Utilising an NFT gaming experience to drive fan engagement

Introduction

How the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup provided utility value to NFTs using sport gamification

The AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup is a four-week competition that showcases the footballing talents of Southeast Asia, with ten nations battling it out to be crowned champions.

The ten-team competition is the showcase event for ASEAN football and is one of the most watched sporting competitions in Asia, with the total attendances surpassing 750,000 fans in 2018 and viewership touching 266million across the month-long event back in 2021.

The Task

To expand fan experience and engagement throughout the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup

SPORTFIVE and Be Media, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, partnered with the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup to create ONSIDE, a new NFT project to deliver licensed digital collectibles ahead of the 2022 edition of the tournament.

The ONSIDE project was the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian sporting landscape, with the NFT focus bringing the ASEAN football competition to life in the ever-growing Web3 space.

SPORTFIVE and Be Media approached Low6 with the task of providing utility value of the 2022 AFF Cup NFT collection to extend fans’ experience and engagement throughout the tournament.

The Solution

Offering a free-to-play game that incorporates utility NFTs

Using our award-winning whitelabel product, UltimateFan, Low6 developed ONSIDE Fantasy Football, an NFT-led free-to-play fantasy game that was the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian sporting market.

The gameplay was structured around the original UltimateFan blueprint with players being issued packdrops that revealed a selection of footballers and Teams competing in the tournament. Players then would use these digital cards to devise a line-up for each contest and points would be earned based on the footballers and teams real-life performance in the AFF Cup. Players would compete on a global leaderboard as well as taking on family, friends and colleagues in Invitational Private Leagues,

The fantasy game carried the ASEAN football championship into the Web3 space by giving the NFT collection in-game benefits. Anyone that had purchased an NFT could apply them to one of their ONSIDE digital cards and this would boost their overall score. A neat way of not only utlisting NFTS but also bringing a new dimension to the gaming experience.

Engage the user

“We are proud to partner with Low6 to bring about an unparalleled experience for our fans of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup. By adding an aspect of gamification to ONSIDE, we are able to provide regional fans with a new and fun way to engage with the NFT collectibles and grow these groundbreaking digital assets further within the Southeast Asia sporting landscape.”

Malcolm Thorpe

Managing Director, Southeast Asia at SPORTFIVE

The Result

Thousands of fans engaged throughout the tournament

Thousands of users installed the ONSIDE Fantasy Football app with every Player adding their Metamask wallet to the game so they could apply their NFT collection.

Whilst game users were spread throughout the 10 nations, it proved to be most popular in Laos and Indonesia.

The average expenditure per paying user reached double figures, with the game showing its potential for bringing in extra revenue.

Case Studies