7 minute read
WARRINGTON WOLVES
WARRINGTON WOLVES LEADS RUGBY LEAGUE INTO THE WORLD OF MONETISING DIGITAL MEDIA
Warrington Wolves' Chief Executive Karl Fitzpatrick is pioneering the development of Rugby League into the world of monetising digital assets, following the launch of the clubs first NFT (Non-Fungible Token).
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The digital era has changed the ways brands and teams are connecting with their fans and looking to acquire new ones. By leveraging new technologies like NFTs and fan tokens, brands are able to reach new spaces and open new revenue paths that were previously unavailable.
NFTs have become one of the most in-demand technologies across multiple industries, including sport, where they have been greeted with mixed feelings.
Being a big NBA fan, the league’s Top Shot success caught Fitzpatrick’s attention, and prompted him to want to learn more about NFTs and the Metaverse.
“I went to see Barry Hearn last summer and the first question he asked was ‘What is your NFT strategy?’ After that it made me realise that I should start taking this a bit more serious.
“I started doing a lot of research in terms of who has released NFTs, and I spoke to a club in Sydney, Australia, who had announced they were set to release and NFT. We also spoke to the Head of Strategy at Manchester City to get an understanding in terms of their offering to be the first pioneers in NFTs, and that’s where our ideas stemmed from.”
As with the vast majority of people, Fitzpatrick was left asking what an NFT was, why or how it could be leveraged.
Fitzpatrick drew his initial inspiration from NBA Top Shots which are packaged highlight clips that operate like trading cards, but he was also acutely aware of the lack of education around purchasing digital assets and the utility the holder gains.
“We have designed our own NFT in the form of a playing card of our halfback, George Williams. We released seven editions of the NFT, and as part of that offering, we have also included a physical item.
“The reason we did that, was to bridge the gap between a digital and a physical asset because there is still that knowledge gap in terms of understanding exactly what it is you are buying when you don’t receive something tangible. By including a signed shirt, we aimed to bridge that gap.
“In terms of where the world is going, I think it is important to get into this space and to understand it. That is the direction of travel, and we need to try and maximise that commercially.” ➡
The launch positions Warrington Wolves as the first rugby league club in the world to enter the space of digital assets. A craze now prominent in North American sport has spread over to Europe, as Warrington join the growing list of European football clubs issuing official NFTs. It cements the club’s willingness to be bold, to explore new markets, and be progressive.
However, there is still a long way to go in educating supporters on exactly what it is.
“The primary objective was that we wanted to be the first in the market and we wanted to enhance our brand equity. It demonstrates to our current and potential partners that we are at the forefront of new media, and innovation.
not to conflict with Warrington’s sustainability aims. “Being sustainable is very important to our organisation and the research that we did shows that the issue in terms of carbon emissions that comes off the back of organisations that mine thousands of NFTs, that’s one of the reasons why we did a short drop and released just seven digital assets. “The sustainability aspect is very important to us, that’s why we kept it short. It also brings with it that element of exclusivity.” The response from the media and fans has been very positive for the club. Warrington Wolves are first to marketplace and no one can take that away from them now.
“We did a lot of research with our supporter base and there was a big knowledge gap within this space, which is understandable as its not mainstream yet, so it does take a bit of digesting and understanding in terms of exactly what it is.
“Our NFT is available on Opensea. At the time of launch you needed a crypto wallet to buy the NFT in Opensea, now they have introduced a function whereby you can use a debit card to purchase which I think is big positive and will make it more accessible. Not having a crypto wallet was a big barrier as not many people have one, or know what one is.
“I still think that there is a lot of educating that needs to be done. As part of our offering we try to cover all those barriers by doing things like offering a physical item and educating people in terms of what they are going to be receiving, the design.
NFTs have sparked concerns around the environmental impact of the energy-demanding process of regulating and verifying transactions on the blockchain.
Taking the decision to issue a small, limited number of just seven NFTs, Fitzpatrick highlights that one of the aims of the project was
In a decades time when everyone is looking to own an NFT, they were first in the market. It allows the club to now engage with a potential new marketplace in its infancy – the digital community. Fitzpatrick insists that he is now looking at other opportunities within the Metaverse.
I think it’s still very new and we are finding our way in terms of how we commercialise it. With the Metaverse, that is something that we are now looking to explore and become pioneers in this space, and there are not many other clubs doing so right now.
“For example, we are looking towards hosting a Q&A in the Metaverse with our head coach as opposed to holding a Q&A on site at the stadium. We are hoping to get to a stage where a user can simply click a link, download the app to the Metaverse that we work with, and engage through attending the Q&A and asking questions right from home. This provides the opportunity to engage with our supporters on a deeper level.
“We are also looking into potential digital fan tokens, there are so many opportunities like ticketing, digital and NFT ticketing, but the next step for us is the Metaverse.
“Like most sports, we want to engage and grow our younger supporter base –our next generation of supporters. Therefore, we need to be on the platforms speaking a language that they understand. We need to be relevant, and we need to be prevalent in the spaces that they occupy.”
Warrington Wolves operate in a really competitive market. By location, they are situated 30 minutes from Liverpool FC and Everton FC in one direction, and Manchester United and Manchester City 30 minutes the other way. As a town, Warrington has the highest number of amateur football clubs in the country, 54.
Fitzpatrick must position the club differently. They can’t go toe-totoe with the football clubs on sport alone, so they need to provide an offering that’s different to what they already offer.
“We position ourselves more like an American franchise with the game day and match experience. When it comes to Warrington, despite what happens whistle to whistle, you’re going to have that real positive, memorable experience.”
“The big challenges aren’t only football clubs, but there are now so many other alternatives for young people to do – e-sports, cinemas, bowling, and other leisure time activities.
“We must provide that superior experience for people to spend their disposable income and if we can be on those platforms where the new generation are engaged, we can become more relevant to them.
“At the moment we live in a noisy and busy environment where everyone is trying to get your attention, so we have to stand out. We have a marketing strategy called ‘stop the scrolling’ which falls on our digital team putting out content that isn’t bland and boring, but actually makes people stop scrolling to look at and possibly engage.
“One thing I say to the marketing team is ‘stop thinking like a rugby league club and think like we are in the entertainment industry – that’s the content you’ve got to put out.’ We need to offer more than that, it needs to grab attention and if it raises a few eyebrows then so be it.” ◆
