Boosting Fan Engagement at Indy500: Conor Daly’s Digital Insider Passes by Unique Network
Fan Engagement is evolving, and Web3 tech is transforming how athletes and fans connect globally. Industries like sports are exploring innovative revenue models and new ways to engage their audiences. Dive into how Unique’s Digital Insider Pass at the spectacular Indy500 brought fans closer to the action with cutting-edge Web3 technology!
The sports industry is booming, with its market revenue in 2022 over $403 billion! We’re expecting this to leap massively by 2028. As sports, entertainment, and gaming are becoming more prominent in everyday lives, the need for effective fan engagement has piqued many platforms and franchises’ interests.
Web3 has the potential to revolutionize the sports industry by enhancing ownership, transparency, and autonomy through the use of smart contracts, digital assets, and blockchain-based sponsorship sign-ups.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- How Unique is bridging the gap for non-crypto natives to Web3
- Opportunities and Potential
- The Challenges & Positive Outcomes
Keywords: Fan Engagement, Digital Assets, Digital Passes, Monetization, Fan Loyalty, Web3, Web3 Gaming; Non-Fungible Tokens; NFT; Crypto; Ethereum; Decentralized; Unique Network; Network; Blockchain…
Let’s dive in!
Bridging Non-Crypto Natives to Web3 via Digital Insider Passes
The Indy500 is one of the biggest and most popular motorsports events in the United States, bringing in thousands of people to attend in person, watching 33 drivers all compete for a 1st place finish.
Polkadot’s Decentralized Open Governance model (OpenGov) enables community members and DOT token holders to submit and propose funding proposals, in addition to voting on said proposals. How does this tie in with the Indy500? Well, it’s simple. The Polkadot community submitted a proposal to sponsor Conor Daly, an Indy race car driver at the Indianapolis 500.
The Unique Network team saw this opportunity to develop the Conor Daly Digital Insider Pass, promoting Fan Engagement among race fans, targeting non-crypto natives, and sports enthusiasts.
This was no ordinary pass; but a Digital Collectible Item utilizing blockchain technology behind the hood, allowing fans and event attendees access to personal experiences, prizes, insider news, participate in raffles, and lots more.
Website: https://www.conordalypolkadot.net
What makes the Conor Daly Insider Pass so different?
- Easy to claim
- Digital collectable item on the blockchain
- Easy onboarding experience for non-crypto natives
- Provided enough information for everyone to understand
- No technical jargon
- No waiting times
- Access to an exclusive raffle
- Fun use of GIFs as media
In conjunction with the Conor Daly Insider Pass being an exclusive collectible item, users claiming the pass were able to sign up for the raffle everyone was talking about at Consensus. This raffle gave participants the chance to win one of three exclusive mini-helmets, personally signed by Conor Daly and presented at the Consensus conference.
One of our participants who was unable to attend the Indy500 in person claimed their Digital Insider Pass all on their own and won their own, mini-helmet memorabilia — highlighting that anyone from any background or age, can immerse themselves in the world of blockchain and crypto if the process is easy to use, and provides sufficient guidance and education along the way.
Web3 isn’t hard to understand unless we make it difficult for those to get involved — it starts with easy and simple solutions, promoting user-friendly platforms.
Living the memories from Consensus and the Indy 500!
The Conor Daly Insider Pass was a massive hit, claimed by sports enthusiasts, crypto natives, and even people new to crypto!
Check out the picture below of one of our participants claiming their CD Insider Pass and… pic.twitter.com/w5KmbUjGim
- Unique Network (@Unique_NFTchain) June 12, 2024
Opportunities and Potential
We have seen the way digital collectibles elevate artists and their artwork; musicians and owning the rights to their music and now, we’re moving towards redefining how we think about fan engagement with sports idols and franchises.
The use of Digital Assets, for example, enables fans to own their assets on the blockchain, this can be in the form of exclusive athlete collectible cards, game highlights, access to exclusive groups, game matches, or even merch.
