尽管最近加密货币在美国人的生活中大行其道--埃隆-马斯克（Elon Musk）上了《周六夜现场》（Saturday Night Live）--但加密货币要想在消费者及其财务中变得无处不在，还需要一些努力。但加密货币已迅速在全球体育产业中无处不在。加密货币赞助交易的大幅增长为这一新兴行业提供了巨大的能见度--然而，这些加密货币品牌最终需要将其努力扩展到冠名权、徽标补丁和场馆标牌之外，才能在消费者中取得成功。
In just two years, crypto involvement in the sports industry has grown from niche investments to a huge growth driver. According to Nielsen Sports Sponsorglobe, 84 new crypto/blockchain/NFT sports deals had been signed globally through the first three quarters of 2021. That’s up 664% from the 11 signed back in 2019 in the same time period. Comparatively, auto deals grew 52% and insurance deals grew 6%. Among the deals signed this year, none was more noteworthy than the recently announced 20-year $700 million naming rights deal that will transform the Staples Center in Los Angeles to Crypto.com Arena on Christmas Day.
这次更名只是 NBA 最新的加密交易。除了成为湖人队和快船队的新场馆名称外，Crypto.com 最近还与费城 76 人队签订了一份为期六年的官方球衣补丁合作伙伴协议。另外，Coinbase 是 NBA 的官方加密货币合作伙伴，FTX 最近购买了迈阿密热火队球馆的命名权，并让金州勇士队球星斯蒂芬-库里（Steph Curry）担任其品牌大使，StormX 则是波特兰开拓者队的官方球衣补丁合作伙伴。
Crypto advertising and sponsorships in sports makes sense for an array of reasons, with visibility typically being the top driver, especially among new brands and categories. In the U.S. alone, sports programming accounted for 98% of the most-viewed programs across broadcast and 72% of the most viewed programs on cable television between January and September, with Super Bowl LV accounting for 20.3 billion minutes viewed. The on-site signage, displays and activations at sporting events only add additional layers of awareness and promotion.
The upside of these massive efforts is that consumers are very receptive to brand sponsorships in sporting events. In fact, Nielsen’s 2021 Trust in Advertising survey found that 81% of global consumers either completely trust or somewhat trust brand sponsorships at sports events, just behind recommendations from friends and family and branded websites. The high visibility and consumer sentiment about sports sponsorships validates the dramatic increase in crypto investments; ultimately, brands will need to transition their efforts from awareness to consideration.
通过这一视角，尼尔森球迷洞察（Nielsen Fan Insights）的数据强调了为什么 NBA 是加密货币如此强大的合作伙伴。值得注意的是，仅有不到一半的 NBA 球迷（49%）对加密货币产品表示出普遍兴趣，这比美国总人口的可能性高出 80%。更重要的是，46% 的 NBA 球迷打算在未来六个月内使用加密产品，这比普通人群高出 61%。
从球迷参与的角度来看，随着联赛和球队利用不可兑换代币（NFT）为球迷提供更多价值的新颖方式，不可兑换代币（NFT）迅速获得了发展势头。例如，NBA Top Shot 就是一个以官方授权数字收藏品为特色的 NFT 市场。在 2020 年 10 月向公众开放后，NBA Top Shot 已成为迄今为止最受瞩目的 NFT 成功案例之一。
就像他们对加密货币的接受程度一样，NBA 球迷对 NFT 的认识也不仅仅局限于此。根据尼尔森球迷洞察的数据，43% 的 NBA 球迷打算在未来六个月内购买 NFT，这比普通人群高出 75%。对于 NBA 球迷来说，NFTs
- 是与团队互动的好方法 (26%)
- 提供增长潜力（23）
- 由财务机构推荐（21%）。
尽管加密货币和区块链技术在体育产业的应用日益广泛，但消费者对其的熟悉程度和使用意向还需要时间来建立。体育赞助在信任度方面名列前茅，但仍有不到一半的 NBA 球迷（48%）不熟悉 NFT，43% 的球迷不熟悉加密货币，更不用说有这方面的需求了。不过，某些品牌赞助商（如 Crypto.com、Coinbase 和 FTX）的突出表现似乎在知名度和使用率方面都得到了回报。
Unlike traditional sponsors, like those from the auto, insurance and travel industries, cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies and NFTs have more to win over from a fan perspective than just awareness. Awareness through exposure is a critical first step, and the sports industry is ripe with visibility options. After creating awareness of cryptocurrency through these—and other—sponsorships, there will come a time to bridge the gap between awareness and intent, transitioning from brand building to conversion, as detailed in Nielsen’s Brand Resonance white paper. They will, just as any brand would need to, solidify their unique value propositions and evolve their relationships with fans from one-way to two-way conversations backed by education and trust-building.
