Since its inception, Coinbase has focused on helping everyone—from total beginners to advanced traders—access cryptocurrency with an easy to use, safe and secure platform. While they have grown rapidly over the years without mass brand exposure, they hit a tipping point in 2021 and needed to take their mission to the next level.

Their goal is to enable 1 billion people to access the cryptoeconomy—a lofty growth goal from the already massive 73 million people they serviced by the end of 2021. So the business challenge we addressed was twofold: (1) introduce Coinbase to the masses while breaking through the clutter of their competition, and (2) get people to engage in a way that’s authentic to Coinbase’s crypto-native roots.

Despite the Super Bowl checking the audience box, we knew a traditional spot would not drive breakthrough participation. We also knew competitors bought into the Super Bowl heavily, and we couldn’t outshout them all. Fortunately we took an early gamble and secured a prime position in the first half and knew we’d be first. Based on this, we also strategically chose to not tease or support with other media. One surprise :60s spot - and that was it.

It was time to seize the moment.

So how do you get millions of people curious about crypto to participate in the category for the first time? Make it easy for them to try it. No dancing puppies. No talking babies. No celebrities. Just an invitation to engage.

While we knew our strategy might be polarizing, out of our audience of 100+mm we knew there would be millions that would love it.

To stay true to Coinbase’s egalitarian values and drive mass participation, we produced the antithesis to every other hyper-produced Super Bowl ad: a :60 lo-fi video featuring a large, bouncing QR code that drove to a simple landing page where customers could enter sweepstakes. This simple sweepstakes execution provided two massive incentives for customers and two equally massive opportunities for Coinbase:

• Attract hundreds of thousands new Coinbase users by giving them $15 in Bitcoin for free

• Encourage existing users to return to their app for the chance to win $1M in Bitcoin

Given the unusual execution and minimalist branding of the spot, we worked closely with NBC (and even the NFL) to push the boundaries of what was legally and technically possible to air. Coinbase challenged the status quo creatively and also redefined how the Super Bowl works with their partners.

The execution shattered expectations with staggering lifts in brand consideration, participation and revenue.

In just one sixty second ad with other supporting media:

• 20MM+ instant landing page hits

• 1.4MM existing users opted into the sweepstakes

• 14 billion+ earned media impressions

• Est. $130MM earned media value

• Brand lift against our target audience:

• +38pt brand consideration lift / 3x increase

• +30pt brand favorability lift / 2x increase

• +24pt next choice / 3x increase

• +34pt brand recommendation / 2x increase

Even with a multi-step sign-up process that required customers to enter private information like ID and SSN after engaging with the QR code, Coinbase received a whopping 445K+ attributed new account sign-ups. Again, in just :60s. The 1 year ROI was positive within weeks of airing.