Another Crypto Startup Targets the Public With New Fear-busting Mascot
Silicon Valley-based financial services startup Figure has launched a bid to make distributed ledger technology more approachable – by creating a crypto-themed mascot that its masterminds hope will dispel public fears about blockchain technology.
This is “Blockchain,” an anamorphic, talking, walking, wisecracking stack of blocks that is not only huggable and cute, but also wants to educate you on “how fast and convenient” Figure can apply and secure loans. The lovable mascot also wants to tell you all about “how the power of blockchain makes the post-loan process more efficient, secure and less costly.”
The Financial Times, so often a source of crypto-skepticism, took the news with a pinch of salt, quipping,
“We now have a personification of the marvel that is the distributed dream-ledger. And what’s especially lucky is that personification of the blockchain has given unto us a literal blockhead.”
But Figure appears to be deadly serious about the educative powers of its new mascot project.
Brad Simmons, Figure’s chief marketing officer, stated,
“Rather than ignore the challenge of educating consumers about blockchain technology, we chose to embrace it. We saw an opportunity to own the demystification of blockchain by creating a relatable and helpful character named Blockchain who will work to bridge the knowledge gap and break down the benefits of blockchain technology in easily digestible terms.”
The company is set to feature its new mascot in ad campaigns that air across broadcast and digital platforms in the United States, with 30-second spots and a longer video set for release.
The ads will explain how Figure integrates blockchain technology in its product portfolio, which includes mortgage refinancing, a home equity line and student loan refinancing.
But this cuddly mascot has also been charged with an important mission: helping the public overcome its blockchain fright.
Simmons says that some people are scared of blockchain technology or “confuse it with something volatile and potentially scary,” and claims that “very few folks really understand what blockchain’s capabilities are.”
And that is where this cute block-shaped mascot comes in.
The longer film, entitled “Meet Blockchain,” shows the adorable Blockchain team up with other puppet friends to separates blockchain tech from the “scary rumors surrounding cryptocurrency” – while demonstrating how Figure uses the technology to “make the post origination loan process faster and easier than the way things are traditionally done.”
In the words of Blockchain himself,
“You’ve either heard of me and you don’t know what I do, or you’ve never heard of me and you don’t know what I do.”
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