In conjunction with the NRF’s Retail Conference and Expo, Varius Solutions, Cataboom, BLOCKv, in a partnership with Intel and other leading retail brands, came together to launch Project NGAGE, a captivating demonstration of new and engaging customer experiences made possible with Smart Digital Objects on blockchain. This Pokemon Go style treasure hunt will allow “players” to catch digital butterflies and other objects at the Javits Center and across midtown Manhattan either on a map or through augmented reality. Each will carry unexpected prizes including gift cards, vouchers and even drones to reward and delight the NRF attendees.
Project NGAGE will be the world’s first public demonstration of how Varius uses gamified digital objects on blockchain and how it can deliver more engaging customer experiences with improved metrics and longer-term customer value in the form of tangible digital objects loaded with substance. Retail shoppers of today are immersed in their digital universe and are demanding more seamless integration into their shopping experience, as well as expecting more value than ever before. Where coupons, junk mail, and banner ads are static practices that can cheapen the brand and fail to create meaningful connections with consumers, blockchain digital objects and the experiences they can now deliver open a whole new world of relationship-building opportunities between the brand and the customer.
“The blockchain revolution has changed our entire perception of reality,” says Mike Gamaroff, Chief Digital Officer at Varius Solutions. “There is now the ability for retailers to deliver goods that contain real value and create meaningful connections with their customers, driving higher efficiencies in your media spend and yielding higher repeat engagement levels than is possible in traditional digital channels.”
Non-fungible tokens have evolved from their experimental genesis into fully fledged retail solutions, bringing together the creative story-telling of brand marketing with the rigid trust layer of blockchain.
Varius CEO, Gary Budzinski, says: “The emergence of digital objects and commodities is set to have a transformative effect on multiple industries, and retail is no exception. We are excited by the implications of blockchain within the retail sector, and are glad to be a frontrunner in bringing these solutions to fruition for brands and marketers.”
