Blockchain technology not only is at the heart of cryptocurrencies, but it also supports the burgeoning field of nonfungible tokens (NFTs), the authenticated digital assets that can be bought and sold like other forms of property. While NFTs have been mostly associated with digital art, they also have applications in sports marketing.
Turner Sports, a division of WarnerMedia, will soon launch an app version of its NFT-based golf game called “Blocklete Games.” The game lets players buy an NFT of an athlete, and increase its value by reaching more advanced levels.
Source: BlockleteGames.com, Turner Sports
“One of the great things about sports is that you have an avid fanbase. What we’re looking to do with technology, NFTs and community is to create a new way of engaging in the storytelling of sports,” Yang Adija, senior vice president of digital league business operations, growth and innovation at Turner Sports, said in this interview with Beet.TV.
“It allows us to take sports engagement with fans to a different level,” he said. “Not only are they watching the sport that they love, but they also are in a place where they can be part of it.”
Adija sees an opportunity for marketers to participate in the creation of unique NFT assets for digital avatars in the virtual games.
“It’s not just looking to sell inventory, but it can be application of NFT wearables that their avatars can wear within games that are brand-sponsored or brand-driven that we think has a tremendous amount of opportunities,” he said.
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