Strengthening institutional trust in cryptocurrency

Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian that allows customers to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies. Gemini was founded in 2014 by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to build a bridge to the future of money.

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Challenge

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In September 2019, Gemini launched Gemini Custody™— the market’s most secure and compliant option for storing cryptocurrencies. The solution was introduced as investors, institutions and regulatory bodies around the world were turning their attention to the maturing cryptocurrency industry, historically criticized by financial institutions for failing to meet the requisite security and compliance needs. The Mission North team was tasked with raising awareness of Gemini Custody™ among these audiences and communicating the significant investment Gemini made to build an institutional-grade custody offering on par with those of traditional banks.  

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Strategy

To lay the groundwork before launch, Mission North began building the profile of Gemini’s managing director of operations Jeanine Hightower-Sellitto, a finance industry veteran months before the launch. Leaning on her industry experience and Gemini’s efforts to make crypto more accessible to institutions, Mission North landed a series of foundational meetings with key reporters and broadcast, radio and podcast producers, and secured a recurring contributed column for Jeanine in Forbes.

In preparation for the announcement itself, Mission North collaborated with Gemini to develop messaging that highlighted Gemini Custody’s differentiators from existing offerings. This was reflected in Gemini’s “A Guide to Crypto Custody” whitepaper, an educational sales asset.

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Impact

Through embargoed pitching and day-of outreach, the Mission North team ensured a steady flow of earned media coverage on the launch date across podcasts, business and trade press. Coverage in Bloomberg, Fortune, Coindesk and more ran day-of,  and launch garnered 69 total feature articles and achieved a total reach of 47.4 million, generating excitement far beyond the Gemini community. Additionally, the launch drove an immediate business impact for the client: after the announcement, Gemini identified hundreds of qualified custody leads, and the campaign reached 148 funded custody accounts— showing a direct correlation and the value of a targeted media campaign on Gemini’s business.