User Acquisition In Web3: How Changelly And Partners Newsjacked On Bitcoin Halving 2024

Beyond even the Web3 world, newsjacking has become a crucial marketing strategy for companies looking to stay relevant and capture the attention of the target audience. In crypto, high-stakes events like Bitcoin halving, major protocol upgrades, or regulatory decisions can significantly impact the entire industry and provide those newsjacking opportunities⁠. Here, we describe a case of the marketing campaign—implemented by Web3 industry leaders and dedicated to the Bitcoin halving event in April 2024.

In anticipation of the 2024 Bitcoin halving, Changelly joined forces with prominent Web3 industry leaders Topper, Tangem, and ZenGo. Together, they invited crypto enthusiasts to the Bitcoin Halving Party, featuring an array of exciting gifts (including the then brand-new Apple Vision Pro) and valuable offers for participants.

Key Tactics to Remember while Newsjacking in Web3

We will decode the case study to learn best practices for launching similar campaigns:

• Stay ahead of industry trends: The core skill is crafting a creative narrative around events—it should resonate with your brand and audience.
• Time it right: The planning and pre-launch phase of the Bitcoin Halving Party started two months prior to the event, allowing ample time for coordination and execution.
• Synergy brings effect: Collaboration between prominent industry players creates a more impactful campaign with greater reach and numerous promotional channels.
• Offer compelling incentives: The campaign featured enticing prizes relevant to both crypto enthusiasts and tech-savvy individuals.
• Educate the audience: The campaign not only promoted the companies involved but also educated users about the Bitcoin halving event⁠.

Let’s Get It Started: Pre-launch and Campaign Rules

We have talked with the campaign organizers to discover how things unfolded. As a veteran of the crypto market and a trusted provider of crypto exchange and fiat on-ramp/off-ramp APIs, Changelly introduced the idea of Bitcoin Halving Party to its partners. Among the first to join the co-branded campaign were Topper, a global fiat on-ramp payment solution; Tangem, a leading provider of secure hardware wallet solutions; and ZenGo Wallet, a secure self-custodial never-hacked wallet provider. The Tier 1 crypto media Cointelegraph was chosen to become a media partner for this campaign and publish an interactive article, or dedicated landing page, about the Bitcoin Halving Party.

Later, the partners agreed on the prize pool, campaign guidelines, promo capabilities, and timing. The prize structure was strategically designed with a dual approach: a high-value “hero” prize was included to generate excitement and enhance the campaign’s visibility. Additionally, to stimulate broader participation and increase the likelihood of winning for users, the organizers incorporated 140 additional prizes. While these were of lower monetary value, they were carefully selected to appeal directly to the crypto community. The Bitcoin Halving Party prize pool comprised:

• Apple Vision Pro
• 50 Amazon gift cards for 50 USDT each
• 50 3-month ZenGo Pro subscriptions
• 40 hardware wallets by Tangem

To be eligible to take part in the celebration and random distribution of prizes, participants were required to sign up or log in to Changelly 
with their email address, make a fiat-to-crypto transaction worth over $50 on Changelly to get BTC, and wait for the announcement on the 3rd day after the halving event. The terms and conditions of the campaign were detailed in the FAQ section of the landing page created for this event.

To further incentivize new users who were drawn in by the campaign and engaged with the landing page, the partnering companies offered exclusive opportunities to experience their products with a lower barrier to entry. These special promotions included:

• Topper and Changelly invited new users to enjoy 0% processing fees for their first fiat-to-crypto transaction during the 7 days after the campaign launch.
• Meanwhile, Tangem provided all crypto enthusiasts with a HALVING promo code to take 10% off their card-shaped cold wallets.
• Last but not least, Zengo Wallet offered a free trial of Zengo Pro to everyone, even those not lucky enough to get one of the 50 3-month Zengo Pro subscriptions for free.

Web3 Marketing Campaign Start and Promo

The campaign started on March 13, 2024, and was live till the day of the Bitcoin halving. The exact date of its end was difficult to predict as it was dependent on block height. Since Bitcoin is halved every 210,000 blocks, the halving event was anticipated in April 2024, when the block height would reach 840,000.

The channels involved in the promo are as follows:

• Social media announcements by all the brands participating in the campaign
• Media support by Cointelegraph, plus press release distribution across global media
• Banners, articles, and a dynamic object on the Changelly blog with 1.6M readers per month
• E-mail newsletters by Changelly across the CRM base of over 350K subscribers
• Push notifications and in-app stories
• Cointelegraph ad formats: banners and in-line ads
• Influencers and KOLs on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram
• Changelly main page banners, iOS and Android app banners

Top 3 tactics implemented during this 1+ month campaign:

• The media plan was strategized to distribute communications evenly across channels, aiming to reach new audiences and guide those initially exposed toward completing transactions.
• The more transactions a user made, the higher their chances of winning were.
• Guaranteed incentives provided by partners.

Key Results and Findings of the Bitcoin Halving Party Campaign

The campaign was finished successfully on the very day of Bitcoin halving, and the landing page was paused with the announcement:

Let’s examine the precise stats and results shared by the Changelly team:

• Total reach exceeded 7.8 million.
• 60,000 unique users visited the landing page.
• The payment conversion rate from landing page visitors was over 18%.
• More than 40 media outlets covered the Bitcoin Halving Party.
• The most effective promo channels were Changelly’s blog, newsletters, and Cointelegraph media ad formats.
• 86% of the winners received their prizes, whereas 14% didn’t respond to Changelly’s emails.

“The Bitcoin Halving Party campaign was a testament to the power of collaboration in the Web3 space. By joining forces with industry leaders like Topper, Tangem, and ZenGo, we were able to create a truly engaging experience for crypto enthusiasts. Our strategic approach, combining education about the Bitcoin halving event with exciting incentives, resulted in impressive engagement metrics. This campaign not only boosted our brand visibility but also strengthened our position as a key player in the crypto exchange market,” said Ashley Vancouver, Head of Marketing at Changelly.