029: Mastercard Leverages Web3 Tech at Golf Event

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TL;DR

1. Mastercard: Elevates Fan Experience with Web3 Tech at Golf Event

2. e.l.f Cosmetics: Brings Reese’s Book Club into Roblox Experience

3. PacSun: Celebrates Roblox 1st Anniversary with Slick Rick Collab

4. Absolut: Launches Metaverse Experience in Spatial

Around the Block…

1. Mastercard: Elevates Fan Experience with Web3 Tech at Golf Event

• In its 20th year as presenting sponsor of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Mastercard leveraged innovative & blockchain-backed technology to create new experiences for visitors of the Florida event

• Activations included:

  • A Connected Golf Hat - 2,000 NFC chip-embedded hats were given away to cardholders, creating an easy way for them to access NFT content captured at the event

  • An NFT Scavenger Hunt - Cardholders could claim four digital collectibles for the opportunity to win prizes & access passes to the 2025 tournament; To participate, visitors needed to set up a MoonPay digital wallet & tap their mobile device at each of the four collectible stalls placed around the event

• All NFTs were minted to the Polygon blockchain

• The experiences were part of Mastercard’s ‘Pass to Priceless’ platform, which intends to enhance experiences using blockchain tech to grant access, exclusivity, & rewards to cardholders; Other experiences by Mastercard include the ongoing 2024 UEFA Champions League play-to-win experience & their Artist Accelerator program

• Sources: Priceless / Global Golf Post / LinkedIn (Adam Polansky)

2. e.l.f Cosmetics: Brings Brand Partnerships into Roblox Experience

• e.l.f launched their Roblox experience, ‘e.l.f. UP’ early November, garnering over 8.5M visits in five months

• In a similar approach to Paris Hilton’s ‘Slivingland’ and Karlie Kloss’ ‘Klossette’ - e.l.f is looking to leverage their space to highlight & possibly monetize brand partnerships

• Recently, the brand collaborated with canned water brand Liquid Death on IRL makeup called ‘Corpse Paint’ which sold out in 45 minutes; To support the collab, e.l.f had a 24-hour takeover in its Roblox experience where they gave away Liquid Death cans as UGC in-game accessories

• Now, they’ve announced a partnership to feature Reese’s Book Club in their space - the activation includes a game where players can collect missing books & create their own bookshop, along with interacting with digital versions of Reese’s Neices, Abby James & Draper

• Sources: Roblox (e.l.f UP) / Inc / LinkedIn (E.L.F BEAUTY)

3. PacSun: Celebrates Roblox 1st Anniversary with Slick Rick Collab

• PacSun updated their ‘Los Angeles Tycoon’ Roblox experience - partnering with rapper Slick Rick on new content & merchandise

• The experience, which focuses on users building their own versions of Southern California neighborhoods, has driven over 11M visits to date

• Updates include the ability to listen to Slick Rick’s music while playing, as well as interact with his avatar to complete quests & earn digital wearable accessories

• The partnership also includes the launch of four limited-edition physical merchandise pieces

• Sources: Roblox (PacSun Los Angeles Tycoon) /PacSun / PR Newswire

4. Absolut: Launches Metaverse Experience in Spatial

• The Vodka brand introduced its new metaverse experience, dubbed ‘ABSOLUT.LAND’ which is hosted on Spatial - part of a festival season marketing push around Coachella

• The experience, which is gated to 21+ audiences, includes a mixology game, a virtual dance floor, & a space to watch Absolut’s latest content mini-series ‘Mixing It Up: Cosmos & Culture’ hosted by Matt Rogers

• Sources: Spatial (ABSOLUT.LAND) / Absolut / PR Newswire

Chain Reactions!

• Roblox Monetization: I love what e.l.f Cosmetics has been doing since launching their Roblox experience late last year. After quickly amassing 1M visits, they have continued to build on momentum & create compelling experiences to drive additional visits. With over 11M visits currently, they have created an avenue to help promote IRL product sales & also built a new revenue stream that offers their space as a place to integrate brands for exposure to an engaged audience

• Mastercard Quietly Using Web3 Tech: In my opinion, Mastercard has flown under the radar with its Web3 experiences. After looking into them more, I am impressed with their approach to their ‘Pass to Priceless’ program—leveraging NFT / NFC tech to create compelling experiences that are not possible without these technologies. They have subtly introduced Web3 tech using compelling IRL rewards to drive participation & more mainstream adoption (ex: tickets to UEFA football matches, passes for next year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational)

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