Tessa Pettman of Block: Marketing Bitcon Wallets & Empowering Self-Custody

In this episode of "CMO Weekly," host Hayley Clover interviews Tessa Pettman, Marketing Lead for Block, a Bitcoin self-custody wallet. Tessa discusses her career path, transitioning from journalism to public affairs and technology marketing, and her current role in the fintech and crypto industries. She shares insights from her pivotal role in developing Wise's brand identity and her experience leading marketing strategy for Block.

The conversation delves into Tessa's initial challenges and learning curve when entering the crypto space, emphasizing the importance of understanding the technology. She explains Block's "2 of 3 Multi-Signature Self-Custody wallet for Bitcoin," highlighting how it allows users to truly own their Bitcoin by controlling private keys and offering a recovery solution if keys are lost. Tessa also details Block's mobile pay feature, which allows users to set daily spending limits for Bitcoin transactions, providing a balance between security and convenience.

Tessa explains how her past experiences, particularly from Wise, have influenced her marketing strategy at Block, focusing on bold messaging to cut through the noise and grab consumers' attention. She discusses Block's "lose your seed phrase and keep your Bitcoin" campaign, which directly addresses a common pain point in self-custody and aims to promote Block's secure multi-signature solution.

A significant challenge in marketing crypto products, Tessa notes, is tailoring messaging for two distinct audiences: end-users who may not be highly technical and highly influential, tech-savvy individuals (like developers) who impact purchasing decisions. Block addresses this by maintaining separate communication strategies, including a developer blog with in-depth technical information and white papers.

In the rapid-fire question round, Tessa shares her desire to have dinner with her great-grandmother, names Rio de Janeiro as her favorite city, and admits to being a cautious gambler. She predicts that in 30 years, people will be nostalgic about the current workforce and jobs that may no longer have a human element. Tessa also discusses her side hustle managing games for a traveling members' club called Planet Caravan, featuring "chaos croquet". She recommends watching the brand development of "Nolo," a UK-based non-alcoholic beverage startup.