In early 2024, MoneyLion’s marketing team members started chatting with MrBeast and his brand partnership team. MoneyLion lets users do mobile banking or take out personal loans directly from their app. They wanted to get involved in Jimmy Donaldson’s next venture, The Beast Games, the largest reality show in recorded history.
“It just made sense when we started talking about it,” Tim Binder, Head of Brand Marketing at MoneyLion, told Passionfruit. “He wants to do the biggest cash giveaway in entertainment history. Why not make MoneyLion a part of that and be able to contribute and have a huge impact on the American audience?”
It was an obvious choice after conversations with team MrBeast and Amazon and learning “how much they were putting into” the show. Binder says MoneyLion knew this was “going to be a chance for us to really breakthrough on a large scale with millions of people in a short amount of time.”
MrBeast has taken advantage of his status as the world’s largest YouTuber with multiple brand deals. His dealings include everything from a toy line to a collaboration with Resorts World Casino in Las Vegas. Though MrBeast’s mascot is a blue tiger, instead of a lion, giveaways for large amounts of money brought the two brands together.
“[Donaldson’s] goal was to be able to do the biggest giveaway in entertainment history,” Binder said. “He was very adamant that we need to give it away. And the way we did that was by making sure that we gave the viewers at home the chance to win.”
What Does a Deal With MrBeast Look Like?
MrBeast and MoneyLion eventually made a deal. MoneyLion would sponsor a $4.2 million sweepstakes. Viewers entered by scanning a QR code during episodes of the Beast Games. According to the company, over 1,000 prizes will be awarded to account holders over eight drawings through November.
MoneyLion placed ads with Donaldson all over the country. The ads took over the New York City subway for a few weeks (and haunted my rides with Donaldson’s face). Binder would not share how much MoneyLion spent on the total activation.
However, according to Binder, the partnership has already proven to be successful. MoneyLion says three and a half million people entered the giveaway. More importantly, “at one point,” the giveaway increased their daily active users by 135 percent. “We’re keeping people. They aren’t just leaving; they’re sticking around and watching our content.”
To that end, by his own admission, Donaldson’s content is primarily aimed at teens and younger viewers. Accordingly, a banking app seems like an odd marketing partner. Industry watchdogs told the AP that apps like these “just put people in a debt trap.”
“At the core of the actual partnership, we were trying to reach an audience of hard-working Americans, to inform them of our brand and let them know of our service and the fact that we’re trying to make money easy for all of them,” Binder said.
The MoneyLion/MrBeast Partnership Will Continue Post Beast Games
The production of Beast Games was also fraught with controversy. According to the NY Times, contestants on the Las Vegas prequel that premiered on the MrBeast YouTube channel (which MoneyLion also sponsored) were underfed, injured, and had their medication withheld.
A MrBeast spokesperson told the outlet that “the shoot “was unfortunately complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather, and other unexpected logistical and communications issues.”
In addition, filming the main show in Toronto was also complicated. Rolling Stone reported that some crew members were overworked, underfed, and injured.
“I can’t comment on the production specifically because we weren’t part of it,” Binder said. “But I can say we reviewed those things, it was discussed as part of the partnership.”
As part of the partnership, MoneyLion wanted to make sure their ads were “integrated into the actual flow of the show itself,” Binder said. But just the happy parts. During “sensitive” moments, like people losing a lot of money or getting eliminated, MoneyLion stayed away. According to Binder, they “wanted to avoid being around those moments so the viewers can really appreciate it.”
MoneyLion is continuing its campaign with MrBeast, with seven more drawings planned throughout the year. Though he couldn’t reveal what’s coming next, Binder promised it would be “fun and entertaining, the way MrBeast would do it.”
