Blockchain marketing in London
London has always been a centre of finance and has developed into a leading fintech hub. Now it is also becoming a major focal point for blockchain and crypto companies.
Blockchain marketing in London has grown in parallel with this development. There is still a limited supply of experienced blockchain marketers and specialist blockchain marketing support in the UK’s capital. However, there are some established projects and marketing resources that blockchain marketers can look to for inspiration and assistance, including experienced blockchain copywriters.
This guide aims to cover the main areas of blockchain marketing in London for those who want to understand more, including the companies that are excelling, the events that you need to attend and the agencies offering support and assistance.
Blockchain marketing events in London
The number of dedicated blockchain marketing events in London is relatively small in comparison to other blockchain and crypto hubs like San Francisco. While blockchain marketing events are a regular feature in other cities, they are scheduled sporadically in London.
As a result, blockchain marketers looking for events to attend in London usually need to search for more general interest occasions.
Blockchain Summit
Held at Olympia and in its third year during 2019, the Blockchain Summit is an event that lots of marketers working in blockchain will be familiar with. One of the reasons for this is the event has much more of an enterprise blockchain feel than a startup crypto appeal.
Big stands from established technology players like Oracle, IBM and SAP, as well as sponsorship by large consultancy firms, such as Accenture, PWC and EY, give you a good idea of the sort of senior corporate audience in attendance.
While this event might not appeal to any blockchain marketers trying to gain traction for a highly decentralised cryptocurrency, it should interest any individuals that can see the benefits of collaboration between their small project and big enterprise.
London Blockchain Week
This week-long event, which usually happens in February, is another well-established annual event for London’s blockchain and crypto marketers. While it has a single, central location, independently organised events can join the ‘London Blockchain Week’ brand in order to increase awareness while many in the industry have their eyes trained on London.
As a result, blockchain marketers can take advantage, even if their project is small or just starting out. The most likely way for them to achieve this is by understanding the attendees’ interests and appealing to them by offering a talk, presentation or meetup that is unique and helpful.
Also, it’s important for blockchain marketers to get around to as many relevant events as possible during London Blockchain Week, even if they aren’t hosting one themselves.
Blockchain meetups in London
While there aren't many dedicated blockchain marketing events in London, there are a number of general blockchain and cryptocurrency meetups that provide useful content and good networking opportunities.
Coinscrum - One of the oldest crypto meetups in London, which “started life as a very small Bitcoin meetup group in a pub in Paddington in 2012”. Coinscrum pulls in some of the best crypto speakers to its London events, so blockchain marketers should have it on their radars, either for speaking opportunities or information gathering.
SVK CRYPTO LDN - These roughly quarterly events are managed by SVK, an investment fund that focuses on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. The content tends to be forward looking and aimed at predicting how the technology will fundamentally change business and society.
Beer and blockchain - As the name suggests, this is much more of a networking event than anything else. It’s a regular, monthly get-together that stands out against other less frequent events. An appreciation of beer is beneficial if not mandatory.
Finally it’s also worth mentioning the ‘Connecting Thursdays’ event that focused on Professionals in Blockchain marketing in February 2019. Hopefully, we’ll see more of these specific blockchain marketing events soon.
Blockchain marketing by companies in London
11FS
This fintech consultancy firm is one of the most well-known blockchain marketing examples in London as a result of its ‘Blockchain Insider’ podcast.
This weekly podcast, which is hosted by Simon Taylor, Colin Platt, Sara Feenan and Sarah Kocianski, has released over 100 episodes. As a result, 11FS is regularly able to update listeners about its opinions on the latest blockchain news. That’s not only useful because the firm offers consultancy services to all sorts of financial clients interested in using blockchain, but also because of the insight it provides for the company’s research arm.
Blockchain.com
While it is now headquartered in Luxembourg, Blockchain.com (formerly blockchain.info) was founded in London in 2011 and has played a big part in increasing the profile of blockchain and crypto companies in the UK.
Known for its Bitcoin block explorer service, wallet and cryptocurrency market data, the company has been involved in a couple of noteworthy incidents that increased its profile. Firstly, in 2014, Apple pulled the company’s Bitcoin wallet from its app store only to reinstate it after a backlash from users. Secondly, the company received a lot of mainstream attention when, in 2015, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron asked CEO Peter Smith to accompany him on a business mission through Southeast Asia.
Blockchain Labs
At the heart of the commitment to encourage and educate people about the potential of blockchain is Blockchain Labs. Rooted in academia, Blockchain Labs started at UCL and LSE by tech enthusiasts looking to spread blockchain’s potential and nurture the talent of blockchain developers. Today the organisation trains developers and supports a budding community of blockchain thinkers and entrepreneurs. It is now the largest group of its kind in the UK.
Blockchain Labs has done an excellent job of communicating its mission and addressing the talent gap in the industry. The team hosts regular events and workshops about the practical application of blockchain, but also acts as a crucial link between talented developers and companies looking to harness blockchain for their business.
SETL
At the forefront of London brands marrying blockchain and finance are SETL, a fintech company that deploys blockchain to help financial firms handle data and improve security.
SETL sets a strong standard as a blockchain company marketing to a traditional industry with disruptive tech, highlighting on their website how they tackle regulation, security and transactional capacity. The beauty of SETL’s messaging is its simplicity: explaining how they implement blockchain in plain english without the need for developers to interpret it. We’re bound to see many more blockchain companies come to the fore over the next few years but SETL’s robust marketing has set a precedent for future challengers.
