OKX's new CMO: Aiming to make OKX the "ByteDance" of the crypto industry

Author: Kari McMahon

According to reports, Haider Rafique, the newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer of the cryptocurrency exchange OKX, facilitated a multi-million dollar partnership between OKX and the English Premier League club Manchester City. He hopes to use this funding to transform OKX into the "ByteDance" of the cryptocurrency field.

Haider Rafique specifically addressed internal personnel to explain the logic behind this and outline the marketing strategies to achieve this goal.

The Chinese tech company ByteDance launched TikTok in 2016 and rapidly grew in the social media space with its short video strategy, becoming a strong competitor to social giants like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Rafique stated that the cryptocurrency trading market is similar to the traditional social media market. It is a market dominated by giants, such as Coinbase and FTX, both currently valued at over $30 billion, which have invested heavily in sports marketing, including a $6.5 million Super Bowl ad. Compared to its competitors, OKX has not received much attention.

After OKEx rebranded to OKX this year, its new Chief Marketing Officer is building the brand image through further partnerships and new branding campaigns, aiming for OKX to disrupt the cryptocurrency landscape in the same way ByteDance did with social media.

Rafique emphasized that companies from around the world, whether in Europe or Asia, now have the potential to establish themselves as mainstream brands in the industry, and OKX has all the potential to become the ByteDance of the crypto space. He also stressed that the focus should not only be on achieving rapid growth for OKX but also on providing a good experience for customers.

OKX aims to become a mainstream brand in the Western market

Rafique previously worked at Omnicom's BBDO and WPP's advertising agency J. Walter Thompson before entering the crypto space in 2018 as the Head of User Growth at Blockchain.com, and recently took on the role of CMO at OKX.

Just as he transitioned from the advertising agency field to the crypto space, the OKX team under his leadership is avoiding traditional metrics for measuring marketing efforts, such as traffic, quantity, monthly, and daily active users. Instead, he wants the team to focus on being accountable to customers and expanding their portfolios.

"Users know that our marketing is not aimed at mooning; we are working to guide people to think deeply and responsibly about the future, suggesting that 3% to 5% of their total portfolio be invested in the crypto market," Rafique said. "Don't go all in at once; that behavior is very reckless."

In May, the company plans to launch a new branding campaign with the creative agency BBDO to increase its influence in the Western market. Rafique stated that a media mix of 60% offline will be used, including print ads, broadcast media, and other display locations. The remaining portion will be digital media, with half of the budget allocated for brand advertising and the other half for performance advertising.

"You might be used to seeing HSBC ads on trains or in traditional places," Rafique said. "We seek to do offline brand advertising in those non-traditional places."

Rafique also hopes to pursue further collaborations in partnerships this year, focusing on four key qualities: data, accuracy, speed, and insight.

How "chemistry" helped OKX secure the deal with Manchester City

After joining OKX, Rafique immediately facilitated a multi-million dollar partnership with the Premier League club Manchester City and became the official deep partner in the crypto space for Manchester City in March, covering the men's and women's teams as well as esports.

Rafique credited the CAA talent agency for helping him establish the partnership. He told the agency that he was looking for partners who are at the top of the industry but still maintain a fighter's mentality.

Rafique said, "Their culture should be about perseverance and never giving up, about how the underdog can become strong step by step." (Manchester City's recent financial turnaround can also be attributed to the acquisition by billionaire Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group and its subsequent massive investments.)

Rafique noted that other cryptocurrency companies were also bidding for Manchester City, but OKX stood out by positioning itself as a company that enhances the crypto experience for fan users rather than simply marketing the crypto business.

Rafique said, "We believe that cryptocurrency is one of those industries that people don't want to be marketed to; when you only want to make money through marketing, you push yourself into a pit, so I think that's the chemistry."