BlackRock has ramped up its media advertising campaign for its recently launched spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), labeling the asset not as a currency but as “progress.”
In its latest advertisement, the world’s largest asset manager maintained its relatively “boring” approach to advertising its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF — at least compared to its competitors.
“Bitcoin ETFs have landed,” states the yellow advertisement, showing simply a silhouette of a runway and plane. BlackRock adds the caption: “Get your share of progress.”
The seemingly mundane marketing approach wasn’t overlooked by industry observers, such as Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who described it as being in the “sweet spot between the boring legacy fund and “‘hey fellow kids’ type stuff.”
He added that the firm was on the brink of “pulling away as the category liquidity king,” so going for the kill with more advertising makes sense,” adding:
“Interesting they equate Bitcoin not with a commodity or a currency but with progress.”
New $IBIT ad just dropped. IMO simple, modern, effective. In sweet spot bt boring legacy fund co ad and “hey fellow kids” type stuff. Strong advisor-friendly vibes. BlackRock on brink of pulling away as the category liquidity king, going for kill w more ads makes sense. https://t.co/V8VVgB2G8d
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 19, 2024
The firm also mentions how the ETF standardizes Bitcoin (BTC), making it just like stocks and bonds in a portfolio, he added.
BlackRock’s first ETF advertisement, released on Jan. 11, also took a mature approach, targeting the affluent “boomer” market. Since the product launched, BlackRock has seen inflows of $5.3 billion to its IBIT ETF, according to Farside.
Moreover, the Bitcoin ETF marketing war has been heating up since Bitwise dropped the first ad in mid-December 2023 using actor Jonathan Goldsmith, who appeared as “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”
The promotional blitz accelerated after Google began allowing crypto ads earlier in February.
Related: Grayscale’s GBTC outflows reach $7B, but data shows it’s slowing
On Feb. 15, 21Shares started promoting the fact that Bitcoin had become a trillion-dollar asset in terms of market capitalization.
Coincidentally, whistleblower Edward Snowden also referred to BTC as the future of money on Feb. 19.
“Unpopular but true: Bitcoin is the most significant monetary advance since the creation of coinage.”
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