Elliptic
Leading the fight against crypto-enabled crimes, Elliptic has been described as a game changer for its blockchain security, specifically in crypto forensics and anti-money laundering software.
Elliptic has made the headlines for cybercrime prevention, but the team have also written excellent blockchain content of their own. Elliptic’s content team are prolific, regularly posting highly accurate and engaging articles about anything from global cryptocurrency regulation to online espionage. Elliptic not only acts as a news outlet for global online security, but the people behind it have positioned themselves as blockchain experts and strategic advisors.
Blockchain marketing agencies in London
Many blockchain and crypto projects are small startups working to test an idea and grow where they find traction. In doing so, they often require the support of specialist agencies across a range of marketing disciplines.
The agencies listed below are just some of those offering to amplify the blockchain message.
Truth
Truth is not only dedicated to working with blockchain companies but also to using blockchain in an interesting and innovative way. It uses blockchain to provide a transparent service to clients around fees, ad spend and budget allocation. The agency is a huge advocate of blockchain and is implementing its principles in its own work.
Truth stands out as an agency that is familiar with how to deploy blockchain technology and also provides an impressive blockchain-based system to support clients owning their own data. It’s encouraging to see agencies embracing new ways to provide transparency through blockchain in the services it offers.
Searched.io
Searched is an agency of ‘digital growth experts’ who offer end-to-end marketing and consultancy for blockchain companies. What stands out about Searched is its claim to offer pretty much everything when it comes to blockchain marketing, from SEO and PR to branding and web design.
The team even promises to source private blockchain developers to build an application tailored to your business and support you to deploy it. Searched could be an ideal partner for blockchain companies who need to outsource their marketing function.
Dispruptive
Disruptive describes itself as a purpose-built agency for brands using blockchain. With an emphasis on PR around ICOs and STOs, Dispruptive aims to help brands build awareness around their launch using a network of influencers and investors. It offers a diverse approach to blockchain marketing, targeting not only the major industry outlets and social platforms but also communities on Telegram, Reddit and Hackster.io.
Dispruptive also boasts extensive experience, a strong reputation and a bullish attitude to strategy that is particuarly focused on generating buzz for an ICO.
Blockchain communications agencies in London
Blockchain communications and PR agencies have to operate in a market where audiences don't necessarily congregate on the traditional platforms that other groups use. They also have to deal with companies and projects that may need more crisis response communications than is typical in other markets.
Below are some of the best London-based agencies working in this niche.
Cryptoland PR
The team at Cryptoland have been involved in the blockchain and crypto ecosystem since 2015, and have plenty of experience managing the ups and downs that a project can encounter in this market.
Run by CEO Katie Olver and Director of Growth Jon Reader, Cryptoland’s list of clients includes big names from around the world like Blockchain.com, Bitpay, Qtum and ShapeShift. During the ICO season of 2017 and 2018, they ran successful campaigns for many companies, including Bluzelle and Power Ledger, with the latter describing Cryptoland as “phenomenal partners for our ICO”.
Wachsman
Although officially based out of Dublin and part of a larger New-York firm, Wachsman does have some presence in the UK and London, working with clients in this market.
Wachsman has worked with major players from the UK and across the world of crypto, including Coindesk, Dash, Etoro, Etherisc and many more. Strategic services include media relations, crisis communications and experiential marketing.
Eak Digital
Based in Shoreditch, this blockchain PR agency focuses on authority branding, blockchain PR, content marketing and link building.
It also runs the Eak TV channel on YouTube which has featured interviews with well-known crypto and blockchain influencers such as CZ from Binance, Charles Hoskinson from IOHK and Roger Ver from Blockchain.com. One of the company’s best known clients is NEO.
Blockchain copywriting in London
Even though blockchain copywriting plays a crucial role in blockchain marketing and communications, there is not a huge pool of copywriters with experience of blockchain and cryptocurrencies available in London. When you consider that the entire market for blockchain and crypto in London is growing but still relatively small, this is unsurprising. However, for firms looking to hire a blockchain copywriter, finding what they need can be tricky.
Blockhain Copywriter covers the London market and offers a range of services, including ghostwriting, article and blog writing, report writing, website copywriting, video scriptwriting and content marketing, for projects and individuals. If you’re keen to do the work yourself though, here are some simple steps to follow:
Build a content calendar
Your content will reap significantly better results if you time it right. Building a content calendar will help you stay on track of what’s trending in the industry and make the most of timely opportunities. For example if a big ICO is launched or new tech revealed, you’ll want to know and plan your copywriting around that.
Research your audience __
Even though blockchain has entered the mainstream, there are many niches and audience segments with their own views on how it should be applied. Do your research into what your audience wants and tailor your copywriting to them.
Aim for quality
One of the biggest mistakes companies make in writing about blockchain is to generate high volumes of low quality material. Instead, aim to pick out exactly what it is your audience wants to read and spend time producing the best content possible. One high quality article is worth more than 10 poor quality posts.
Measure and learn
Your blockchain copywriting will only improve if you spend time measuring its performance. Look for your readers’ reaction – do they share or comment on your posts? If so, what do they say? Did some posts perform better than others? Tracking the right metrics to answer these questions is crucial.
Hire a professional copywriter
As the saying goes, everyone can write but not everyone can be a writer. To get the most from your blockchain copywriting, hire an experienced blockchain copywriter who understands your product and your audience.