The brief behind Coinbase's Super Bowl QR code advert
What the crypto exchange probably told their agency to do
Welcome to the first edition of The Dispash, an attempt to inject some rational analysis into a world of hot takes.
Generally, the format will be a bit of analysis from me, plus some links to news, analysis and information you may find interesting.
No flashy promises. No hyperbole. Just some words that make some degree of sense and provoke thought.
Onwards.
Analysis. Was Coinbase’s Super Bowl advert any good and how did we end up watching one minute of a QR code bouncing around a screen?
Sometimes, when I see an advert that baffles, intrigues or confuses me, I like to play a game of ‘guess the brief’. How did we end up with this creative? What the hell was this advert trying to do? Is it any good?
All questions that come to mind when thinking about Coinbase and their Super Bowl QR code. An advert that either won the Super Bowl or marked a new low. And creatively, nobody can quite work out if it was actually any good or not.*
So was it? That depends on the brief. Here’s what I think it *might* have been.
The problem: Expanding into new markets.
Coinbase is, as far as I’m aware, relatively well known within the world of cryptocurrency. If you hold cryptocurrency in the USA, you’re probably either familiar with Coinbase or use Coinbase.
Now, let’s assume that Coinbase has done some solid market segmentation. Of the segments who are active cryptocurrency holders, you’d suspect the segmentation shows that Coinbase has very high market penetration among the “Crypto Bros” segment and has extremely high awareness.
That essentially means they’re close to capping out on their core market and need to expand into new segments. And to do that, they’ve got to expand the category into new segments.
But there are a lot of competitors also trying to grow the overall category of cryptocurrency exchanges. They’re spending millions on Matt Damon telling us to be brave, or getting Larry David to make us laugh.
Between them, they’re starting to help the “Slightly Crypto Curious” segment consider the category. And let’s take an assumption that even among the Crypto Curious segment, Coinbase has pretty high recognition.
Clearly, this isn’t an awareness brief or a retention brief. Coinbase don’t appear to have problems at the top of the funnel and they have a large enough media budget to maintain saliency. They don’t need to build the category because there’s a lot of competitors doing the same thing.
So already we can get a sense that Coinbase is playing in the consideration, preference or conversion space with this brief.
Let’s also assume that Coinbase have clearly decided the Slightly Crypto Curious segment is their target market for this brief. I’d imagine, their persona would read something like:
“Mid-to-late tech adopters who feel positively towards cryptocurrency and intend to purchase cryptocurrency at some point in the next 12 months. However, just because intent is high, signing up to a coin exchange feels like a lot of effort and requires a lot of research, so they procrastinate. When they do open up an account with an exchange, they typically spend $x on cryptocurrency.”
So this could easily be a mid-funnel brief (increase consideration of Coinbase or increase preference for Coinbase as the cryptocurrency exchange of choice). Or it could be purely sign-up driven. But there are two challenges here.
Firstly, there’s a big barrier to entry. This is a bit of a skittish and reluctant audience who may take several months or longer before they make their way towards actively visiting a crypto wallet website or app, so there’s no guarantee Coinbase will be front of mind at that period.
Secondly, Coinbase already know many of their competitors are spending big on brand advertising, so any advantage they may have in this space for their target segment may vanish, especially given some competitors’ media spend may exceed share of voice.
With all that in mind, Coinbase’s brief may have read something like this:
“Consideration for Coinbase among the Slightly Crypto Curious currently sits at x%. We require at activation that will immediately increase conversion from consideration to sign-up by x% within 24 hours of our advert airing.”
Or, to put it another way, give us an epically successful direct response advert during the Super Bowl. I may be wrong, but I’d be prepared to wager the rough audience, the bottom of funnel directive, and the strong levels of awareness among current crypto users all found their way into Accenture’s brief.
From that brief, it’s not a huge mental leap to see how Coinbase ended up with a QR code bouncing around the screen similar to Dunder Mifflin’s conference room screensaver.
It also goes some way to answering the question of whether the advert was any good. As a quick hit short-term activation that led to the app becoming number 2 in the download charts, it was probably effective and fulfilled the brief in a way that was creative for the brief given.
It also stood apart from other crypto exchanges just by virtue of being a bit different and you suspect that there was a calculated gamble that showing a bouncing QR code would generate an awful lot of earned media. Long-term it’s not an activation that has legs, but as a tactical response to a very bottom of funnel brief that’s probably not a huge concern to Coinbase’s marketing department.
