Crypto ads in print, radio surged in November amid concerns over transparency

Cryptocurrency (Representative image)

Cryptocurrency-related advertising in the print medium and on radio peaked in November last year, driven by the festive season and cricket matches, taking over from television and digital, which commanded the lion’s share in October.

There was an uptick in crypto ads on print and radio in November, according to data by AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research, which is an audience measurement analysis firm. The flurry of crypto ads came just before the Indian government said advertisements by cryptocurrency companies and exchanges were not transparent and needed to stop.

In the print medium, the cryptocurrency category ad space widened to 60 percent in November from 0.02 percent in July. Zeb It Service, which operates the Zebpay cryptocurrency brand, and Bitcipher Labs, the owner of Coinswitch Kuber platform, were the top two advertisers in print, accounting for more than 85 percent share of ad space in the July-November period, AdEx said.

The southern markets, with a 43 percent share of ad space, were preferred by cryptocurrency platforms, followed by the west zone. Bengaluru and  Mumbai emerged as the top two cities for crypto ads in print.

Along with brand awareness, exchanges used ads for sales promotion, which had a 47 percent share of cryptocurrency’s ad space in print. And among sales promotions, discount promotion occupied all the ad space.

On radio, cryptocurrency-related advertising was at its highest in November, with more than 90 percent of the ad volume share. In terms of markets, Maharashtra and Gujarat held the top two positions for maximum ad volume share with 22 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

TV and digital saw a drop in ad volumes and insertions in November after touching a peak in October with 51 percent ad volume share. The crypto category’s share on TV dropped to 32 percent in November.

The sports genre alone had more than 75 percent share of the crypto category’s ad volumes, followed by infotainment. In sports, cricket channels were most preferred to promote cryptocurrency. CoinDCX Go App and Coinswitch Kuber were the top two brands on TV with a 54 percent and 42 percent share of ad volumes, respectively.

The 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was played in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from October 17 to November 14, following the Indian Premier League, which ended on October 15.

Even digital saw a slight dip in crypto ads, with the ad insertion share dropping to 29 percent in November from 33 percent.

In the wake of concerns voiced by the government on crypto ads, many top platforms stopped their campaigns, especially in print and on TV, in November.