#31: Mazda Releases NFTs, Avenged Sevenfold Pioneers Fan Loyalty Program

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TL;DR

1. Mazda: Releases NFTs as Part of Yoki Origins Project

2. Avenged Sevenfold: Launches ‘Season Pass’ Fan Loyalty Program

3. Cartier: Unveils Snapchat AR Try-On for their Trinity Ring

4. Universal Music Group: Hosts Live Artist Meet & Greet on Roblox

Around the Block…

1. Mazda: Releases NFTs as Part of Yoki Origins Project

• Mazda made its entry into NFTs as part of the Yoki Origins project

• The Yoki Origins project is the launch campaign of Astar zkEVM, a Polygon-powered Ethereum layer 2 blockchain solution

  • The project launched on March 7th & will run through May - where participants will interact with the digital experience to collect NFTs with ‘traditional Japanese aesthetics’ by engaging with ‘YoPorts’ (which are similar to IRL Japanese gatcha prize machines) to climb the leaderboard

• Mazda’s entry into the project went live on April 4th & includes 10 distinct artwork pieces available as NFTs through the experience

• They follow Casio, Japan Airlines & other brands who are also integrated into the project

• Sources: NFT Plazas / Yoki Origins / Astar

2. Avenged Sevenfold: Launches ‘Season Pass’ Fan Loyalty Program

• Since launching a 10,000-piece NFT collection, ‘Deathbats Club’, in December 2021 the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold has focused on using blockchain technology to reward their fans

• They have now launched a new loyalty program called ‘Season Pass’ that rewards fans points for completing band-related actions such as streaming music & buying NFC-chipped merchandise

  • ‘Season Pass’ is built on Polygon & includes 25 loyalty tiers, represented by NFTs that are unlocked when points thresholds are reached

  • Loyalty tiers come with perks such as merchandise discounts, access to songs, & the ultimate prize of a band meet & greet

• Sources: Avenged Sevenfold / Decrypt / nft now

3. Cartier: Unveils Snapchat AR Try-On for their Trinity Ring

• Cartier partnered with Snapchat to create a new AR try-on experience for rings - specifically launching a lens to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of their Trinity ring

• Snapchat states that they developed new ray tracing & hand tracking technology for the experience making ‘it more precise & life-like than ever before’

• Sources: Snap

4. Universal Music Group: Hosts Live Artist Meet & Greet on Roblox

• Universal Music Group (UMG) originally launched their Roblox experience, ‘Beat Galaxy’ in December 2024 - a space centered on bringing music discovery to the metaverse, which has 1.2M visits to date

• On March 28th, UMG hosted a live artists meet & greet with UK artist Mae Stephens inside Beat Galaxy

• Fans were able to ask Mae questions, to which she was able to respond in real-time using Roblox’s new audio API & dynamic heads technology

• Sources: LinkedIn (Supersocial Inc.) / Roblox (Beat Galaxy) / Universal Music Group 

Chain Reactions!

• Mazda’s New NFTs & The Japanese Market

  • Mazda’s integration into the Yoki Origins project seems like an easy way for them to get into the NFT space without a huge lift

  • As mentioned above, Yoki Origins has incorporated other Japanese brands, as well as creators, into the overall project

  • With Nissan’s metaverse car buying experience covered in last week’s issue tailored to the Tokyo market, it’s interesting to see Mazda jumping into the space. While Asian markets have clearly led much digital innovation, it’s interesting to notice a few notable activations coming out of Japan (including Japanese Airlines NFT unlocked experiences that launched in February).

• Avenged Sevenfold Leading the Way

  • After looking into Avenged Sevenfold’s activations, I am very impressed with their innovation & excitement to lean into tech

  • Their efforts in rewarding their Deathbats Club NFT holders & creating a Loyalty program enabled by blockchain tech showcase the best of what web3 technology can bring to the mainstream in rewarding dedicated fans & advocates

  • The platform & how to participate could still be clearer for the novice, but true fans will likely be willing to figure it out & can lean on their community for help. It will take even simpler interfaces & instruction to pull the masses in, but this is a great start to show other entertainers, artists, & brands what is possible

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.