011: Sports Activations Taking Web3 Mainstream

Introducing:

Brands on the Block’s Activation Repository

We’re making it easy to look back at innovative brand activations. Introducing our activation repository! Information will be refreshed weekly & can be sorted by industry, date, technologies, partners, etc.

Click here to check it out.

Around the Block…

• ATP Tennis: Is partnering with art platform, Artchild, and artist, Honor Titus, to launch a customizable NFT collection for the ATP tour finals beginning November 12th. Fans will be able to choose designs from the artist’s work, put their unique ‘spin’ on the piece, & print and / or mint the piece as a digital collectible (NFT) via Polygon (Art Child).

• AC Milan: In partnership with FANBLOCK, is selling NFTs associated with 1×1 yard ‘blocks’ of their playing field. Owners of NFTs will be able to earn points when in-game moments that take place on their blocks - ex: a goal from the specific 1×1 yard area. Points collected will unlock reward experiences including - live match tickets, meeting former players, and memorabilia (FANBLOCK).

• Adidas / Bugatti: Partnered on a limited-edition connected football boot - er, soccer cleat. The boot, called the ‘adidas x Crazyfast Bugatti’, will have 99 pairs up for auction on the adidas Collect platform from November 8th-11th. People who successfully bid, will receive a digital shoebox NFT & will be able to redeem the box for the physical pair & corresponding digital twin NFT. The boot will include a custom box that will have a NFC chip for linking (Adidas).

• Manolo Blahnik: Launched ‘The Craft’, an addition to their virtual archive experience that story tells the craftmanship behind their shoes, accessible on their website as of early October. They have also partnered with Xydrobe in London, to showcase the now soldout experience in one-person immersive multi-sensory virtual reality units (Manolo Blahnik / Xydrobe).

• H&M Group: Unveiled an AI functionality within their print-on-demand manufacturing platform, Creator Studio. The new functionality allows imagery to be created via text prompt for on-apparel printing (Creator Studio / Fashion United).

• Chuck E. Cheese: Partnered with VeeFriends NFT project and will be bringing VeeFriends animated video content to screens in nearly 500 of their physical locations. Additionally, they’ll be celebrating GaryVee’s 48th birthday at their Brooklyn location which allowed select VeeFriends Series 1 NFT holders spots for themselves and their family members (VeeFriends).

What is…?

• Artchild: A co-creation platform that allows individuals to customize editions of artists’ work - choose an artist’s original work & put a unique spin on it, then mint it as an NFT (Artchild LinkedIn).

• FANBLOCK: Technology provider enabling AC Milan’s pitch ‘block’ activation. Their site touts that they’ll be adding new teams every month (FANBLOCK).

• Xydrobe: A virtual reality destination based in London, the offers ticketed access to luxury multi-sensory experiences (Xydrobe).

• Creator Studio: H&M Group’s on-demand merchandise printing platform. Allows for custom design, creation, printing, & shipping. Purchasers have the opportunity to buy directly or connect to an online store for order production & fulfillment (Creator Studio).

Chain Reactions!

Exciting Happenings in Sports

Both the ATP & AC Milan activations show the true value & creativity blockchain-backed programs can bring. They are positioned in a way that everyday fans can easily participate & get excited about doing so - hiding the complexities of NFTs, wallets, etc. while bringing tangible items & rewards to the forefront.

With avid fans in droves, sports provide an active audience ready to engage. Activations like this - created with a simple interface and strong story - provide an onramp for web2 audiences and will help bring new-school activations to the mainstream.

DISCLAIMER: This content does not contain investment, tax, legal, financial or other advice & is not intended to be used in this way. It includes the opinions of the author & is strictly for informational purposes. Please do your own research.