If you have been watching the Fifa World Cup in Qatar closely, you will have noticed the advertising on the hoardings around the pitch. Alongside the usual names – Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa – there are some new ones, including Crypto.com, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency and payment platform.
Crypto firms’ use of celebrities has become notorious of late but many are also starting to sponsoring sports events, teams and venues. It’s not a new phenomenon for industries to rely heavily on sponsorship as a communications strategy. Tobacco led the way in the 1990s, then beer brands took the lead, followed by telecommunications, airlines and sports betting companies more recently.
