Web3 CMO Stories

Major League Baseball and Beyond: Web3 Fan Interactions Explained – with Eric Ginsberg of Candy Digital | S4 E23

• Joeri Billast & Eric Ginsberg • Season 4

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Curious to learn how blockchain can redefine your fandom experience?

Join us as we sit down with Eric Ginsberg, Group Director and Head of Marketing at Candy Digital, to explore the future of fan engagement through Web3. Eric brings invaluable insights into how his company is revolutionizing the space with digital collectibles that offer exclusive access and tangible proof of fandom. Learn about the transition from traditional terms like "NFT" to more accessible concepts like "collectibles," and discover the importance of community and a long-term vision in this evolving landscape. We also tackle the challenges of integrating Web2 methods with Web3 innovations, featuring partnerships with Major League Baseball, DC Comics, and Netflix.

In this episode, we break down the complex dynamics of engaging both Web2 and Web3 audiences. Eric delves into the fervent dedication of Web3 enthusiasts, who thrive on platforms like Discord and X, contrasted with mainstream tactics for Web2 audiences on Instagram and TikTok. Through storytelling and high-touch interactions, discover how Candy Digital's unique offerings, like the Bat Cowl, allow fans to be part of the narrative and even co-create characters with DC Comics. Eric also shares his experiences with culturally relevant marketing initiatives like the Revolt Summit, which celebrated hip-hop as a powerful cultural force.

Get ready for an inside look at the innovative world of experiential events and the expansion of AR and VR technology through digital collectibles. From collaborations with icons like Snoop Dogg and Issa Rae to live events and streaming on platforms like Revolt TV, we explore the multifaceted ways Candy Digital is enhancing fan engagement. This episode is packed with insights into creating lasting experiences that go beyond mere transactions, offering fans new and immersive ways to engage with their favorite content.

This episode was recorded through a Podcastle call on April 22, 2024. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/major-league-baseball-and-beyond-web3-fan-interactions-explained-with-eric-ginsberg-of-candy-digital/

Eric:

It's really about letting fans celebrate what they're passionate about, and we're enabling that by giving them future experiences, letting fans be inside the Batman community, letting fans collect MLB collectibles and being able to earn game use memorabilia from their favorite players.

Joeri:

Hello everyone and welcome to the Web3 CMO Stories podcast. My name is Joeri Bilast and I'm your podcast host, and today I'm excited to be joined by Eric Ginsberg. Hello,

Eric:

Hey, how are you doing? Great to start the week with you.

Joeri:

So, guys, if you don't know, Eric, Eric Ginsberg is a group director, head of marketing at Candy Digital. Candy Digital is a next-generation brand engagement platform that designs and develops officially licensed, premium digital collectibles that connect people to their passions in sports, entertainment, and culture, and last year, in 2023, candy Digital was nominated for the Sports Business Tag Awards for Best in Web3. Eric, welcome to the show With your deep involvement in sports and entertainment marketing. How do you see Web3 redefining engagement and consumption of digital content?

Eric:

Absolutely. Thanks for having me on the show. I'm really happy to be here. I think this is a crucial time in this space. There's been a lot of ups and downs from 2016 on, through the bull run, and now we're in exciting times of building.

Eric:

I think this is really the real reason I got into Web3 in the first place. I was really working in sports and music and really focusing on two elements of fandom that I think that Web3 can really enable and take to a whole new level. The first one being a focus on access. Every music fan, every comic book fan, every sports fan they all want to get deeper inside the game, they want to get connected to their favorite athletes and artists, etc. And I think the other is really around fandom culture and really this belief that you want to be first, you want to be the biggest Taylor Swift fan, you want to be the big Manchester City fan and you want to get that credit and it's really had these terminologies coined around stan culture to be really that ultimate fan. And I think, if we strip away all the technology, all the buzzwords, all the crypto, all the blockchain at its simplest level, Web3 enables you to take your fandom to the next level, I think there are opportunities to gain exclusive access by owning a collectible. We did a series of fan events last year with a variety of Major League Baseball teams where, by owning a certain collectible of a team or of a player, you have to go out, either virtually or physical, meet a player, attend a game. With our work with DC and DC Comics, you're able to have a collection of Batman where you were able to own this Batcowl and that got you access to a free physical comic or a variety of exclusive events.

Eric:

And I think the blockchain. At the end of the day, it's an objective proof point of fandom. I could say that I was the first person that was listening to a certain song. I could say I was the biggest Batman fan. I was the original Shohei Otani fan before he got to the MLB. But the blockchain really takes the subjectivity out of it and we've got all these amazing records and data that's able to show who knows the most about Batman, who's been the biggest Shohei Otani collector since he joined the MLB. Unlike baseball cards and years of ticket stubs I've collected my mom can throw those away. She can't throw away the blockchain and that record, I think, is really powerful. So those are some of the ways I really see that Web3 is redefining and engaging.

