It is clear to everyone that cryptocurrency is in a bear market. Consequently, cryptocurrency advertising has been reduced. Yet, resilient projects with sustained cryptocurrency campaigns can stand to benefit even in such conditions.
One advantage is that the advertising competition has thinned down. That means that the number of advertisers bidding for ad inventory is less fierce. With fewer advertisers bidding for the same inventory, the remaining active advertisers will have a stronger chance of winning better ad-inventory in auctions for a smaller bid.
But besides that, remaining cryptocurrency projects must understand the marketing climate that expects them and what the FTX fiasco is going to cost everyone.
FTX started a new kind of storm
The sudden crash of the crypto market in March 2020 has taken a toll on the advertising budgets of many crypto companies. With cryptocurrency prices and market caps dropping and consumer spending decreasing due to the sudden start of the pandemic, many companies have had to cut their advertising budgets to try and stay afloat.
Yet crypto industry giants like FTX spent big bucks on ads, working with celebrities and sports teams.
During the 2020-2021 crypto bull market, crypto ads became a significant revenue source for media platforms, crypto publishers, and influencers, as they provided advertisers with excellent results. However, with cryptocurrency prices dropping in 2022, crypto projects had less money to spend on promotion.
But what affected the industry the most was the fall of titans like Terra, BlokFi, FTX, and many others. Moreover, the charges of corporate mismanagement and fraud in FTX worsened the situation.
Why so? Well, FTX was supposed to be the most regulated, most compliant, and most ethical crypto exchange out there.
And thanks to their reputation, they were often trusted and given carte blanche for marketing.
But as it came to light that FTX is not what it seems, crypto and finance influencers that promoted the exchange to their audiences are apologizing to their fans for failing to do due diligence. Furthermore, affiliated crypto projects are dealing with huge credibility hits, and one of the most affected is Solana.
Due to this situation, the cryptocurrency community expects further regulation for cryptocurrency marketing in the coming years.
Q3 of 2022 already turned soft
The crypto downtrend has impacted the advertising industry broadly, affecting even Google’s revenue.
Google announced a “soft quarter” due to a slowdown in advertising related to the cryptocurrency industry. As Google gets most of its revenue from ads, third-quarter revenue growth was down to just 6%. Moreover, Google’s video-sharing platform YouTube saw its ad revenue shrink from last year.
The executives from Google said fewer crypto ads were partially responsible for a slowdown in revenue.
Yet despite all setbacks, many cryptocurrency companies have looked to other advertising channels, such as social media and crypto ad networks to reach their target audiences.
2023 can be profitable for bold crypto advertisers
Despite how it looks, 2023 could be a profitable year for advertisers that use crypto advertising platforms. Crypto companies can take advantage of the opportunity to adjust their strategies.
As many bull market opportunists have left the advertising stage, the remaining advertisers can use the space in the market to strengthen their own position before the next bull market starts.
This shift in marketing strategy can help crypto companies save money while also boosting their customer engagement and brand loyalty.