Marketing for Bitcoin ETFs has taken some interesting turns since Bitwise released the first ad in mid-December 2023, close to a month before spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved.
Investment firm BlackRock has released another ‘investor-friendly’ ad for its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The asset manager’s latest ad comes amid a heated spot Bitcoin ETF marketing race that has been going on since December, weeks before the first spot Bitcoin ETFs went live.
BlackRock, which is the world’s largest asset manager, released its first ETF ad on January 11. The ad’s ‘mature’ messaging was seemingly targeted at ‘boomer’ investors, and the same can be said for the latest marketing effort.
The ad maintains the firm’s simple format and presents BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF as “progress”. It shows the silhouette of a plane and runway on a yellow background with black text. It reads in part that “Bitcoin ETFs have landed” and urges investors to get their share of progress.
The message is not lost on industry experts, including Bloomberg’s ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, who took to the social media platform X to share his thoughts. He pointed out that while the ad sticks to BlackRock’s mature format, it was also modern and effective, straddling the sweet spot between the boring legacy fund and ‘hey fellow kids’ type stuff.
Balchunas also noted the ad’s phrasing that equates “Bitcoin not with a commodity or a currency but with progress”. The ad also mentions how the ETF grants users access to Bitcoin, putting it on par with more traditional asset classes like stocks and bonds. The analyst believes the ad is targeted not at the younger, pro-Bitcoin crowd but at the older, more traditional ‘60/40-ers.’ 60/40 is a reference to the conservative investment strategy that contains a mix of 60% stocks and 40% bonds.
Data from Farside shows that BlackRock’s IBIT ETF has seen over $5.3 billion in inflows since January 11. It took an early lead in the race in terms of inflows, with Fidelity’s FBTC trailing close behind. Over the past two weeks, it has been noted that IBIT has been pulling away from FBTC, widening the gap.
Marketing for Bitcoin ETFs has taken some interesting turns since Bitwise released the first ad in mid-December 2023, close to a month before spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved. Balchunas commented that BlackRock is on the verge of establishing itself as a leader among its peers and that its marketing campaign could play a role in solidifying this position.
“Strong advisor-friendly vibes. BlackRock on the brink of pulling away as the category liquidity king, going for the kill w more ads makes sense,” wrote he.
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