A couple of final side notes before we all go out and commission bouncing QR codes. Firstly, this was a very specific execution for a very specific brief on a very specific channel.
Had Coinbase chosen to execute this through Google Display Network, the chances or a large swathe of the American population scanning the code would have been low.
Buying a Super Bowl spot at least gives the viewer reassurance that the company is legitimate, as opposed to a pop-up that could take you anywhere. Even buying the same ad during reruns of NCIS wouldn’t have the same effect.
Secondly, it’s very unlikely this advert can or will be replicated by another brand. 2022’s Super Bowl came after 18 months of constant QR usage, so from a perspective of cultural timing it worked, in a way that wouldn’t have been the same in 2019 and definitely wouldn’t seem unique in 2024.
It’s a clever one-off growth hack, but it will also have less of an impact if another brand attempted the same execution.
But, ultimately, there’s one final reason why this particular execution works. Coinbase already appear to have a strong brand, at least among crypto owners. They’ve already been investing in the more long-term brand building. And as any good marketer can tell you, the short term profit helps pay for the long term brand gains.
Given Coinbase were quite probably in the relatively luxurious position of not needing a big brand building execution, this is a very smart move to boost their coffers while competitors are still figuring out their brand positioning and targeting and spending a lot of money on questionably effective adverts in the meantime.
Fixing their most pressing challenging in the marketing funnel also gives Coinbase a fighting chance of surviving whatever headwinds - and there will be a lot of headwinds - coming the way of the cryptocurrency category.
The 2022 Super Bowl is eerily reminiscent of the 2000 Dotcom boom, where brands such as Pets.com spent millions on marketing without stopping to consider the much more fundamental issue of profit and margin.
Many of this year’s crop of new advertisers will probably go the same way as the unlamented graveyard of online businesses at the turn of the millennium. Coinbase, on the other hand, may just have done enough to still be buying Super Bowl adverts long after their competitors have vanished.
*If you’re lucky enough to support Exeter City, conversations like this are nothing new. Steve Flack left City over a decade ago, and I still can’t work out if he was a genuinely underrated striker or just not very good.
Supply chains are sexy
The NPR breaks down why buying a car is particularly miserable right now. In short, a global pandemic plus shortages of essential parts means manufacturers focus on their most profitable lines. This has a knock-on effect on supply and demand in the second-hand market. Good for automative short-term profits, perhaps less good for long-term buying habits. LINK.
The battle for TV dominance
Much of the media focus on “winning” the next version of TV focuses on streaming services. But Netflix and competitors such as Paramount and Peacock have limits to growth, even if that limit is potentially very high. And, crucially, they don’t control the delivery method such as Connected TVs, phones and laptops. Apple does to an extent but have never seemed entirely sure what their strategy for TV should be or if they even want to play in this space. That leaves Samsung and, to a lesser extent, LG in a potentially dominant position. Control the CTV market and you can control what’s shown and even build your own EPG. LINK.
The metaverse is already here
Speaking of Samsung, they’re also looking at delivering gaming through their connected TVs, which is a logical but tricky next step. Netflix doesn’t make TV hardware but Sony do, while the likes of Epic (Fortnite) are less tied to a particular device or platform. Still, if the metaverse does make it to living rooms, it’s more likely to be on a Samsung TV than a Facebook VR headset. LINK.
The metaverse isn’t here
Miller created a virtual bar in Decentraland for the Super Bowl. Participants could drink a virtual beer, take a virtual selfie (no, me neither), and watch Miller’s advert. Why this is superior to inviting a friend over, watching the game, drinking a Miller and posting a selfie on social media isn’t clear. Neither is why it will help them sell more beer. Miller probably aren’t the only brand spending a lot of money for questionable return in the metaverse, but it’s one activation that’s really confused me. Maybe I’m missing something? LINK.
Reasons to be fearful, part 3
What would happen if the financial markets crashed, asks The Economist. The landscape in 2022 isn’t the same as 2008 or 2001or even 1929. The world is uncertain at the best of times. This isn’t the best of times. LINK.
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Playing us out this week. Dope Lemon - Rose Pink Cadillac. It’s been on heavy rotation in my house since the start of the year. Perfect for the Australian summer, less so for the UK and US winter.