The NFTs space may be down significantly from its all-time highs, but brands and loyalty programs looking to engage fans in new ways can still find value. Steve Kaczynski is co-author of The Everything Token and community lead for Starbucks Odyssey.
He said the company will expand “brand anchors” in closed areas such as rewards programs in 2024. “I think we’re going to see a lot of community-based brand building this year,” he shared on TechCrunch’s Ripple Reaction podcast .
Starbucks launches Starbucks Odyssey 2022, its first foray into the web3 world. TechCrunch previously said the experience combines the company’s Starbucks Rewards loyalty program with NFTs to enhance customer experience coverage .
“We’re able to help people find their tribe,” Kaczynski said. “I found that the people who live in the Starbucks Odyssey community in California are very good friends with the people in Chicago, and they sometimes meet in real life. Without web3, this would never have happened.”
The loyalty program has a five-tier system, with more than 58,000 active participants at least in level one, Kaczynski said. “I can assure you that these people are not mostly or all web3 natives…it’s not just web3 people involved.”
Kaczynski said those who reached level five of the program purchased a “considerable amount” from the secondary market. In December, for example, Starbucks announced it would send the first 20 participants to Costa Rica to visit the farms where the coffee giant produces its beans.
There are other “third-party utilities” that can be developed through NFTs, not just by big companies like Starbucks or Nike, but also by local businesses who want to start loyalty programs or use tickets as an asset they can anchor and incentivize.
Kaczynski gave an example: Let’s say food brand Hot Pockets launched a promotion that offered players a 20% discount if they purchased the brand’s Fortnite skin and connected it to a crypto wallet. “Buyers are happy, eaters are happy, they’re getting discounts and they’re in the ecosystem,” he said. “This person is not just a gamer, they are an active gamer who is engaged and willing to spend their disposable income on third-party things.”
Kaczynski said that when people think of NFTs, they often think of just expensive pictures of monkeys on the internet — which, to be fair, is also part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club — but there’s a lot more value in owning an NFT.
“Imagine you walk into a museum and see a beautiful painting on the wall. You can take a picture of that painting, but it’s not worth anything. The painting on the wall is worth money because the museum owns it, it’s The original, they can prove both of those things,” Kaczynski said. “Until recently, you couldn’t do that with digital products,” until NFTs came along.
Brands and companies have the ability to buy and sell, Kaczynski said, and “really having loyalty is a new concept that makes it less one-sided.” “While not all community members are involved in buying and selling… I think it’s important for a lot of people to have that option.”
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