Joeri:

I love that, what you say, the objective part in it, so everyone can say I'm the biggest fan. But if you can prove it on the blockchain, this is really where the value lies. I also noticed that you use a lot the word collectible instead of NFT. I also noticed that you use a lot the word collectible instead of NFT. So, instead of talking about the technology, talk about collectible and really the purpose of it having access or belonging to a community and so on. Web3, of course, also you need to use the term, of course, but the technicality is quite a challenge. There are also some other challenges. If you want to merge worlds like sports and entertainment with Web3, what are some of the challenges that you faced while merging those worlds?

Eric:

There's a lot. I knew it was going to be an interesting road when I joined Candy, coming from more of a traditional Web2 space, and I knew this bull market really wasn't going to last forever. But I think a lot of what I tried to do is really take the methods that are proven in Web2 and bring those into Web3. Because, again, stripping back the technology, a lot of the same principles apply between how to motivate people, what they're looking for in their experiences and, at the end of the day, they're typically engaging because they want to be a part of a community and they want to be a part of something. I think some of the struggles is really about finding a true stakeholder on the other side. We work with some of the world's leading IP and you really need to find somebody who's going to be championing a project and not looking for short-term gain. We've been really lucky at Candy and working with Major League Baseball, with DC, with Netflix, with Getty Images, and really finding somebody on the IP side who sees the long-term vision.

Eric:

I think, as we all know by now, Web3, fully realizing its power for consumers. It's not a one-year plan, it's not a two-year plan. You really got to be in this to believe. So I think we've really taken things a very measured approach. We're not throwing out PFP projects on the daily. That's not really been our business. We wanted to release products that have a story, that let fans be a part of a new world and, at the end of the day, it's really about letting fans celebrate what they're passionate about, and we're enabling that by giving them richer experiences, letting fans be inside the Batman community, letting fans collect MLB collectibles and being able to earn game use memorabilia from their favorite players to be able to use their assets to answer trivia questions, and it's really only the first part of the story. So it's been every day has been a thrill, it's been a challenge, but I've been really blessed in my time at candy and we're excited for the road ahead. Yeah, it's also interesting.

Joeri:

Where you can do something with sports and then you can link this to something else, like these collectibles, like people, always since ages, like to collect stuff, and you also mentioned these iconic brands and leagues, but still there is an audience that understands Web3, an audience that doesn't. So how do you ensure that what you are doing resonates with both audiences?

Eric:

It's one of the unique aspects of Web3 because you have at its core between Web2 and Web3, the audiences want similar things. They want access, they want exclusivity, they want to be a part of something and they want to prove their fandom. But because of what's happened in the past couple of years and the term NFT and what that now means in this space, it really requires that we communicate almost in two different ways with these audiences. You create two strategies, two communications frameworks and you do the work twice. But that's what we have to do in the nascent space that we're in now. I think, starting with that web three audience, which is folks who are leaning in heavy. We call it very high touch. They want to be in Discord 24-7, getting updates, talking about releases, giving ideas and really having a constant feedback loop, because that's what they're used to. They want emails up to five days a week telling them what opportunities there are, leaning in and opening those emails within minutes after they're delivered. They want to be on X spaces almost every day. Our Batman community, I think, has 10 individual user-generated spaces. They just throw on nearly all the time because they just want to talk about the project and to celebrate it. You've got to really be ready to feed that loop for them and then make sure that there's always somebody on who's able to engage with them and talk in a certain way.

Eric:

Then, looking at more of what we'll call like the web to audience, which is more mainstream, we send them emails. The frequency is a lot less. We use our blog, we use platforms like Instagram and TikTok instead of just exclusively on X, and then we also use a variety of influencers, which can be anyone from an MLB player to a comic book legend to anybody who's creating content that's trustworthy in the space. And then, in terms of how we talk to them, nfts is not really a part of the vernacular for us, mainly because the space has changed. It's associated with things and people in the space that just don't represent the larger industries. We've well moved beyond past that, and I think I equate it to music.

Eric:

You're not going to talk about the amazing MP3s you're listening to. You're going to talk about the power of the technology, and I think we use digital collectibles with both the Web2 and the Web3 audience. Nfts is typically reserved for PFE projects of gorillas and monkeys that just don't really extend past the image that it is, and you know what our collections are is. They are collections and they are enduring the test of time. It's been a good learning experience and I think the space is going to evolve, but I think the biggest thing you know we would have liked to see earlier on in the space is more people leading with. What problems does this solve and what does this enable? Because nobody joined Facebook back in 2009 because it was an amazing Web2 platform. It solved this problem of how do we create connection and how do we start to foster that engagement and, as a marketer and a storyteller, that's more of what I try to bring to Web3 is talking about the benefits versus the amazing tech that is provided by blockchain.

