Back in November during NFT.NYC 2021, we had some excellent meetings, meals, and conversations in New York and that was great; you can get a lot accomplished when everyone is centered around one location. But this year, we decided to get more into the mix… the word for our time at NFT.NYC 2022 as we planned and imagined our week there was TANGIBLE. We wanted Sweet to have a tangible presence at this community event. The word “community” makes it seem small, but with 300 sponsors, 1,500 approved speakers, and over 15,000 people in attendance, NFT.NYC 2022 was anything but small. And yet, Sweet’s goal in sponsoring and having a presence there was about tangibility — really engaging the NFT community and having an impact.
From the very start of the NFT.NYC 2022 week, there was A LOT going on: NFT protesters caught the world’s attention. And what turned out to be a staged NFT protest march from Adam Bomb Squad/The Hundreds became a stroke of brilliance that garnered attention from the media, from attendees, and from normies. Doodles announced Pharrell as their Chief Brand Officer; Bored Apes had their Apefest with notable performances by HAIM and Eminem; and Goblintown hosted a party for the ages.
But from the time the Sweet team first assembled over dinner on Monday night to review our game plan until Thursday evening when we all made our respective journeys home (either across the Hudson or across the country), we were focused on making the most of our week at NFT.NYC 2022. And here are some of the highlights of how we did just that:
Our own Andrew Klein kicked things off on Tuesday, June 21st at Radio City Music Hall with a 25-minute origin story of how he and 3 of his peers in the agency/brand space became true authentic web3 degens. Andrew spent his own time and money to explore the space with his friends — All 4 of them ended up becoming web3 influencers along the way. They then applied this knowledge and clout to their day jobs and began to identify authentic ways to bring traditional brands into the web3 ecosystem. The 25-minute session was inspiring, riveting, and just really fun to watch.
Then on Tuesday afternoon, team Sweet took the stage at the Palladium Times Square for a 60-minute breakout session entitled: Building an NFT Playbook. This workshop was all about taking attendees through the Sweet process of how we partner with brands, sports teams, and creators to bring their NFT projects and campaigns to life and help them answer 2 pivotal questions:
- How do we get started with NFTs and prepare our business for web3?
- How can we create & execute an NFT program that is true to our brand, resonates with our existing audiences, and is authentic in the web3 space?
On Wednesday, June 22nd, after announcing Sweet’s collaboration with Elton John and Jadu on the auction of a 1-of-1 Elton John Jadu Hoverboard, we were able to show off the Elton Hoverboard to the Jadu community as Jadu Founder and CEO Asad J. Malik announced the sale of the Elton John Jadu Hoverboard to Sebastien B. from Sandbox for $80,000 at Jadu’s event at Central Park’s famous Wollman Rink. With 100% of the total auction amount being donated to the Elton John Aids Foundation, this sale marked Elton John’s entrance into web3, which Sweet will continue to shepherd, and it was the most expensive Jadu Hoverboard sold to date.
And then on Thursday, June 23rd Sweet Founder and CEO, Tom Mizzone gave a talk on the topic: How NFTs can Transform Users from Passive Consumers to Brand Ambassadors and because of perfect timing — his talk was the same day we announced our partnership with the NHL to deliver an official NHL NFT marketplace that will not only showcase current and historic NHL moments, but will also have gamified elements allowing fans to interact with each other and to experience NHL Hockey in a completely new, fan-first way. It was an amazing way to cap off a very SWEET time at NFT.NYC 2022!
