Cryptocurrency company Bitbuy is launching a national campaign to increase trust in Bitcoin during the current football season.

The “Don’t Bet Against Crypto” campaign makes a comparison between sports betting and betting against Bitcoin, as the currency has been dismissed numerous times by investment experts, the company says. Its message emphasizes the power that cryptocurrency and the digital asset industry have achieved.

The media plan includes 15-second videos, broadcast bumpers and digital creative ads that will be seen in Canada and Australia through a partnership with streaming platform DAZN. The campaign will also be supported by digital TV, linear TV, connected TV and OOH. Bulletin Media closed the deal for DAZN, while creative has been developed in-house.

Charlie Aikenhead, senior VP of communications at WonderFi (Bitbuy’s owner), tells Media in Canada that they partnered with DAZN because the brand wants to reach its target audience in a place where they might not expect it.

“Since the legalization of sports betting in Ontario, live sports broadcasts have been dominated by sports betting ads, and we wanted to break into that space,” Aikenhead says. “DAZN has also a great offering of live NFL, international soccer and other sports that we know our target audience interacts with, so we thought it would be a great place to reach them.”

According to Aikenhead, the team has realized that football fans are often interested in sports betting and cryptocurrencies, which is why Bitbuy is targeting fans with its marketing initiatives. Last year, the company partnered with Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes to launch a campaign aimed at popularizing crypto and, in 2022, the brand rolled out Super Bowl ads starring basketball player Kyle Lowry.

Although the new campaign continues along the same line, Aikenhead notes that they wanted to simplify the message and focus the main story on Bitcoin and the journey it has been on over the past 13 years since its launch. “It’s a new direction for us where we wanted Bitcoin to tell the story, as it’s our most traded asset,” Aikenhead says.

The team also wanted to break down the widespread belief that Bitcoin is not yet a legitimate investment asset. “The goal of the campaign is to remind the audience that betting against Bitcoin has not historically been a good move,” Aikenhead says. Additionally, the campaign helps to highlight the brand at an interesting time for cryptocurrency, with the U.S. Commission approving the listing and trading of a number of spot bitcoin exchange-traded product shares this year.