January Update: BLOCKv at NRF “The Dawn of a New Technology.”

Hundreds of Vatomic butterflies were released at NRF 2019 to demonstrate how networked digital objects, gamified and running on blockchain, can dramatically change the way retail brands engage with their customers.

By all accounts, our technology showcase for over 32,000 retail professionals was an overwhelming success:

1,300+ digital butterflies and branded objects holding prizes were released at NRF. This represents the first public showcase of BLOCKV’s powerful, one-of-a-kind object “brain” functionality, the latest addition to the rapidly advancing BLOCKv platform.

Participating brands: Salesforce, AT&T, Cisco, HP, Dell VMware, Lyft, Pepsi, GE, Toshiba, NCR, Reliant, Advantech, Zivelo & Hikvision, all created Vatoms used to drive awareness and traffic. This was a watershed moment for the history of blockchain, when so many household names deployed experiential non-fungible tokens into production for public consumption. BLOCKv is honored that no other platform or technology in the space has anything close to this level of activation with major brands.

A 50% engagement ratio: With a limited release to the NRF attendees, Project NGAGE generated over 16,000 unique engagements with digital objects, far exceeding the 27% benchmark for conference/trade show attendees engaging through event mobile apps.

Higher redemption rates than conventional channels: While conventional digital channels have under 25% redemption rates for incentives like paperless coupons, the redemption rate for Project NGAGE virtual butterflies carrying valuable rewards at this year’s NRF was a staggering 93%.

A first of its kind Visual Display technology: with our partner Varius, we previewed a turn-key execution for acquiring Pepsi branded digital objects from a digital visual display. By the end of NRF, over 675 objects were acquired from the digital display featured within Intel’s retail exhibit.

Participants’ perceived value for their time exceeded expectations: 95% of the participants engaging in the redemption process expressed “positive value for their time”.

Finally, at the end of January, BLOCKv will exhibit at the Blockchain Gamer Connects and Pocket Gamer Connects conferences in London on the 21st and 22nd respectively. These conferences are aimed at the emerging and vibrant blockchain gaming development community in the UK. If you are planning to attend the conference, BLOCKv will present our platform to attendees on the Blockchain stage on January 21st. And we look forward to meeting all of you to discuss the next generation of gaming.

BLOCKv in the News

The Project NGAGE press release was picked up by 179 outlets with a potential audience reach of 84 million. A variety of media publishers in North America and in select countries around the world picked up the story, including financial outlets such as Yahoo! Finance, Market Insider and The Street, as well as tech trade and fintech outlets IT News, CNet, and Next Blockchain.

Additionally, Project NGAGE was a featured story in Forbes (business), Women’s Wear Daily (fashion retail), and Blokt (blockchain).

– Forbes highlighted Project NGAGE as a top 5 digital transformation trend at NRF, a remarkable achievement considering that over one thousand vendors were showcasing their latest innovations to the retail community.

– Stacey Shulman, Chief Innovation Officer for Intel’s Retail Solutions Division, was featured in Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) What to Watch: Retail’s FashTech Providers . BLOCKv was overwhelmed with interest and attention in the aftermath of such a prominent showcase in the context of Intel’s vision for the future of human engagement.

– Viraj Shah, who covers blockchain and cryptocurrency for Blokt, wrote an exclusive article on Project NGAGE, BLOCKv, Intel, Cataboom and Others Launch a New Blockchain-based Retail Experience at NRF 2019.

Project NGAGE and BLOCKv technology were also well covered in social media by influencers and analysts from technology partners, retail brands and blockchain/cryptocurrency leaders.

– Intel tweeted out pictures of Project NGAGE, featuring BLOCKv at the core of the program, at NRF to their 131K followers.

– Bryan Bedford, Global Industry Partner Lead for Sports, Media, and Retail at Cisco tweeted the press release and thank you to his 3,067 followers.

– Antony Welfare, Blockchain Thought Leader and Innovation Strategy Director at Oracle tweeted his “intrigue” in Project NGAGE prior to NRF to his 3,644 followers.

– Michael Novogratz, founder of Galaxy Digital, tweeted out his excitement and the Project NGAGE press release to his 112K followers.

Blockchain Gamer Connects Conference

Fresh off the plane from NRF, the BLOCKv team in attendance at the Blockchain Gamer Connects conference in London. Jon Knight, BLOCKv’s VP of Business Development & Partnerships, presented on the evolution of digital objects and how Vatoms could be used to bridge game, virtual & augmented realities and deliver completely new revenue streams to games developers.

BLOCKv’s presence in the main conference hall built on the success of our butterfly activation at NRF, where the team delighted attendees by releasing virtual drones around the conference venue filled with prizes. Marcelo Faro & Andi Studer were on hand to answer developers’ technical questions, along with BLOCKv COO, Lukas Fluri.

Later that evening, the team hosted the second London Meetup at a nearby pub, attended by a great mix of developers, community members, and clients. Some really interesting conversations took place, ranging from the philosophical to deep technical discussions around in-flight projects A big thank you to all those who took time out of their evenings to make such a fun and interesting event, especially those who traveled significant distances to be there. We look forward to seeing you at the next Meetup.