The Cavs Excite Fans with Sweet Access Pass

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the most exciting teams in the NBA right now, and they recently launched a brand new way to excite their fans and boost fandom to new levels with the Cavs United Gold Pass, the first program to leverage Sweet’s Access Pass platform, empowering brands to offer exclusive digital, physical, and experiential perks & rewards to verified pass holders.

Why Access Pass is a perfect fit for the Cavs?

After the My Cavs Locker NFT program proved to be successful during the 2021–22 NBA season, the Cavaliers were interested in exploring how digital collectibles could be used to bring fans closer to the game and to the players. Sweet’s Access Pass platform was an ideal way to bring various fan offerings and programs under one roof to maximize fan engagement.

With the purchase of the Cavs United Gold Pass, fans can experience all that the Cavaliers have to offer through one single program with exclusive perks such as touring the arena, courtside access before and after the game, the chance to win prizes like an all-expense-paid trip to summer league, subscriptions to the most coveted NBA network, discounts and more.

Why the Cavs United Gold Pass is a perfect fit for fans?

The best way to express how Cavs fans feel about the Gold Pass is to let them tell you themselves:

• “There’s no better way to start the game than with an autograph from Garland! Thanks @Cavs for the Benchwarmer’s Experience! Now let’s get this W!”
• “I bought a Gold Pass tonight for $299 and was able to claim perks immediately…waiting on some claimed Cavs gear and hoping I win some contests!”
• “One of the perks you get holding a Gold Pass is a year’s subscription to NBA League Pass. For a Cavs fan from India, it’s hella worth it!”
• “My first Gold Pass experiences were a success! The tour of the FieldHouse was awesome; our tour guide, Scott was amazing. And while we were watching the team warm up before the game, Garland came by and signed my wife’s jersey. Oh, and I got to say hi to Nance!”
• “I spent a fraction of what I’ve spent on TopShot, and I immediately got benefits for being a Gold Pass holder.”

How does Access Pass work?

Access Pass is built on Sweet’s blockchain technology platform and sports organizations like the Cleveland Cavaliers are using it to launch their own customized Access Pass programs.

1. Sweet works directly with each brand partner to build and deploy their white-labeled perks ecosystem, offering guidance on rewards, program mechanics and go-to-market strategy.
2. Sweet creates and configures the Access Pass digital collectible via our blockchain technology platform which includes collectible design, minting on the Polygon network and distribution to fans.
3. Fans purchase the pass via credit/debit or crypto and begin claiming perks online.
4. Sweet manages perk inventory redemptions and provides data and insights to each brand partner to help manage perk fulfillment.

Why is this such a big deal?

Sweet has combined our NFT marketplace and Access Pass platform to deliver the next evolution of the sports loyalty program. And while there are various factors at play in making the Access Pass platform unique, these 3 are critical when it comes to giving sports fans more ownership and control over their fandom, and giving brand partners a turnkey way to unlock the next frontier of fan engagement.

Blockchain — The result of minting each Access Pass on the blockchain is true digital ownership that can be publicly authenticated. It also unlocks the ability to resell, transfer, or gift Access Pass memberships — something that is traditionally not offered in current fan loyalty programs.

Perks CMS — Sweet’s proprietary Perks CMS provides sports organizations with insights and reporting about their pass holders. It also enables direct control over adding perks to the program, editing perk descriptions and fulfilling perks claimed by pass holders on their schedule.

Proven Expertise — Over the past two years, Sweet has worked with brands across sports, entertainment, fashion, and consumer goods to develop the foundation needed to create compelling rewards programs based on blockchain technology. Each of these brands was able to drive deeper engagement and value for both themselves and the fans and consumers they serve.

For instance, in October 2021, Sweet began a partnership with McLaren Racing to launch the McLaren Racing Collective, an innovative NFT platform allowing fans to purchase official digital collectibles and connect with the team in new ways. The F1 team’s first program, a race to collect 22 F1 car part NFTs, resulted in increased revenue and a tight-knit fan community. Only 35 fans could complete a car, and the first to complete the McLaren Racing F1 car won a trip to a Grand Prix. As the McLaren Racing Collective has evolved over the last year and a half, it’s proven that digital collectibles tied to an exciting team and tangible rewards capture fan attention and drive deeper engagement all around.

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Want to learn more?

Access Pass was developed specifically to provide a new way for sports teams and leagues to engage fans — and Sweet’s secure, blockchain-based ownership makes it all possible. To learn more about how Access Pass can transform the fan experience for your organization, give us a shout at sales@sweet.io.