019: .SWOOSH Gives Platform Update, GameStop Officially Closing Marketplace

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TLDR:

1. Nike: .SWOOSH Blog Post Gives Insight to Platform’s Future

2. Vegas Golden Knights: Announce NFT Partnership with Theta Labs

3. Mercedes-Benz: Previews In-Car Assistant & NFT App at CES

4. PepsiCo: Enters Roblox for First Time with bubly Sweepstakes

5. GameStop: Shutting Down Their NFT Marketplace Early February

Around the Block…

• Nike: .SWOOSH Blog Post Gives Insight to Platform’s Future

  • The .SWOOSH team posted a blog update last week sharing some details of the path ahead for their platform; summarized, .SWOOSH will:

    • Continue to focus on virtual products & ‘joy of collecting’

    • Expand offerings in video games, including in-game wearables that ‘unlock physical apparel & footwear’ IRL

    • Focus on ease for the consumer, developing a way to link game accounts to an individual’s Nike profile to validate item ownership & use items in-world

    • Focus on storytelling, mentioning they will not be starting their own marketplace to sell collectibles on their platform

    • Allow transferring of digital collectibles/NFTs to user wallets that live outside of the Nike ecosystem - enabling the buy/sell/trade of their collectible items. This will also allow collaborators to collect royalties on collectible sales

  • Sources: .SWOOSH

• Vegas Golden Knights: Announce NFT Partnership with Theta Labs

  • The hockey team revealed a partnership with web3 infrastructure company Theta Labs & will be releasing NFTs for free to fans via the ThetaDrop NFT marketplace

  • While full details are limited, the Golden Knights NFTs will be free to fans - both in-person & online - during home games

  • Some of the NFTs will unlock access to exclusive team memorabilia, game tickets, & other experiential perks

  • Sources: NHL 

• Mercedes-Benz: Previews In-Car Assistant & NFT App at CES

  • The luxury car company showcased its new ‘MBUX Virtual Assistant’ that will use generative AI & 3D game engine graphics to personalize & enhance user experience

  • Mercedes-Benz also announced a growing app library - including the ‘first in-car app to showcase NFTs’

  • Sources: Mercedes-Benz

• PepsiCo: Enters Roblox for First Time with bubly Sweepstakes

  • The activation called ‘Avatar Adventure Sweepstakes’ showcasing PepsiCo’s sparkling water brand, bubly, marks the first time the conglomerate has entered Roblox

  • Participants must visit the bubly site to create an account & link their Roblox profile - upon completion, they can enter a sweepstakes to win an IRL bubly swag bag or a year of free bubly

  • Upon entering the sweepstakes, players can visit the ‘Paint the Town bubly’ mini-game that lives within third-party Pixel Playground’s ‘GAMESHOW’ environment to claim a free Roblox ‘UGC’ headwear accessory of the bubly lime can

  • Sources: bubly / Flaunt Loyalty

• GameStop: Shutting Down Their NFT Marketplace Early February

  • The marketplace will close as of February 2, 2024. Per their website, they mention ‘the continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space’ as the reason

  • The GameStop NFT marketplace opened February 2022

  • To many, this sunsetting did not come as a surprise since the company first announced it was scaling back its support for crypto efforts in late 2022 amid financial struggles

  • Sources: GameStop / IGN / GameSpot

Chain Reactions!

Project Life Cycles Emerging

• Varying Stages: With brands leaning into blockchain-based initiatives for a few years now, those early to place footing are in a spot to continue, re-imagine, or halt their plans. Although GameStop opted to stop building on their early NFT aspirations, many other brands are just entering the space or doubling down on their efforts based on the technology's potential.

• The Mess: While it is inevitable we see activations that are publicly halted or quietly (in some cases loudly) fizzle, it is a testament to the early stages of exploration. We are currently in the mess of it all; brands are imagining & testing possibilities to figure out where & how technologies can fit into the customer lifecycle & long-term business strategies. The risk of bypassing this stage is the possibility of being left behind.

• Finding Your Strategy: While GameStop’s marketplace & crypto efforts may not be aligned with their current strategy & needs, that doesn’t mean marketplace value as a whole is falling. Many viable use cases can be created to generate short- or long-term engagement for brands. As we are still in the messy early days, it is important that marketers see past headlines of shutdowns or crypto slides & look broader to evaluate the potential technologies can bring to customer experiences.

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.