Web3 Brands Are Rethinking Old Assumptions
Walking through the Austin airport this week, I saw something interesting. Crypto-native brands — companies built on blockchain technology — absolutely dominated the airport advertising space.
Blockchain infrastructure platform, Blockdaemon, bought a massive Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) takeover at the AUS arrivals gate. And application platform, Near Protocol, had several digital banners next to high-traffic departure gates. (Pics below)
Ads are everywhere, though. So, why is this important?
For context, this wasn’t just any day in Austin. This was the start of the Consensus conference — an annual gathering of more than 20,000 attendees learning about the future of crypto and web3.
But there may be more to it than that…
Some History
Until the last bull run, web3 brands were almost completely absent from mass media advertising (like web banner ads, search ads, or billboards). But that was more a reflection of the state of the ad industry versus the ineffectiveness of media marketing for crypto.
Crypto Ad Bans: Since 2018, Twitter, Meta, and Google have all banned — then subsequently unbanned or partially unbanned — crypto-related ads. Even today, the major ad network landscape for crypto advertising is mixed.
Keywords and product types are heavily restricted and often subject to a long approval process. Automatic rejections are still frequent.
Web3 Growth Models: Traditionally, crypto companies have not even been that interested in media advertising. Even sponsored social posts were seen as “too web2” and against the overall decentralized ethos of web3. Ironically, some of the most active crypto communities are on Twitter.
So, how have these brands found growth success?
Crypto-native teams intentionally flipped the acquisition model from a top-down approach to a product-led and community-driven model.
Web3 teams heavily relied on incentivized communities for growth. Ownership tokens, airdrops, and various in-platform rewards helped feed acquisition pipelines with new platform developers and end-users.
This isn’t inherently a bad thing.
Product- and community-led growth models will almost always have a higher degree of retention over paid acquisition. But, rewards-based incentive models can also lead to unintended user behavior.
The key “unlock” that’s coming… is the idea that performance marketing (via mass media channels) can be used as a complementary tool for these existing growth tactics.
Predictions for Web3 Marketing
Are we facing an explosion of crypto ads in the near future? Should Matt Damon prep for another Crypto.com Super Bowl ad next year?
Probably not.
But, there are signals that attitudes are shifting for web3 projects.
Prediction #1: Web3 brands will continue to test mass media marketing channels as a complement to their existing community-driven efforts. But ad networks will remain cautious, and messaging restrictions will continue for a while.
However, reputable brands will help shift public-facing perceptions in a post-FTX world. And money always talks. Ad networks have their own growth pipelines to fill.
Prediction #2: While this expansion into mass marketing continues, so will the expectation of performance for the tactics and channels.
Taking a look at the airport display ad examples above, there are clear indications about how brands are focused on more trackable, “down-funnel” conversions. The Near airport takeover is not just an awareness play — there’s a custom, tracked URL.
And the Bloackdaemon ad has a direct-response QR code with a custom landing page. These brands are not just looking for eyeballs. They need trackable conversion and retention.
This will also lead to an ad tech boom in the web3 industry (specifically attribution software) as marketing teams face new expectations of ROI- and CAC-based performance objectives.
Attitudes Are Changing
Attitudes about advertising are clearly shifting in the web3 landscape as the crypto market matures.
And the winners will be those brands that can test, learn, and iterate faster with an expanded set of media opportunities.
Will you embrace the market shift?
Also published here