ATP makes it official. What now?

In January, web3 officially became a dedicated function at ATP.

Huge. news.

If you're interested to understand how we're approaching this as a business, this week's newsletter gives a quick fire Q&A.

Also: the newsletter has been rebranded! Crypto Alpha is now Into: Web3. Same great content, now with a fresh new look.

Q: What does success look like for ATP in web3?

Building a community that strengthens fans’ connection to tennis.

This is as much about the connection between fans and the game (tournaments, players) as the connection between the fans themselves.

Q: Who does this involve?

Our roadmap focuses on two groups:

1. The web3 community (typically non-native to tennis)
2. Tennis fans (typically non-native to web3)

There is of course some overlap between the two

But, as we learnt on the LOVE project, they each require a different approach.

Q: What does engaging the web3 community look like?

Collaborations.

This is about bringing non-tennis fans into our sport by collaborating in an authentic way with engaged communities (in turn building our credibility in the space).

Generative Art is one area that excites us.

But there are many other avenues to explore that serve our core web3 mission.

Q: What about tennis fans?

This is the much bigger challenge (for us and the web3 industry generally).

The overarching goal is to onboard millions of tennis fans into web3, to make their experience of the game more compelling.

Q: What’s the approach?

The mass adoption of new tech is typically catalysed by a killer app. The average person didn’t ‘get’ AI until ChatGPT.?

In my mind there are a handful of use cases that can achieve this in web3: fantasy, ticketing, loyalty. This will be our first port of call.

This is not to dismiss things like play-to-earn games. They can be engaging, but their addressable market is still small.?

Looking back on my days of doing 25+ weeks travel on ATP Tour, I remember my obsession with the Hilton loyalty programme. Getting to Diamond Status was my mission each year (and I did some serious mental gymnastics to justify staying at out-of-the-way hotels). That was a deeply engaging and value additive experience - and one that everyone “gets”.?

That’s what we’re aiming for. Taking something familiar and making it better with web3.

Side note: I have recently become fascinated by Octalysis, a framework that breaks down the eight drivers of human motivation. It's behind a lot of game and app design - and is helping to shape our thinking.

Q: What problem are you trying to solve?

Connection.

When you follow a team sport, you are part of a shared identity. It’s a socially connective experience. Much less so with tennis.

When have you ever heard: “let’s go down to the pub to watch the tennis?”. Doesn’t happen.

But this social layer is fundamental for keeping you invested in cultural experiences.

I think about all of my best moments experiencing tennis. It was as much about the game itself as who I was with.

Bringing communities of people together is the central premise of web3. Doing that in a meaningful way through the right products will make the tennis fan experience more compelling.

Q: What’s the value to the business?

More compelling product = fan retention and growth.

But web3 also represents a powerful direct-to-consumer marketing channel.?

Every token you hold in a wallet is a signal.

Let’s say I hold an NFT ticket from attending the Masters 1000 event in Madrid - plus a digital collectible I got from visiting the Estrella Damm beer garden. I also hold digital trading cards of my favourite players, along with assets from other communities and interests I’m a part of.

This type of consumer profiling is gold - but web3 makes it open to all and creates a permissionless way to give back value.

If Emirates has promotional fares between Madrid-Dubai around the time of the Dubai ATP 500 event, it can airdrop a voucher to all Madrid-based tennis fans.

If a player wants to launch their own NFT collection, they can instantly see which wallets are likely to be their fans, and reward them with pre-sale access.

If we as the Tour want to connect with tennis super fans that are also interested in say, sustainability, we can identify them via assets held, and send them an exclusive invite to a climate activation.

Q: What are the Tour’s KPIs?

The key measure of success is engagement. We are not interested in building a community of flippers or speculators - rather a group of passionate fans whose experience of the game is made better by owning one of our assets.

The second measure we’ll be tracking is total wallets holding a tennis-related digital asset. This could be issued by ATP or anyone else in our ecosystem (tournaments, players, sponsors). It doesn’t really matter as the value is in the network effect.

Q: Any advice for other businesses looking to dive into web3?

1. Keep it simple. I labour this point but it’s the one that has served us best. Ultimately, the best web3 products are as simple for the consumer as using Instagram (note: not many have achieved this). Strategically it is often the simpler ideas that make most sense for a business, even if they aren’t the flashiest.
2. Have a clear value proposition. Without it, consumers aren’t going to download an app, create a new login, or purchase a digital asset. Remember it’s not about the tech, but the value it provides. In fact with all the body blows the space’s reputation has taken of late, there’s a job to be done in overcoming the general public’s warranted scepticism.
3. Learn by doing. This is what I’ve been doing with the leadership team at ATP. It’s been great to see the interest and appetite. And, it’s what this series is all about. So keep on reading (and feel free to reach out if you’re in need of pointers).

Thanks for reading (and sharing) Into: Web3