GM Frens,
NFTs are taking the world by storm. Despite the conceptual nature of these digital tokens, the hype doesn’t seem to be slowing down – and the event sector is paying attention.
A market that is already expected to reach £60 billion by 2026, the online ticketing industry is entering the metaverse – and for good reason. Benefitting both organisers and ticket holders alike, event professionals are now able to harness the excitement they’re generating to promote engagement, build anticipation and offer a whole new element of ownership unlike we’ve ever seen before.
Now onboard is none other than the NBA. They have auctioned tickets for their 30 teams as NFTs, alongside digital programs, trading cards and other memorabilia. In addition, the lucky auction winner will also be granted VIP access to all the star games for the next 5 years. But the benefits don’t stop there… in the end, every NFT ticket bought for events like the NBAs represents a new ‘collectible’ piece of memorabilia for buyers to hold on to as a keepsake or keep as a collectible item to exchange in the years to come. Think of it like those Top Trumps you collected at school – but scaled up, and with incredible futuristic creative to go with it.
Underscore x Global Titans
This is a space that we at Underscore have been increasingly excited about as we recently partnered with ROQU Media, the company behind some of the world’s most exciting and inspirational live events including “The Showcase in the skies of Dubai” this weekend featuring fighters including Floyd Mayweather and Anderson Silva on the helipad of the world-famous Burj Al Arab.
We were given the task to produce the assets to turn this event into the world’s first NFT ticketed pay-per-view Livestream event, and to launch the Global Titans Fight Series.
Our approach
To ensure the end-product aligned with the target audience demographic, we needed to study traditional sporting tickets and memorabilia, as well as the world of sporting NFTs. The product needed to span both traditional sports fans and those who are already embedded in Web3. By creating multiple mood boards and hosting an international digital workshop, we consolidated a style and narrative that aligned with the vision of the client and managed to push our creativity to the next level by taking advantage of a host of new technologies.
The tickets
The individual fighters formed the focal point of each ticket within a 3D representation of the iconic location. Unlike a physical ticket, which let’s face it, would most likely end up in the washing machine by mistake – this digital token encourages a community like no other. Fans are able to meet on the Global Titans Discord, win prizes and get early access to upcoming Global Titans Fight Series events – way before anybody else.
With the helipad under construction and the event in such a short time frame, we had to work quickly and with multiple stakeholders to find ways to each element required. For the 3D video, the concept was centered around the event ticket being blown over Dubai by the wind, and landing on the helipad in the middle of the boxing ring.
The result was that we created a total of 11 NFTs, 3D Objects and fly-through renders – as well as multiple promotional videos to create the assets for the pay-per-view event.
Maybe next time we’ll make the cut of one of the lucky 80 allowed to watch the match as VIP!? One can only dream…