Crypto.com becomes first global marketing partner for Twitch Rivals

2021/11/05 Innoverview Read

Dive Brief:

  • Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has partnered with Twitch Rivals, per a company blog post. The multiyear partnership will make Crypto.com the first official global marketing partner and the first marketing partner in Asia Pacific for Twitch Rivals, the livestreaming platform's competition destination.

  • Crypto.com will have category exclusivity, in-stream branded segments, media placements and activations at Twitch events, and its brand will be featured in more than 250 broadcasts per year across the globe. The partnership will launch on Nov. 4 during Twitch Rivals: Ultimate Challenge, Live from Las Vegas.

  • The partnership unites two major players in areas — livestreaming and cryptocurrency — that have seen accelerated growth during the past few years as younger, tech-savvy and digitally native consumers show interest in them.

Dive Insight:

Crypto.com's partnership with Twitch Rivals demonstrates how the growing cryptocurrency market — with a global market cap of $2.7 trillion, as of press time — is starting to make waves in adland, as Google and Facebook have continued to roll back prior ad restrictions on the space. Crypto.com serves over 10 million customers and plans to invest $100 million in its recently launched, Matt Damon-starring global ad campaign, according to CoinDesk.

As the first global marketing partner and first marketing partner in the Asia Pacific market for Twitch Rivals, Crypto.com can extend the reach of its advertising efforts to a growing audience of consumers who have flocked to the platform for livestreamed esports and gaming content. In the U.S., the audience for gaming video content will be more than 56 million this year, with about 26 million monthly esports viewers, eMarketer estimates.

The pairing is a good fit, Crypto.com co-Founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said in a blog post, as using cryptocurrency is "inevitable" for digitally native gamers and esports fans. Previously, Twitch Rivals partnered with brands including Capital OneVerizon and TurboTax, as brands seek to engage with the growing audience for gaming and esports — a segment that can be difficult to reach through traditional ad channels.

As platforms like Crypto.com make bigger plays in advertising, other marketers are also tapping into interest in cryptocurrency and its blockchain-based cousin, nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Burger King this week teamed with investment platform Robinhood to offer members of its Royal Perks loyalty program a chance to win various cryptocurrency, and has previously used NFTs as part of its brand-building campaigns.

(Source: MarketingDive Crypto.com becomes first global marketing partner for Twitch Rivals | Marketing Dive)