Update: Starbucks introduced Friday that it’s discontinuing its NFT program, which was in beta, to “prepare for what comes next as we continue to evolve the program,” in accordance with an FAQ web page.
We spoke with Steve Kaczynski, the program’s lead, on the Chain Reaction podcast final month. On Friday, he tweeted that his future at the company was uncertain:
Below is our unique interview with Kaczynski from February 22:
The NFT house could also be down considerably from all-time highs, however manufacturers and loyalty packages seeking to attain followers in new methods can nonetheless discover worth, stated Steve Kaczynski, co-author of the e book “The Everything Token” and group lead for Starbucks Odyssey.
“Brand anchors” to gated areas like reward packages are one thing that firms will broaden upon in 2024, he stated. “I think this year we’re going to see a lot of community-based brand building,” he shared on Ztoog’s Chain Reaction podcast.
Starbucks launched Starbucks Odyssey in 2022 as its preliminary foray into the web3 world. The expertise mixed the corporate’s Starbucks Reward loyalty program with NFTs to reinforce buyer experiences, Ztoog beforehand reported.
“We’re able to help people find their tribe,” Kaczynski stated. “I’ve seen that people who live in California in the Starbucks Odyssey community are really good friends with people in Chicago and they have met up in real life at times. This never would have happened if not for web3.”
The loyalty program has a five-tiered system with over 58,000 lively individuals not less than on stage one, Kaczynski stated. “I can promise you those aren’t mostly or all web3 native people … it’s not just web3 people who are participating.”
Those who hit tier 5 of the program purchased a “decent amount” off the secondary marketplaces, Kaczynski stated. In December, for instance, Starbucks introduced that it’s sending the highest 20 individuals to Costa Rica to go to the espresso big’s farms the place beans are produced.
There are different “third-party utilities” to be developed via NFTs, not simply by huge firms like Starbucks or Nike however by native companies that need to spin up loyalty packages or use tickets as an asset they’ll anchor and incentivize.
Kaczynski introduced up this instance: Let’s say Hot Pockets, the meals model, put out a promotion the place it could give a 20% low cost to avid gamers in the event that they purchased the model’s Fortnite pores and skin and related it to a crypto pockets. “The purchaser is happy, the eater is happy and they get a discount and they’re in the ecosystem,” he stated. “This person isn’t just a gamer, they’re an active gamer who’s participating and willing to spend disposable income on third-party things.”
When folks consider NFTs, they typically consider simply costly monkey footage on the web — and to be honest, that’s one a part of it with Bored Ape Yacht Club — however there’s extra worth to be held in proudly owning NFTs, Kaczynski says.
“Imagine you go into a museum and you see a beautiful painting on the wall, you can take a picture of that painting but it’s not worth any money. The picture on the wall is worth money because the museum owns it, it’s the original and they can prove both of those things,” Kaczynski stated. “Up until recently you couldn’t do that with digital items” till NFTs got here out.
Brands and corporations being able to purchase and promote and “truly own your loyalty is a new concept that makes it less one-way,” Kaczynski stated. “While not all the community members engage in buying and selling … I think for a lot of people, having that optionality is so important.”
This story was impressed by an episode of Ztoog’s podcast Chain Reaction. Subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite pod platform to listen to extra tales and ideas from the entrepreneurs constructing at this time’s most modern firms.
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