Joeri:

Absolutely, and you mentioned it as storytelling. I was at Paris Blockchain Week and it was also one of the things for me. I also think it's really important to get more people on board to tell those stories and not talk about these technologies. And, of course, you with your digital collectibles. Authenticity and storytelling humanity's key. How does Candy Digital ensure that each collectible is not just a transaction but a piece of a larger narrative?

Eric:

This is the reason I joined Candy. From the beginning, their belief was these collectibles need to be part of a larger narrative and partnering with some of the world's best IP. We have some incredible partners over there and what we've been able to sell and provide to the community is really an access pass. We started out with the Bat Cowl, which was this amazing collection where you would buy the cowl, the mask of Batman. But the experience didn't really stop there. It wasn't just getting that mask and saying, okay, that was really fun, we'll see you for the next one.

Eric:

But this really unlocked a world of consistent voting where they got to be a part of different directions and stories, so much so where the community came together to create the first villain for DC, created on the blockchain, with fans. So throughout their votes and storytelling over this two-year journey of owning their back cowl, they helped the writers and the creators of the comics at DC create the Legacy Cowl, which was this new villain, and just two weeks ago we went out and actually sold the Legacy Cowl as a new collection, creating this whole new story, and that's going to take things into an incredible journey. So the work with DC, I think, has been so amazing, really putting comic book fans in a dream scenario where they get to rewrite history at one of the largest IPs in the world.

Joeri:

You've led marketing strategies for massive IPs and cultural events. How do you approach creating campaigns that are culturally irrelevant yet also push the envelope in innovation?

Eric:

It's something that I really enjoyed doing and trying to marry the two. I think one of the most thrilling experiences I've had in my career is working on a project called the Revolt Summit. So I used to work at a company called Superfly and they were a leader in event experiences music and cultural experiences and we partnered with Revolt TV and they had this interesting challenge. Here in the States, you have music festivals, which are largely B2C events, and then you have educational events, learning events and conferences, which are obviously largely B2B. So Revolt came to us and said we want to create an event to celebrate the power of hip hop. How do we do that?

Eric:

So us at Superfly as leaders, you know, creating event experiences like Bonnaroo and Outside Lands we spent, you know, the better part of a year really thinking about what this could look like and how we could take hip hop and not just think of it as a musical genre, but looking at hip-hop being the culture driver that it is.

Eric:

We're talking about music, fashion, tech, creativity, comedy, entrepreneurship and even politics. Got together the likes of Snoop Dogg, Issa Rae, Jermaine Dupri, TI, 2 Chainz and we ended up creating this. What started out as an event platform turned into a content platform. So we had these series of events both taking place in Atlanta and Los Angeles, where anybody could come to this event to learn, celebrate and grow and network within the worlds of hip hop. It wasn't just for artists, it wasn't just for entrepreneurs, wasn't just for a B2B audience, it wasn't just for a B2C audience, it was really a true celebration. So we had this live event series, we had a content platform streaming on Revolt TV and, partnered with AT&T, we also had a startup incubator that was growing out of this event and ended up winning two-time multicultural event of the year by Event Marketer. This is one of the defining moments in my career that really helped me push the envelope and kind of redefine what these experiential events could be.

Joeri:

Wow, it's exciting. I see all these possibilities and how it has to do, like I said, with sports, with music, with, I think, also for our listeners. It's something that is for everyone. They can imagine it, they can understand this. Sometimes I also have episodes around the financial aspect, which is more specific for people, but this is broader. Now, obviously, at the end of the day, a big part of your job is also monetizing. That's why that's also a reason, of course, or a big reason, why those bigger companies do that. Can you explain a bit or maybe give examples on how what kind of new revenue streams can be used?

Eric:

Absolutely and, as I've talked about throughout the show, web3 is a long game. We are a business, we have to make money, but I think where so many projects have gotten it wrong is really trying to have that be the leading path and the start to their journey, and then there's not much more beyond that. So I think we do sell products, but the experience can't stop with that purchase. Experience can't stop with that purchase. Last year, throughout the MLB season, we created a game called Codebreaker where you were able to use your digital baseball cards that you purchased through us, and this game was a trivia game where it would ask you every single week different questions relating to the card you own, where you have to put together different baseball trivia answers and scenarios using the cards you have and even cards you don't have, slotting those in the answers like a wordle type style quiz, and then by doing that the fastest, you would get to own reward packs. And we offered that game throughout all the playoffs in 2023 and I think it was a really enjoyable experience for fans to be able to not just look at their collectibles or, you know, show their friends or store them on like an infinite object digital display but they're able to use them to take part in a game, which is really exciting for us. We also did a whole series of events called Candy Fam Jams and what this was.

