Manchester City and sleeve sponsor OKX have launched an NFT campaign. “Unseen City shirts” features club shirts redesigned as digital collectables that fans can mint for free on the OKX app in exchange for a limited number of prizes. The first shirt is released today (22 April).
Called “The roses and the bees”, it has been designed by artist Christian Jeffery as a homage to Manchester by combining emblems of the Lancashire rose and the Manchester worker bee. A second shirt will drop on 29 April.
Fans have until 25 April to mint the digital collectibles. Each NFT minted will be randomly assigned a rarity level: classic, rare or ultra rare. Depending on its rarity, fans have a chance to win prizes such as a limited-edition physical version of the specially designed football shirt, hospitality tickets to a Manchester City match and a play-on-pitch experience.
There are five ultra-rare NFTs, 25 rare and unlimited classic collectibles to collect. City Football Group’s chief marketing and fan experience officer Nuria Tarré said: “Manchester City are continually exploring new and unique ways to engage with our global fanbase and aim to be at the forefront of the use of emerging technology to enhance fan experience.
“The metaverse and Web3 are part of our innovative technology strategy and provide an exciting opportunity as we continue to offer touchpoints for fans in this emerging space, with digital collectible drops and metaverse-based experiences launched in recent years by the club.”
OKX’s partnership with Manchester City began in March 2022 and expanded in July that year when OKX became the club’s official training kit partner for the 2022-23 season. In June last year, OKX was named the official sleeve partner in a multi-year agreement.
Haider Rafique, OKX’s chief marketing officer, said: “The ‘Unseen City shirts’ campaign allows us to engage fans in an authentic way that is true to OKX’s values, taking something familiar and reimagining it with the help of creativity, technology and innovation.”
CAA Brand Consulting was the activation agency on the campaign and assisted with creative planning and art direction. OKX handled the marketing, design and production teams. OKX and CAA Brand Consulting won a Brand Film award EMEA 2023 for their animated work, “Into the OKXverse with Manchester City”.
The football club and OKX’s previous ventures into Web3 and the metaverse include a coaching masterclass in 2023 and there are further plans in the space.
Tarré said: “Nothing will replace being at the stadium and feeling that vibrancy of the fans. But the more we can try to make those experiences immersive, the more we’ll get technology to help in that sense. It can come through clothing, glasses, headsets – there’s plenty of ways to do that.
“We work with OKX and many other partners in developing some of these new technologies. I can’t disclose much more now.”
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