Israeli Brokers Launch Local Media Ad Blitz as Regulation Nears

by Avi Mizrahi
  • After revealing that a high number of brokers are seeking the new Israeli license, competition has intensified
Israeli Brokers Launch Local Media Ad Blitz as Regulation Nears
Bloomberg
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The Israeli Forex industry is taking steps to better integrate into the country's financial landscape ahead of the securities law changes coming into effect.

A number of local brokers in Israel have turned to the country's popular online business press to establish their professional brands in similar ways.

At one of Israel's top print and online financial news sources, TheMarker, a group of five brokers and one forex technology provider consolidated forces and launched a new campaign together. A new section now appears on the website under the name "new arena," (forex brokerage firms are described as trading arenas under the new law) featuring a number of promotional stories from the participating firms.

The website promotes the new section as a special project to introduce the new rules on Forex Trading and clearly states it is "promoted content." For this level of exposure it can be assumed the group paid well over the price for a normal banner ad, which explains why the firms chose to join forces. All six of the firms' logos are displayed on the main page, but inside the individual stories there are only referrals to the specific firm behind the article. They all seem to start by welcoming the new regulations and proceed to explain why they are the best option under the new situation.

At the same time, AvaTrade's ATrade published a promotional ad linking directly to a lead landing page over at TheMarker's less prominent competitor, Bizportal. While it's hard to know to what extent it's similar for all Israeli readers in this age of targeted ads, it does appear that ATrade's banner ads are also taking much of the site's advertising space. This strategy presents ATrade as the only forex broker for Bizportal's readers, but it could not have been cheap.

There are two likely reasons for the the sudden jump in media spending by the Israeli brokers. Firstly, the Israeli Securities Authority published the list of companies applying for the new license yesterday. The full list includes over twenty brokers - a number much higher than predicted - signaling that the competition is going to be intense. Secondly, as some industry players said that the intention of the regulators is to kill the market, the brokers want to show that they do not fear the new requirements and are determined to thrive in the new environment.

Screenshot of BizPortal

Screenshot of BizPortal

The Israeli Forex industry is taking steps to better integrate into the country's financial landscape ahead of the securities law changes coming into effect.

A number of local brokers in Israel have turned to the country's popular online business press to establish their professional brands in similar ways.

At one of Israel's top print and online financial news sources, TheMarker, a group of five brokers and one forex technology provider consolidated forces and launched a new campaign together. A new section now appears on the website under the name "new arena," (forex brokerage firms are described as trading arenas under the new law) featuring a number of promotional stories from the participating firms.

The website promotes the new section as a special project to introduce the new rules on Forex Trading and clearly states it is "promoted content." For this level of exposure it can be assumed the group paid well over the price for a normal banner ad, which explains why the firms chose to join forces. All six of the firms' logos are displayed on the main page, but inside the individual stories there are only referrals to the specific firm behind the article. They all seem to start by welcoming the new regulations and proceed to explain why they are the best option under the new situation.

At the same time, AvaTrade's ATrade published a promotional ad linking directly to a lead landing page over at TheMarker's less prominent competitor, Bizportal. While it's hard to know to what extent it's similar for all Israeli readers in this age of targeted ads, it does appear that ATrade's banner ads are also taking much of the site's advertising space. This strategy presents ATrade as the only forex broker for Bizportal's readers, but it could not have been cheap.

There are two likely reasons for the the sudden jump in media spending by the Israeli brokers. Firstly, the Israeli Securities Authority published the list of companies applying for the new license yesterday. The full list includes over twenty brokers - a number much higher than predicted - signaling that the competition is going to be intense. Secondly, as some industry players said that the intention of the regulators is to kill the market, the brokers want to show that they do not fear the new requirements and are determined to thrive in the new environment.

Screenshot of BizPortal

Screenshot of BizPortal

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