Paris 2024 in Web3 and the metaverse

Is the IOC delivering on their goals?

Author

John Grabowski
July 23, 2024

Hello, hello,

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games are about to kick off, and Edition #19 of The SEG3 Report, has an Olympic flavour this week.

This week, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin with a unique Opening Ceremony taking place on the River Seine.

From the Olympic Games Paris 2024 Mascot NFT Digital Pins to the Roblox experience, we expect to see a number of activations that sit at the intersection of all things SEG3 Report. This week, we cover the two Olympic projects mentioned, plus Coach launches a campaign across Roblox and ZEPETO.

Contents: Edition #19

Let’s go!

Olympic World presented by Visa launches on Roblox ahead of Paris 2024

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched the Olympic World presented by Visa on Roblox, creating an immersive virtual environment to engage fans with the Olympic Games ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics. This platform offers Olympic-inspired mini-games, an Olympic Shop for virtual products, information about Olympic sports, and real-time updates during the event. By leveraging Roblox, the IOC aims to connect with younger generations who consume media and socialize in virtual worlds.

Olympic World is the first to feature Olympic and Paralympic intellectual property on Roblox, allowing users to engage with the Olympics through various games, activities, and events. Notable features include mini-games in the Olympic Stadium, such as "Obby" and "Smash Ball," and access to the Olympic Shop for avatar items and UGC. The Olympic Champions Hall offers a way to explore Olympic history. This initiative marks a new frontier for Olympic virtual engagement, combining entertainment with education in a digital format.

Additionally, the IOC is launching regional environments on Roblox for the USA and Brazil. In the USA, Team USA and NBCUniversal are introducing Team USA Obby, which includes the Team USA Museum, mini-games, and branded virtual merchandise. In Brazil, Globo is launching “Destino Pari” within its “Sportv Land” environment to engage Brazilian audiences. This digital innovation aligns with the IOC's Olympic Agenda 2020+5, emphasizing digitalization to engage global fans and promote Olympic values. The Olympic World on Roblox is part of the IOC's strategy to maintain relevance and connect with new audiences through digital experiences.

This news follows the release of Paris 2024 NFT pins launched earlier in July.

Back on July 9th, nWay announced the launch of exclusive Olympic Games Paris 2024 Mascot NFT digital pins to capture the spirit and energy of the upcoming event.

These digital collectibles are available in two designs: the “Legendary” pin featuring the mascot waving and the “Epic” pin depicting the mascot holding a flag with the Paris 2024 emblem.

Interested collectors can claim these NFTs for free through Magic Eden as part of Coinbase's “Onchain Summer” event, running from July 9 to August 12, or via the My Olympic Rewards program, where earned points can be redeemed for an Epic pin.

nWay are makers of the Olympics GO! Paris 2024 game. For the existing nWayPlay community, four pins will be available. To mint these non-transferable NFT digital pins, a Base-supported wallet is required. The launch is part of Onchain Summer, a celebration of onchain technology by Coinbase, highlighting its potential to enhance connections between brands and their fans through innovative digital experiences. nWay, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is known for developing high-quality cross-platform games and has a successful track record with titles like Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid and Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022. Onchain Summer, initiated in 2023, invites creators to launch projects on Base, a secure Ethereum scaling solution by Coinbase, fostering direct and meaningful relationships with their communities.

Why should you care about the NFT project and the Roblox experience?

Most significantly, this is important because it is the Olympics, the international celebration of human capabilities that we all gather around and follow every four years. The efforts and activations made by the Olympics are significant because they represent what can be achieved with large budgets, ample time, and a very unique suite of IP.

In the words of the IOC, when announcing the Roblox experience:

Olympic Agenda 2020+5 highlighted digitalisation as one of the key trends influencing modern society, and the digital revolution has only accelerated in the years since the IOC’s strategic roadmap was adopted in March 2021.

The IOC’s digital approach is designed to engage fans globally with the Olympics, not only during but also between each edition of the Games, and the IOC continues to innovate in this space.

The Olympic World will help promote the Olympic values, raise awareness of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and engage new audiences in innovative ways.

Ok, so we have the intention clearly written above. What we need to question is, “Do these projects deliver?” We can use the IOC’s own goals as a bit of a scorecard for this matter:

  1. Engage new audiences in innovative ways

  2. Engage fans globally

  3. Promote Olympic values

  4. Raise awareness

We’ll review each initiative based on the IOC’s intentions, as outlined above. In reviewing the NFT project specifically, credit must be given to Sporting Crypto’s assessment of the IOC launch in their recent newsletter, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the project.

