Despite FTX and Crypto Winter NFTs Are the Future of Fan Engagement

Forget “crypto winter” and the collapse of FTX, blockchain technology is still the future of customer relationship management (CRM) and holds the key to unleashing amplified consumer/fan engagement in the world of sport. Many leading consulting firms, including Accenture
ACN
Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and McKinsey & Company have published research reports expressing positive opinions on the potential of blockchain technology and NFTs to transform the way sports teams and leagues promote fan loyalty.

The reason, according to their research, is that blockchain technology provides valuable tools for both the issuer of the token (NFT) and the recipient. For the transmitter, this improves the quality of data on its fans. For the recipient (the fan), blockchain technology, through NFTs, provides these fans with unprecedented benefits that they can actually own, trade or sell in a controlled marketplace.

And it’s coming faster than you think. The main obstacle to mass adoption was the need to create a crypto wallet such as Metamask which required some knowledge of cryptocurrency. As a result, adoption was limited to a rabid but niche community. However, recent advances in technology have made adoption frictionless and simplify the issuance and collection of these NFTs for anyone, even those with no knowledge of cryptocurrency or setting up a “wallet” traditional.

Think of an NFT simply as a receptacle or the connective tissue for everything a fan values, whether it’s digital goods or access (collectibles and admission to special places in the metaverse) or things in the real world such as tickets, merchandise, food and drink, experiences and even voting rights. The beauty of issuing these assets in the form of an NFT is that they are recorded on the blockchain and can be used, traded or sold by fans in a market created by the issuer.

For the issuer, the “portfolio” provides a treasure trove of data that helps them understand the fan better and they learn from the “portfolio” the behavior patterns of their fans, which allows the issuer to better understand them and to provide incentives to engage in the desired conduct.

It has its origins in the collectible space fueled by the smash hit of Dapper Labs NBA Top Shots. Dapper and the NFL have teamed up on a similar project called NFL “All Day” that allow fans watching a game to own collectible moments.

FIFA has also entered the space by partnering with the Algorand blockchain
ALGO
to launch their FIFA+Collect program which allows fans to own digital collectibles featuring iconic moments from the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup, claiming to affect 3 to 5 billion people.

However, the collapse of the digital collectibles market has set many of these players back. NBA Top Shots creators Dapper Labs just laid off 22% of their employees as the collectibles market crashed etcandy Digital, a division of fanatics, did the same with 1/3 of its employees

Despite all of this, the market opportunity is ripe for growth, as attention shifts from NFTs as mere collectibles to NFTs representing the fan’s right to “own” the most engaging and fun things. precious to him, often sometimes through dynamic playful experiences. NFTs will unlock the fan’s right to own, trade or sell these assets in a controlled marketplace for the first time and will be used to track and reward fans for attending games or events, purchasing merchandise or participated in social media campaigns and could even give them the right to vote on team-related decisions (only at the discretion of the team, of course) This will create a more immersive and interactive experience for fans and will help the team better understand and interact with their audience. It all happens and it’s just a matter of speed.