Coinbase got a lot of attention — and new users — after running that Super Bowl ad of a QR code bouncing around the screen. - But, on Monday night, the cryptocurrency exchange’s marketing win lost a little lustre, after CEO Brian Armstrong fumbled a Twitter thread bragging about the origins of the ad spot.
Why it matters: Twitter missteps aren’t uncommon for tech executives, but for a fintech like Coinbase — seeking to be a major player in finance — this kind of unforced error could appear amateurish. What happened: In a 12- tweet thread Armstrong said Coinbase was initially pitched “a bunch of standard Super Bowl ad ideas” by an outside agency and didn’t like them. They brainstormed instead. - “No ad agency would have done this ad,” Armstrong tweeted.
The intrigue: But an agency did have the idea of using a QR code, Kristen Cavallo, CEO of The Martin Agency, said in a reply to Armstrong’s sixth tweet: - Coinbase’s ad “was actually inspired by presentations our agency showed your team on 8/18 (pages 19-24) and 10/7 (pages 11-18) with ad concepts for the Super Bowl floating QR codes on a blank screen.” Her reply got thousands more likes than Armstrong’s initial missive.
Go deeper: Coinbase’s chief marketing officer, Kate Rouch, replied to Cavallo — with five more tweets — hours later. She said the company had indeed worked with an agency, Accenture Interactive, in creating its ad. “Our CEO actually thought we were a single team when presenting work,” she wrote. - “Multiple agencies — including The Martin Agency — pitched us ideas that included QR codes for several different campaigns,” she added.
- Armstrong also fired off a final tweet about 12 hours after his first, acknowledging they had help from “a creative firm.”
The bottom line: Unless you’re Elon Musk, Twitter miscalculations can quickly turn into PR misfires so it pays to be uber careful when tweeting ‘in the moment’, take a minute, and reflect before posting on any channel as a post in haste may come back to haunt you. |