Eric:

We partnered with a variety of Major League Baseball players and create exclusive in-person and virtual events for top collectors.

Eric:

So we worked with Michael Harris of the Braves and we invited out top collectors of both his collectibles and Braves collectibles, where they got to go to Atlanta Braves game.

Eric:

They got to meet him before the game, they got to have a exclusive Q&A, they got to go in the field for batting practice and then they watched the Braves take home a win, which is pretty awesome.

Eric:

We've replicated that with a variety of players throughout Major League Baseball and online settings just on Zoom or Google Meet, getting a chance to meet a player like that or other events out of the stadium, and then, I think, flipping things on the DC side, there's been so much opportunity for them to be able to participate and relieve and receive surprises along the way.

Eric:

We've done everything from physical comic book gifting of an exclusive comic just based on them being a part of our program. They've gotten to attend autograph signings at comic-con with the infamous jim lee, and then they get to participate in on platform voting on a continual basis, which really allows them to take part in any part, any kinds of stories and new elements of comic books and really redefine comic book history. So those are just a small sample, but this is really why I've been having so much fun at Andy, because the experience doesn't just stop with that transaction or really trying to create two-way participation and allow these really to serve as access passes for fans to celebrate their passions and explore what they love to do even more.

Joeri:

Something else, but I've been doing myself, which is fun, and it's also a trend now with AR VR. In my definition, this is also part of Web3, next to digital collectibles and blockchain and so on, so that I am curious to hear how you envision the future of digital collectibles and fan experiences in AR VR, or, if you want to call it, the metaverse or spatial computing.

Eric:

Yeah, so many different terms and so much technological developments no-transcript. We had Steve Spiked Bat, we had Eleven's Roller Skates, and all of these were AR enabled. So you could take Eleven's Roller Skates, once you purchase that collectible, take those into your home or take those really anywhere you want with AR and be able to use that viewer to bring the show to life, which was really amazing. And then, throughout our work with DC, our latest products have also been enabled with AR as well. So our Legacy Cal that went on sale just a few weeks ago. This has applications on Snapchat, tiktok, facebook and a variety of other platforms where you can really not just see the mask but wear the mask. It's got great spatial awareness. You can view the interior 3D really amazing features. I think we've already seen hundreds of pieces of UGC of fans really saying oh, you think Web3 is just online. No, here's MyLegacyCal and they're repping it as their PFP on X or they're really doing all sorts of amazing things and creating content with it.

Eric:

I think AR has been the most real life use case.

Eric:

Let's not forget how close we are for VR in the metaverse, for all the work that's being done in the space and all the hype.

Eric:

We are getting to a point where there's going to be more mass adoption here and I think the beauty of digital collectibles is, with Web3, it's all about your digital identity and I think we're going to have a fully realized, actualized state when you're able to take everything you've collected and bring that into a new world. We've got some early things in the works right now on the VR and metaverse space. Not saying this is going to be turned on tomorrow. It's going to take time. There are going to need to be more headsets available. They're going to need to be at a cheaper price point. We're going to need to have a lot more of advancements in technology. I think the future is here and it really has started with these collectibles and these opportunities, and now it's only a matter of time before these worlds get to be really intertwined in new ways and the possibilities are endless. So a lot of stuff in the works and excited to hopefully come back on the show soon and share some more details.

Joeri:

Yes, that sounds really exciting and I said it, or maybe people. There is always show notes linked to this podcast and there is always. There are always show notes linked to this podcast. There is always an article and if people don't want to know more about it, I will put it there, the show notes. But please give us the links or where they can find it.

Eric:

Absolutely. Candy. com/ MLB will be the destination there. We also have our content homes on social for X and Instagram and TikTok. So a lot more to come, but we'll be available this summer for free in the App Store and Google Play Store.

Joeri:

Wow. So people check it out. I think this is really amazing. Eric and his team have been working on amazing things and yeah, it is exploring the world of Web3, but then in a fun way and with things like sports, which I think almost everyone of us likes. Eric, it was really a pleasure to have you on the show.

Eric:

Awesome. Thank you so much for the time. Really appreciate all the work you do to prepare for these and meet with some incredible guests, and I was really honored to be here today.

Joeri:

Thanks again, Eric. Thank you all for listening to our podcast to this episode. If you think that this episode is really interesting for people around you, be sure to share with them and surely, if they are a sports fan and if you're not yet following the show, as I always say, this is a really good moment to do this. And, yes, I hope to see you back next time. Take care.

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Joeri Billast

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