Today’s and tomorrow’s US consumers are more interested in acquiring experiences than possessions. That’s the conventional marketing intelligence wisdom as we move into the mid-2020s and Gen-Z becomes a more powerful and influential buying demographic.
It is a trend of which marketers across every industry need to take note, from leisure to automotive to real estate. But in particular, it is something that the sports sector can truly leverage to ensure the loyalty of the next generation of fans and enthusiasts.
After all, pro sport as an entertainment commodity is all about experience. Here we look at how providers can use crypto and blockchain technology to make that experience better for young, discerning fans – and maybe some older ones, too!
What you'll learn 👉
Fan tokens create tighter communities
Soccer – or football as it is known outside North America – is the most popular sport on the planet. It was the first to see top teams garner truly international fanbases. That’s something that is now more common with, for example, NFL teams, but long before Raiders and Browns shirts became big sellers in Europe, fans were cheering on the likes of Manchester United and Juventus in the most improbable corners of the world.
Here’s an area in which crypto can do a lot to enhance the fan experience. Juventus and FC Barcelona were the first teams to issue their own digital tokens, and since then, several others have followed suit including Arsenal, Paris St Germain, Manchester City and Inter Milan.
Fans can use tokens to purchase tickets and merchandise, but more importantly, they can also make their voices heard with voting rights on club-related decisions. It helps to create the community spirit that can otherwise be lacking when fan and team are separated by thousands of miles.
Blockchain poker blurs the pro/amateur distinction
Phil Ivey is often referred to as the Tiger Woods of Poker, and there is an argument that Vanessa Selbst is the sport’s Serena Williams. They, alongside other greats like Daniel Negreanu and Liv Boeree have cemented poker’s status as a sport.
Live games at a physical table get all the attention from ESPN, but the truth is that there are many pros who play exclusively online, and do so with great success. It presents an easy forum for aspiring amateurs to test their skills against the pros without having to find the four-figure buy-ins to take them on at the table in Vegas.
In fact, some 60 million Americans play poker online, but that figure would certainly be lower without the option of blockchain poker sites. These make online poker tournaments accessible to US players regardless of where they are based as there are none of the complications related to bank transfer regulations that can crop up in certain US states.
Crypto and eSport creating a virtuous circle
Crypto and eSport are natural bedfellows, appealing to largely the same male, tech-savvy 20-something demographic. The fact that FTX was so heavily involved in so many eSport projects has proved to be something of an own-goal with hindsight, but that should not blind us to the broader congruences.
As Web3 becomes front and center of the online experience, crypto and eSport will naturally become more intertwined, in every aspect of the experience, from defining the next generation of eSport games (CSGO and League of Legends will not go on forever) to marketing and promotion. eSport is also a natural outlet for self-tokenization, like that described in the case of European soccer teams earlier.
NFTs are also a potential revenue generator for eSport teams. Since quietly dropping the FTX logo from its name and branding, Team TSM has experimented with these and other digital revenue generators. TSM player Wang believes this is where the future lies and said: “We do believe that over time, people will create a lot of fundamental value through NFTs, crypto, and blockchain.”
