Panini’s Digital Goods Point Toward Future of Physical Experiences
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By: Matt Bowen
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Panini Americas has the answer to the age-old question — where does the NFT fit in sports? Look no further than its recent endeavor into NFTs, an NFL promotion dubbed “Hurry Up!” for a glimpse at the future.
Why is this the future? There’s been much discussion surrounding the marriage of digital + physical experiences but not enough executed evidence to come to a fair conclusion. Panini Americas recipe will soon be mimicked by many. Here are the details from 50,000 ft.:
1. The Hurry Up! began 11/3/2022
2. Objective: the first to collect all four Mac Jones and Zach Wilson specialty NFTs (Cosmic, Dragon Scale, Tiger, Snakeskin; parallels named for their visual backgrounds)
3. Prize = VIP trip to New York Jets v. New England Patriots on 11/20/2022(4 winners) which includes
a. Flight and Transportation
b. Hotel
c. Tickets to Game
d. Pre-Game On-Field Access
Here we have a digital contest that turns into a truly memorable physical experience in DAYS. For some collectors, they’ll remember collecting cereal box tops only to redeem them for a trashy trinket via the old-fashioned mail months later.
No more. The game has changed. Panini Americas has found the secret ingredient — time. What it has done is brilliant — the initial fervor surrounding the digital treasure hunt never fades. The fire is always stoked, ending in an in-real-life dream come true for sports fans. The collector goes through the following emotions during such an expedition:
- Contest announced(the thrill of the hunt)
- Active hunting(heightened awareness)
- The winner(s), first to collect all four, doesn’t have time put the excursion on the backburner — the in-person VIP experience is only days away
Thanks to time, Panini Americas is winning itself. This compression of time is a thrill ride from beginning to end. This is where NFTs are valuable — if done right, and Panini Americas is doing just that, NFTs unlock the curiosity of the fan.
It’s almost 2023, fans want all access in every way possible. Panini Americas is delivering faster than a 30-minutes or less pizza promise. Hurry Up! isn’t its first NFT→IRL Experience, hosting a similar activation for UFC 278 and the National Collectors’ Convention this past July.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cgsr17nlGQU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
As a fan, what’s not to love? As a brand, Panini nails it — these experiences aren’t cheesy or cheap, they’re meant to make memories that last a lifetime. In a world full of two-day shipping and instant gratification, Hurry Up! delivers what once took months of waiting and years of planning seemingly overnight. All of this of which spawns from an NFT.