Engage new audiences in innovative ways 

The NFT project with nWay for Paris 2024 is similar (if not unchanged) from the Tokyo 2020 NFT project also with nWay. Despite the innovative nature of the digital pins, the user experience for minting them has been criticized for its complexity. Users must navigate a multi-step process involving connecting a Base-supported wallet, switching networks, and ensuring they have enough Ethereum to cover gas fees. This cumbersome process has been a barrier, particularly for non-crypto native users, and even experienced users found the process challenging. The expectation for a smooth onboarding experience, akin to other modern digital platforms, was not met, highlighting a significant gap in user experience design for this initiative.

The Roblox experience is new and in keeping with the trends in the transmedia landscape that we have discussed ad nauseam in this report. To think that the IOC would have let Paris 2024 come and go without a Roblox initiative would have been a missed opportunity, especially given the four-year Summer Games cycle. Credit must be given for not missing this opportunity and building the experience.

Engage fans globally 

We know Roblox is a global platform. According to Statista, 21% of Roblox users are in the USA & Canada, 25% are in APAC, 27% are in Europe, and 27% are in the Rest of the World. The reach of Roblox plus the specific local activations with the US and Brazilian federations will help to ensure the experience delivers on these initial goals. Solid effort.

The 'Olympic Games Paris 2024 Mascot NFT Digital Pins' may reach a globally distributed audience, but due to the complex manner in which these NFTs must be claimed, they do not reach a truly global audience.

Promote Olympic values 

“The three values of Olympism are excellence, respect, and friendship,” according to the IOC website, Olympics.com. It’s hard for us to comment on the effectiveness of the Roblox experience and NFT project on these grounds, but we will try.

On initial review, Olympic World seems to follow best practices for the platform such as free UGC and manages to leverage a top-tier partner (Visa) to support the platform. The youth-oriented demographics on Roblox demand respect and appropriateness, and the social gaming elements do create a place for friendship in Olympic World.

By the same criteria, the Paris 2024 Mascot NFT Digital Pins struggle to promote excellence, respect, and friendship. While free digital collectibles can offer a non-speculative, fun introduction to Web3 for fans, the success of these initiatives hinges on an excellent and easy onboarding process, which the project is lacking. The same barriers that make it difficult to get involved also mean this project may fall short of the Olympic ideals it seeks to promote.

Raise awareness 

We cannot offer a verdict on this until we have the benefit of hindsight. We may suggest that both Olympic World and the Mascot NFT Digital Pins will not deliver nearly as much awareness as TV broadcasting, mainstream news, and social media.

However, in a world in which both Roblox and Web3 promise to reach audiences that are otherwise unconnected to the ‘traditional’ means of communication, there's a chance that both projects drive awareness amongst otherwise disconnected audiences.

On the NFT project specifically, the long-term value for the IOC lies in the data collected from these digital engagements, which can provide deeper insights into fan behavior, especially for those who engage digitally rather than attending events in person.

Coach extend  "Find Your Courage" campaign to Roblox and ZEPETO

Coach's "Find Your Courage" campaign aims to introduce the brand to Gen Z by leveraging digital platforms and vibrant virtual worlds.

Collaborating with ZEPETO and Roblox's “Fashion Famous 2” and “Fashion Klosette” games, Coach allows players to customize avatars with real-life Coach merchandise, promoting self-expression and individuality. The campaign features virtual influencer Imma, who navigates colourful themed worlds, meeting celebrities like Lil Nas X and Camila Mendes, who share messages of self-expression and authenticity.

The campaign was launched earlier this year under the "Courage to Be Real" initiative, targeting Gen Z consumers. The collaboration with Coach adds a significant element to the gaming experience in Fashion Famous 2, where players dress avatars in a shopping mall setting and showcase their looks in a neon subway fashion show.

The inclusion of Coach merchandise, such as the iconic Tabby bag, highlights the brand's effort to connect with Gen Z in their preferred environments. Coach's senior executives emphasised the importance of self-expression and learning from this digital venture to better engage with the younger generation.

Why should you care?

Credit to Coach for making their brand campaign work on multiple platforms. Many early marketing campaigns across playable media platforms have required brands to behave in a platform-native manner to effectively reach that audience.

The downside of prioritizing platform over brand is that various Metaverse-type experiences can appear disjointed and lack a cohesive feel.

While Nike was a first mover from a brand perspective in both Roblox and UE:FN, their experiences – NIKELAND and Airphoria – have very different feelings to them.

Coach seems to be building in a cohesive manner, and by launching in both Roblox and ZEPETO with a single campaign, they can lean into collaborations with talent, messaging, and an aesthetic that works best for their brand.

In other news…

A quick round-up of other stories we found interesting this week!

Kraken and NASCAR are back in the SEG3 news.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!