UEFA Champions League Digital Collectibles Experience

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Crypto[dot]com Champions Collection Launch 🏆

Crypto[dot]com, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, have launched a digital collectibles campaign as part of their partnership with the UEFA Champions League.

The exchange became the first cryptocurrency partner of the UEFA Champions League spanning 2024-2027.

The campaign is simple, and features the redemption of a digital coin, which is a digital representation of the coin that UEFA Champions League referees use to flip at the beginning of games.

The redemption is simple. Users are simply prompted to enter their email, claim the collectible, and it is in their Crypto[dot]com NFT account.

There are two types of coin:

• Silver digital coin: Gives fans the chance to win First Class match tickets

• Gold digital coin: Gives fans the chance to win an all-inclusive trip to the UEFA Champions League Final

So far, there have ~20,000 claims of the digital collectible, and the experiences can include fans delivering the matchday coin to the referee on gameday, and being pitchside for warmups.

Analysis 🧠 

Crypto exchanges, especially large ones, have matured to the point where they are now as big a brand as many large corporations that you are used to seeing sponsoring large sporting events such as the Champions League and Formula 1. Therefore, when assessing the success and productivity of a partnership like this, we have to look at it from that vantage point rather than comparing it to other crypto businesses.

Right now, we have two predominant crypto sponsors: exchanges and blockchains themselves. Only the former are writing those big cheques and have the same brand appeal as your traditional corporate partners. The CPA (cost per acquisition) for these exchanges is really high, and that can be equated to what you would see traditionally from, say, a betting company in Europe or the United States.

Therefore, the marketing strategy for a business where CPA is very high has to span far and wide. Obviously, Crypto[dot]com have been very sports-focused since their inception, and it has been a key marketing strategy for them. They have gone for the ‘Harry's Razor’ approach to crypto: Make the brand so big that when a person decides they want to buy cryptocurrency, they immediately think of Crypto[dot]com because they've seen them when watching their favourite team.

In this instance, Crypto[dot]com have created very much an MVP product with the Champions Collection, but the reality is that this is an add-on to the broader macro partnership. On top of the brand recognition, there is also the added factor of the business that is achieved at these games through their partners and invitations of prospects that cannot be overlooked. Some of these partnerships may be worth millions of dollars.

I'm not saying that there is a good return on investment for Crypto[dot]com for spending millions and millions of dollars on Champions League sponsorship; however, there is an aspect where, when you are that size of business, the return on the investment is less linear.

Obviously, Crypto[dot]com have made their brand synonymous with sports, and so looking at continuously getting those tier-one partnerships on board makes sense for them. I think if you're doing this as a one-off, it doesn't necessarily make sense, but because of who Crypto[dot]com are and how they've approached this market, I think it does.

Concluding Thoughts 💭

(1) Crypto[dot]com are synonymous with sport

The exchange planted their flag early, using sports as a huge part of their marketing strategy. Now, large enough to compete with most traditional brands, their strategy looks… well… quite traditional. Think Mastercard, Visa level of brand (in crypto) but with a direct-to-consumer angle that has bigger ROI than most traditional brands marketing in this space.

Indeed, when this partnership was first announced last year, Steven Kalifowitz ,the CMO of Crypto[dot]com said, “Connecting our brand with engaged sports fans around the world has effectively grown our user base to over 100 million in pursuit of our mission of cryptocurrency in every wallet.”

(2) The direct ROI isn’t (really) there

But of course, judging a partnership on direct ROI (how much new or existing customers spend as a result of a 3-year partnership with the Champions League) doesn’t make sense.

(3) But overall, the ROI is likely fair

As mentioned above, the direct ROI doesn’t necessarily matter for crypto[dot]com as they continue to consolidate their brand as one of the biggest exchanges in the world.

(4) How they cross-promote to the exchange is key

With all of that in mind, how crypto[dot]com take users from digital collectible claimers to active participants in their exchange, that drives revenue, is a huge challenge. That’s partly because of the usual jankiness that we see in many of these experiences when they come from exchanges, because they are not prioritising the digital experience — it’s the IRL and physical experience + brand recognition that are top of mind.

(5) Because the CPA for exchanges is high

The cost per acquisition for crypto exchanges is really high. And likely getting higher. So any marginal improvement against this number is good. If crypto[dot]com can see meaningful brand recognition numbers alongside some percentage of these collectible claimers convert to customers, they will likely view it as a success.

(6) Partnerships beget partnerships

And, of course, this is not only about user acquisition, but also about retention, alongside potential business-to-business impact. If done correctly, these partnerships can literally be worth their weight in gold, and crypto[dot]com are in the unique position where they can leverage this for both B2B and B2C.

(7) The tactics for exchanges and blockchains are diverging massively

Whereas 2-3 years ago, blockchains and exchanges were competing for partnerships like this, there has been a divergence. Blockchains are approaching this much more like a tech vendor, offering value in kind as part of deals, whereas exchanges are paying a premium for a category that didn’t exist five years ago.

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