4 examples of NFT marketing in sports

NFT marketing is catching on in the world of sports

Sports are one of the most important entertainment sectors in the world. Attracting billions of fans, they offer great economic potential and are an attractive playing field for new marketing ideas. Against this backdrop, more and more sporting disciplines, leagues, teams, clubs, and athletes are now embracing NFT marketing. The following four examples show you how that works and what key role is already being played by blockchain in marketing.

#1 NFTs and more at Eintracht Frankfurt’s digital subsidiary EintrachtTech

In 2019, the German soccer club Eintracht Frankfurt specifically set up a separate subsidiary to take care of its digital projects: EintrachtTech has since launched the Internet of Things digital center (“Arena of IoT”) and has also been responsible for further developing the mainaqila app, which is the central point for fans to access the club’s digital content. EintrachtTech recently attracted attention with its blockchain project, which involved replacing the stadium’s seats ahead of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season and tokenizing the old ones. Fans could then buy tokens for these on the Polygon blockchain – the digital assets being just as unique as their physical counterparts. With this project, EintrachtTech has creatively leveraged blockchain for its marketing efforts and is setting new standards in sports marketing.

#2 FANtium – NFTs are turning fans into sponsors

FANtium is a platform that enables athletes to easily connect with fans who want to financially support their career and receive profit shares in return in the form of NFTs. For that purpose, the athletes first define what fan benefits they want to offer and what percentage of their future prize money they want to tokenize. Fans can then purchase these tokens, help the athletes grow their careers, and potentially secure a very profitable share of their earnings.

#3 NBA Top Shot – NFT marketing celebrates special NBA moments

In the U.S., the NBA basketball association has already been trading NFT collectibles for years. On the NBA Top Shot marketplace, videos of legendary moments in NBA history are sold as NFTs. The number of highlights is limited to varying extents, meaning that especially rare content is extremely valuable. As is common for NFTs though, the prices are based on how much money users bid during a resale. While some video NFTs will only sell for a few dollars in this digital space, top sales can generate up to 230,000 dollars or more.

#4 Funded by NFTs: Laura-Marie Geissler’s racing team

The racer Laura-Marie Geissler is funding her career by selling NFTs. With her NFT marketing, she also wants to pave the way for other women in the male-dominated world of motorsports. To achieve that, she formed the LMG GT No.1 team. Her NFT marketing strategy gives her a certain level of independence from traditional sponsorship models. For that purpose, she auctions off things like a 360° image of her car, digital racing suits, and helmets as NFTs.

NFTs in sports marketing: creative ideas with a practical benefit

Whether for sponsoring a racing team or selling unique fan items – NFTs are already being used in various ways in sports marketing. Blockchain technology is opening up a wealth of potential applications, and some sports clubs, teams, leagues, etc., have become real pioneers in this area.

If you want to learn more about NFT marketing, we highly recommend the presentation “5 steps for brands entering the NFT space” delivered at DMEXCO 2022 by the expert Diego Borgo.

Web3 topics will again be a focus of this year’s event. So be sure to get your DMEXCO ticket before it’s too late!