Taking Metaverse Gold at The Drum Awards for Marketing EMEA 2024 is Build the Block: First Ever Reality Show in the Metaverse from Tommy and Binance. Here is the award-winning case study.
Over the past decade, the metaverse has evolved from a concept in science fiction books to a thriving global network, giving rise to a passionate community within this new age of the internet. The community of metaverse evangelists may seem small but their ideas are endless. Unlike other entrepreneurial communities, this one is entirely reliant on collective success. Where one succeeds, so do others. Bolstered by big names and bigger personalities, it can be volatile, dramatic, but above it all – exciting!
As the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance is truly the backbone of the web3 space. Their fates tightly intertwined, Binance has tried for years to drive innovation within the industry. Their previous attempts had minimal impact, with their Incubation Hub for entrepreneurs only reaching those directly involved, making the project isolated and having little effect on the wider space.
With such a charged community to engage, they wanted to do more. It was time to change the culture, empowering those with the ambition to create their own building blocks of success, and encourage a lasting future for the entire web3 space.
Insight
Those native to the metaverse are not ordinary individuals; they are tech-savvy, risk-taking visionaries who want to change the world. Binance wanted to take this energy and make something spectacular to show that anything is possible.
What we learnt about their unique behavior & interests:
- Meeting in the metaverse: Shifting the focus to reaching people within the metaverse, rather than expecting them to come to us.
- Community driven: They’re a tight knit community so we needed to involve as many individuals as possible, be prepared for mass engagement and make it easy.
- Identity individuality: Who they are in the metaverse is a point of pride. It’s an opportunity to express themselves that should be celebrated.
- Accountability is key: Born in the blockchain, these individuals thrive on analysis and research. Encourage and enable their natural love for scrutiny.
- Risk takers: Give them something to bet on. Appeal to their business acumen by providing opportunities for calculated risks. They believe in making informed decisions and taking bold steps.
Strategy
Crypto, tech, investment might seem like traditionally boring topics to some, but in this community, they were not. Lovers of drama they see spilled out on X every week, they didn’t want numbers and facts, they wanted to be entertained! And that’s exactly what we were going to do.
It was time to create a showstopper event for the metaverse community, bringing together the best, the brightest, the most engaged. How were we going to disrupt the disruptor’s attention? With a first of its kind, reality show, ‘Build the Block’. Filmed from a bespoke virtual studio in the metaverse, the show had 12 web3 start-ups going head to head in a pitch-style format. Featuring the top players in the web3 space as judges, audience, and competitors, all to win an investment worth 2 million dollars.
That’s right. 2 MILLION dollars. And that’s not even touching on the investment available from the exposure to those streaming the episodes. The winners would have truly been blessed by the crypto deities, with their seal of approval setting them up for a future of success.
Execution
Hosted in a custom-built virtual studio within the metaverse, the show’s pitch-style format. Each startup was attempting to win the approval of a judging panel made up of crypto and metaverse experts, billionaires who had created their own crypto coins and sat as leaders of the industry.
True to the entertainment format, and adding his own celebrity flair, the show was hosted by real-world Asia’s Got Talent presenter – Justin Bratton. Like any reality show you have on TV, the show had high stakes, big names, and an exciting format, tailored to the metaverse experts.
Each episode was watched on by a live virtual studio, and audience of 150 attendees, featuring influential figures, venture capitalists, and project founders. With individually designed avatars, their personalities were brought to life. They had their own part to play, voting their support in real-time.
With a central theme of creating the foundational elements of the metaverse, the competing startups ascended virtual blocks based on the votes they received. Their journey to success ended at the judges table, where they faced the toughest scrutiny.
Spanning over seven weeks, each episode 20 minutes, we ensured continued engagement from an attention scarce audience base. Airing on Monday nights during prime time at 6 pm, a consistent schedule catered to a community that enjoyed the novelty of routine.
Having a week in between allowed the audience to go away and pore over their business plans, post their theories in online forums, and even pick the brains of the entrepreneurs on social media. They wanted to know they were betting on the right horse.
Results
If you didn’t watch this show, you’re probably not part of the web3 community. 900 start-ups applied to take part. The show was streamed to 44 countries and amassed 370 million views on Live & their YouTube channels. The trailer alone hit 1.6 million views. To put that in perspective, that’s more than twice the views for the trailer for Netflix’s biggest release at the time – the Witcher.
To ensure a flawless show week after week, we had a production team of 300 people working across 4 regions (England, Singapore, Dubai, United States and China) coordinating the stream.
Build the Block has pioneered an annual global event destined to be the hub of web3 innovation and triumph. This initiative not only reshaped the culture for entrepreneurs in the metaverse but also positioned Binance at the heart of this transformative shift.
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