Premier League team Everton FC is the newest addition to Chiliz’s Socios.com network. The football team will launch its fan token on the Socios app during the coming season, which starts at the end of the month.
Fan tokens enable clubs to enhance engagement with fans. Someone who buys a fan token can exchange it for physical prizes such as merchandise, interactive experiences with players, the ability to participate in polls, and other exclusive rewards specific to the club.
Everton’s fan tokens will enable token holders to participate in club-related competitions and quizzes that accumulate points towards a global leaderboard. These points will be exchangeable for additional benefits in the platform. Tokens will also yield access to Everton’s exclusive content on the Socios.com app through the augmented reality feature “Token app”.
Many clubs are looking for ways to keep fans interested beyond the field. Most top clubs in Europe, including Paris Saint Germain, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool have partnered with Sorare where their players are used in digital collectibles available for weekly football fantasy games. Several clubs have also signed with streaming services to produce documentaries of the season’s progression, such as Manchester City and Arsenal’s partnership with Amazon Prime and Juventus with Netflix.
One of the benefits of implementing fan tokens as an engagement solution is that it provides direct fan data to clubs. This enables clubs to have a greater awareness of which fans are willing to pay for the rewards and what kind of rewards are more popular. Hence clubs can make targeted marketing offers to fans and further enhance fans’ investment and interest in the team. It also helps clubs reach their fan base without geographic restrictions.
“Everton is a club with great tradition and a passionate, loyal fanbase.” said Chiliz and Socios’ CEO Alexandre Dreyfus. “(…) The club is embracing Socios.com and Fan Tokens because it recognizes the importance and massive potential of fan engagement on a global scale.”
Socios is expanding rapidly in 2021 and has announced a series of significant partnerships. Chiliz announced a $50 million investment into Socios to conquer the top American sports leagues and has since partnered with three NBA teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers and NHL’s Jersey Devils. Socios is also sponsoring Argentina’s first division football league, which will be named Torneo Socios.com in the 2021/22 season.
