Hype or opportunity? Tokenization as engagement platform in sport marketing

Abstract

PurposeNovel technologies such as tokenization have the potential to disrupt value co-creation in sport marketing. Tokenization in particular has generated a hype in sport marketing by facilitating engagement behavior. However, it remains unclear to what extent tokenization can serve as an engagement platform to enable new and innovative interactions between sport organizations and its network of actors.Design/methodology/approachThe study investigated a tokenized governance platform of a professional sport club as engagement platform by means of a case study applying a multi-method approach combining document analyses and semi-structured interviews with sport management, sport club fans and blockchain experts.FindingsGovernance tokens indeed foster fan engagement by including fans in decision-making processes. The engagement platform is meant to enable two-way communication between fans and professional sport clubs. However, benefits could be overrated, and fans describe concerns about increasing commercialization due to the application of governance tokens. Thus, opportunities must be balanced out to foster engagement of sport club fans.Originality/valueThe findings contribute to extending the phenomenon of tokenization as a financing model and engagement platform in sport marketing. The results show how tokenized governance platforms can be applied in sport marketing and how they contribute to value co-creation in the digital world of sport clubs.

Implementing trades of the National Football League Draft on blockchain smart contracts

“…This is not to suggest that the NFL Draft requires an upgrade. As Stegmann et al . (2023, p. 723) explains, “as with many new technologies, there is a propensity to overrate their benefits and an urge to apply them even though they might not be needed.” Rather, blockchain is a potential next step for the NFL, and we explore a conceptual idea for how to execute the draft.…”

“…Not surprisingly, results show that fans with higher levels of team involvement are more interested in VE and Web3 than those with less involvement (Schlimm and Breuer, 2023). Stegmann et al (2023) investigate how the tokenization platform of a sports team affects fan engagement behavior with personal interviews. Although the results are mainly qualitative, several of the implied challenges are worth noting: blockchain (and tokenization) are not easy fixes to increase fan engagement; fungible tokens do not provide value without a well-defined reward system; barriers such as lack of trust, scalability and complexity make it difficult to employ tokenization platforms (Stegmann et al, 2023).…”

“…Stegmann et al (2023) investigate how the tokenization platform of a sports team affects fan engagement behavior with personal interviews. Although the results are mainly qualitative, several of the implied challenges are worth noting: blockchain (and tokenization) are not easy fixes to increase fan engagement; fungible tokens do not provide value without a well-defined reward system; barriers such as lack of trust, scalability and complexity make it difficult to employ tokenization platforms (Stegmann et al, 2023). Digital ticketing is another area witnessing growth in the United States, although resistance still exists, especially at lower levels.…”

“…Not surprisingly, results show that fans with higher levels of team involvement are more interested in VE and Web3 than those with less involvement (Schlimm and Breuer, 2023). Stegmann et al . (2023) investigate how the tokenization platform of a sports team affects fan engagement behavior with personal interviews.…”

“…Furthermore, when we examine the current research and application space for blockchain in sport, very little exists that leverages this technology for management operations. Even though we are seeing slow growth in blockchain-based sports material such as ticketing (Regner et al ., 2022) and fan tokens (Socios, 2023; Stegmann et al ., 2023; Vidal-Tom´as, 2023), the major player in this space is the non-fungible token (NFT). Players are creating their own NFTs of personal highlights (Broadcast, 2022), and companies are using NFTs to sell highlights like trading cards (Conti, 2023; Knight, 2021).…”