• by Colin Kirkland , April 13, 2023

With Nike’s SWOOSH, Scotch & Soda’s Club Soda 3.0, and Starbucks recently launched Odyssey platform, Web3 rewards programs, powered by the distribution of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and experience-based initiatives, have officially entered the mainstream.

But what about brands that are not as tech-savvy, or don't have the budget to create an end-to-end white-label platform?

Exclusible, a Web3 partner for brands, is attempting to onboard more brands into the Web3 sphere via its new platform Highloop, which businesses can use to create and distribute digital collectibles without technical knowledge of programming or the blockchain.

Highloop allows brands to build exclusive communities by releasing collectibles that reward customer engagement experiences like attending events, purchasing products, and participating in brand activations, Exclusible says.

“Our mantra is no crypto, no wallet, no problem,” Exclusible CCO Olivier Moingeon told MediaPost. “To democratize Web3, it's very important to hide Web3 in the backend.”

On Highloop, brands can mint NFTs within minutes with the choice to use either the Polygon or Ethereum blockchains. Customers do not need a virtual wallet to claim their NFTs. Instead, they can log into Highloop with their Facebook or Google accounts.

With Highloop, Moingeon says that the brand can create as many NFT collections as they want. “If your brand has a fashion show in Miami, the marketing team in three minutes can create an NFT that people can redeem at the show. In the future, the brand can tell who attended, and offer them discounts on products and events like a VIP dinner in New York City. They become part of a club.”

So far, Highloop has been piloted by brands like Alpine, a sports car manufacturer and Formula 1 racing team, which used the platform to generate 1,500 digital collectibles. These collectibles were given away as part of a marketing campaign, aided by Exclusible, which helped the brand expand its Twitter presence from zero to over 50,000 followers in three weeks. The initiative supported the development of a new community for Alpine.

Shiseido, a Japanese cosmetics company, also collaborated with Highloop, creating 150 NFTs to mark their 150th anniversary. Owners of the Shiseido tokens are set to receive several benefits, including £1,000 worth of skincare and samples throughout the year.

However, Moingeon says that Highloop is Exclusible's smallest, most simple entity. For brands that do have bigger budgets and want to create something more in-line with Odyssey or SWOOSH, Exclusible can build custom Web3 loyalty programs, which it thinks of as “a new kind of marketing and engagement engine.”

These custom programs provide brands the ability to distribute digital collectibles directly via their own website as well as gamifying brand engagement, where fans can acquire more collectibles by performing various quests, both digitally and also at physical stores or events.

Moingeon believes brands implementing this type of rewards program save on customer acquisition costs, arguing that amid more competition and content saturation, they have increased dramatically.

“That pyramid is inverted in Web3,” he said. “It costs nothing to build your community.” 

Moingeon cited its Alpine NFT drop, in which Exclusible charged the French sports car brand nothing in marketing dollars, while still reaching 50,000 Twitter followers who claimed all free 1,500 NFTs in three minutes. Now, Alpine can send those NFT holders a message and ask them to participate in future brand experiences. 

“Engagement is so much higher because it’s a smaller community but they’re highly motivated,” added Moingeon.

As for the general adoption of NFTs and Web3 rewards programs, Moingeon thinks it will stem from Web3 enthusiasts (like himself) on the fringe. But if brands release NFTs for free that have “massive utilities,” people will become more curious, he says.