrency market is the international nature of the competition, with races and events all over the world. In addition, the public is characterized by being fans with good purchasing power.
Companies like crypto.com on an Aston Martin chassis are also convinced why; OKX manages either McLaren or Binance cars, which signed with Alpine in February. Ava Labs selected the Andreotti Formula E team to enhance the brand image of its Alavanche marker.
It makes sense that crypto ad networks are expanding into all sports. Clubs, stadiums or baseball, basketball, American football or soccer games, the brands and products of these companies are becoming more common. Also logically, the stars of any sport.
For their part, several elite athletes, especially from the main American leagues, have taken the step of using cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, for payment. MLB MVP Shohei Ohtani, NBA star Klay Thompson or NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers are some of the most prominent names on the list. The Brazilian boxer Mathews Nicol is the first Latin American athlete to participate in the training.
For the most part, bitcoins have lost value since they announced that they would include such compensation in their contracts. However, the motivation for this decision is not closely related to short-term profitability.
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