Tokenized assets (often called real-world assets), can provide fans with an opportunity to earn, whether it’s through voting, earning airdrops/fees, or even opting to sell on a secondary market.
As for athletes, they can utilize smart contracts to maintain a stable income through royalties, fees, and purchases of their digital assets.
A great example of this was the NBA’s TopShot NFTs amounting to over $224 million in sales volume and even generating $45 million in one day in February of 2021.
Through digital collectibles (e.g. NFTs), users can support their idols and even earn rewards by holding the rights to special tokens. We can think of these to be:
NBA Top Shot NFTs has become one the most talked about sports collectible assets. “Top Shot is a blockchain-based platform that allows sports fans to buy, sell, and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of NBA video highlights”.
We can make the comparison between this rare use case to traditional sports collectibles where fans attempt to collect all the rarest cards out of the collection. We can similarly draw comparisons from this to collecting Pokémon cards.
Blockchain-based fan tokens of any kind can be used to incentivize fan loyalty and engagement through any medium. The fan tokens can provide fans with exclusive access to giveaways, raffles, decision-making in polls, exclusive discounts — the list goes on, allowing for a truly personalized and unique experience for each fan.
As Web3 continues to evolve, so does the need to appeal to the masses through effective and engaging strategies.
Web3 Challenges & Positive Outcomes
Web3’s Current Challenges
Whilst Web3 tech has been revolutionary, it still presents a few challenges when it comes to redefining how we think about fan engagement within the sports industry.
- Complex Narrative: How we define “blockchain” and the look and feel of it can be daunting for newcomers entering the space and deter many people from even taking the first step into Web3.
- Lack of Good Educational Resources: This proves to be a huge barrier, adding another step of complexity to the problem.
- User-Friendliness: Platforms need to understand the user experience, what buttons to click, and how to get from point A to point B with the least amount of friction.
- Scalability: Moreover, there is the issue of scalability, which blockchain networks often face when handling large amounts of transactions due to popularity and increased volume.
Kraken, one of the largest US-based exchanges, partnered with the Formula 1 team, Williams Racing. This partnership allowed Kraken’s NFT marketplace users to submit their NFTs for a competition, where selected NFTs were featured on the rear wing of the cars during races.
One of the key issues found was users needed to list their NFTs on Kraken’s marketplace to participate in the NFT contest, demonstrating the need to utilize platforms and perhaps creating a barrier to entry for non-crypto natives.
Alongside Kraken, OKX, a global exchange based in China, partnered with the Formula 1 team McLaren Racing to launch a series of McLaren-themed NFTs. Users needed an OKX account and wallet to claim and manage their NFTs, and to participate in their mint contest. This requirement introduced additional entry barriers, as users had to download apps and familiarize themselves with new platforms to participate.
Positive Outcomes
We have seen how Web3 can help lives, promote user and fan engagement, and bring communities together in ways we’ve never seen before.
As we step into a new technological era, it’s becoming more and more crucial to bring fans from all over the world and create a sense of belonging.
Web3 can revolutionize this by creating positive immersive experiences through virtual and augmented reality and creating personalized, inclusive fan experiences.
References
Note: All comments, thoughts, and opinions expressed are solely those of the writer and are not intended to influence anyone’s thoughts or feelings.
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Learn more about the dApps and projects actively using Unique Network today:
Conor Daly Insider Pass
A unique Digital Insider Pass to promote Fan Engagement in Web3 and bridge non-crypto natives to the Web3 world.
Sovereign Nature Initiative
One-of-a-kind Proof of Attendance Badge on the Blockchain, that evolves over time into an exclusive DOTphin NFT.
A brick-breaking game, showcasing NFTs to gamers as they try to complete challenges and reach the leaderboards.
Forever Has Fallen
Bringing Bounty Hunter Tickets as NFTs to gamers, unlocking challenges, riddles, and an exclusive lair to those who seek.
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Originally published at https://unique.network on October 8, 2025.
