A giant ad for a corporation familiar to Koreans is drawing attention in the heart of downtown Silicon Valley in the United States. The star is Toss (Viva Republica), one of Korea's leading fintech corporations. Recently, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) posted an ad featuring the Toss logo and slogan on a large billboard.
Toss has recently been hiring AI (artificial intelligence) talent in the United States, and the NYSE is effectively promoting the corporation on its behalf to Americans who are unfamiliar with the Toss brand.
Nasdaq, known along with the NYSE as one of New York's two major exchanges, in Jul. posted an ad on the Times Square electronic billboard congratulating Toss on its 10th anniversary. For the large billboard ads posted by the NYSE and Nasdaq, Toss did not spend a single won in expense.
Although unfamiliar to Koreans, in the United States it is not uncommon to see free ads or promotions for unlisted corporations like this. Under the exchanges' names, they celebrate events such as promising startups' demo days (events for promotion and fundraising) or run campaigns that deliver social messages. While running such corporation ads, the exchanges cultivate an image as platforms that embrace innovation and diversity.
Before Toss, lodging platform Yanolja was selected by the exchanges. In May 2023, Nasdaq surprised the company by running an ad congratulating Yanolja on its acquisition of Israel's travel solutions company GGT (Go Global Travel). Earlier, in 2022, Naver Securities received a congratulatory ad from Nasdaq to mark its move to offer real-time quotes for major U.S. stock indexes and individual stocks to all users for free.
The conditions for these free ads are stricter than one might think. In addition to needing a recommendation from partner institutions such as exchanges, venture capital (VC) firms, or accelerators, major events like mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as in the Yanolja case, are also necessary. Recently, industry opinion holds that corporations recognized as having significant social and industrial impact—such as ESG (environmental, social and governance) or social corporations, and innovative technology corporations—are being chosen by U.S. exchanges.
In Toss's case, as it steps up as a global corporation, it is pushing into the Australian market and has recently been hiring AI-related talent in the United States. Knowing Toss's hiring needs, the exchanges are effectively giving free ads to build a good relationship with Toss.
The fact that Toss is preparing to list on the U.S. stock market also played a role. Because competition between the NYSE and Nasdaq to attract solid listed companies is fierce, forming relationships with corporations is important.
A fintech industry official said, "It appears that, as Toss has been hiring overseas talent to expand globally, U.S. exchanges interested in Toss have gifted the ads."