Rajesh Verma, General Manager, Middle East, EpsilonThe Middle East is emerging as a major force in the global cryptocurrency market with a 166 per cent increase in daily active traders across the region in 2024 according to Bitget.
This growth presents a huge opportunity, but simply funnelling more money into existing campaigns won’t guarantee success. Many ad dollars end up chasing impressions rather than real engagement. Reaching these highly discerning investors requires a deeper understanding of their behaviours, preferences, and risk appetite.
Success lies in smart data use, not just bigger budgets. As the crypto landscape in the Middle East evolves, so too must advertising strategies. Today’s crypto investors in the region are sophisticated, informed, and expect personalised engagement that speaks directly to their interests and investment goals.
Localisation through market-specific insights
The most critical aspect of effectively targeting Middle Eastern crypto investors is recognising the diversity within the region. Crypto adoption and investment strategies vary significantly from country to country. For instance, investors in the United Arab Emirates tend to be more open to high-risk assets, embracing the volatility that often comes with cryptocurrency investments. In contrast, Saudi traders may take a more measured approach, prioritising stability and long-term growth potential.
This diversity underscores the importance of market-specific insights. Advertisers must segment their audience not just by broad demographics, but by market, language, and specific investment behaviours. This granular approach allows for the creation and delivery of highly relevant content. An institutional investor in Dubai might be more interested in content about Bitcoin ETFs, while a retail trader in Riyadh could be looking for insights on promising altcoins.
First-party data for intent-driven engagement
The foundation for this kind of localised, personal engagement is first-party data. Brands must invest in building and enriching their own data ecosystems to track real investor intent. The ongoing global shift from third-party cookies to first-party data collection is not just a necessity; it’s an opportunity to gain deeper, more actionable insights into audience behaviour.
Consider a scenario where a trader has been researching Ethereum on a crypto exchange’s website. With robust first-party data, the platform can serve this user content tailored specifically to their interests in Ethereum, rather than generic cryptocurrency advertisements. By analysing website activity, transaction history, and content engagement patterns, advertisers can craft precise, non-intrusive messaging that resonates with individual investors.
Identity resolution for consistent, cross-channel messaging
Middle Eastern crypto investors don’t confine their activities to a single platform. They engage across multiple touchpoints — from search engines to financial news sites and investment forums. This multi-channel engagement presents both a challenge and an opportunity for advertisers.
Identity resolution technology offers a solution, allowing brands to connect these disparate interactions into a cohesive user profile. This enables seamless messaging all the way from display ads to video content and more, without overstepping privacy boundaries. The result is a consistent, personalised experience that follows the investor across their digital journey, reinforcing brand messaging and building trust over time.
Getting started: a phased approach
While the benefits of a data-driven, personalised advertising strategy are clear, implementation doesn’t have to mean overhauling everything at once. Even small, incremental steps can drive meaningful improvements in engagement and ROI.
Brands can start with relatively simple measures, such as integrating their app to capture early behavioural signals or implementing a basic tracking pixel to refine their retargeting efforts. These lightweight interventions can provide more relevant insights than broad, untargeted campaigns, laying the groundwork for more sophisticated strategies down the line.
As these initial efforts prove their worth, advertisers can gradually scale up to deeper segmentation, grouping audiences based on increasingly specific behaviours and intents. Over time, this foundation can evolve to include full-fledged identity resolution, linking user interactions across devices and platforms for a truly unified view of the investor.
By layering these elements gradually, brands can refine their targeting without disrupting existing strategies.
The path forward
The crypto market in the Middle East is ripe with opportunity, but capitalising on this potential requires more than just increased ad spend. It means respecting the nuanced preferences of a diverse regional audience.
By focusing on what data is telling them, embracing market-specific insights, and addressing investors as individuals rather than broad segments, advertisers can build trusted, localised engagement across the region. Those who can crack this code will find themselves well-positioned to capture the attention—and investment of this growing and influential investor base.
By Rajesh Verma, General Manager, Middle East, Epsilon
