Basketball Forever, an Australian basketball media company, is using NFTs to significantly improve fan engagement.
What’s inside?
The Hоop Hounds non-fungible token (NFT) project, announced by Australian basketball media Basketball Forever, serves to build up NBA audience engagement and provide real-world utility for the NFTs. This approach will be part of a four-year successful experience in building the audience for the project.
Critics of NFTs have constantly targeted the tokens’ allegedly ineffective nature, with “right-click save” memes widespread. However, there has also been an increase in utility-focused NFT ventures, such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club and Top Shot, in which holders get exclusive access to real-world events and items.
The Basketball Forever’s collection will consist of 8888 unique “hounds” that will display various basketball personalities, including those from the NBA. Moreover, the tokens will have the appearance of animated canines with unique traits of different rarity. According to the company, they expect the collection to be released within the next 6 weeks.
Real-world value
The Basketball Forever founder Alex Sumsky is certain that NFTs are more than just a JPG. Furthermore, such technologies open up new ways to increase the audience of the project, but also provide real value.
An example of such value is a feature that not all NFT collections can boast of. Anyone who mints NFT from the “Hoop Hound” collection will be able to get physical fan memorabilia and other merch. For instance, you can get a specific element of your NFT or become a participant in a trip to an NBA league game.
“The bigger play is phase 2 of our roadmap — the ownership of the hound gives users access to daily pools of merchandise, memorabilia and cash prizes that all play out in the form of a fan engagement app,” said Sumsky
Forever Network has already implemented a popular non-blockchain app project. The V.O.A.T app awards users with prizes for the right responses to NBA-related questions.
The founder of the “Hoop Hound” collection does not conceal his enthusiasm for a new field of endeavor, and he comments on the potential that arises in this manner: “NFTs and digital providence give companies and organizations like Forever Network the ability to learn more about what our users are looking for when it comes to engaging with the sport they love, but more importantly, it allows us to streamline delivery of real-life items and experiences.”
NFTs are getting increasingly popular year after year, and are now being discussed all around the world. It’s worth noting that, according to Collins Dictionary, the “NFT” has been designated as the word of the year for 2021.