In late 2021, there was no real “metaverse.” There were disconnected platforms, each with its own “wearables,” and no seamless navigation. We changed that by launching the FIRST cross-platform wearable. Now, with their Genesis Curry Flow NFT, gamers can navigate and get unique utility in each platform. With $0 media budget, we activated Twitter, Discord and the gaming communities to support. This campaign connected the metaverse, launched a product during the global supply chain crisis, and celebrated a Stephen Curry world record while giving to charity and creating a new stream of revenue for Under Armour.

In December 2021, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was closing in on the world record for 3-point shots. Our client, Under Armour, planned to launch a highly anticipated sneaker in celebration of this incredible accomplishment, but unfortunately global supply chain problems meant the shoe would not reach the market in time. It also meant that there would be very little budget available to celebrate such an important moment. While the world watched in awe as Steph “changed the basketball game for good,” our task was to figure out what we could do without a traditional product and very little budget to live up to the moment, and get Under Armour back into the cultural conversation it had lost to competitors Adidas and Nike in recent years.

Our idea was to change the metaverse for good just as Steph was changing the game of basketball for good by launching the Genesis Curry Flow, the first wearable that a player can take with them as they move across platforms. By doing this, we would become the first true metaverse wearable, an accomplishment that could live up to the importance of this moment.

We launched 2,974 unique NFTs (a number picked to reflect the 3-pointer world record) in five discrete rarities, each one coming with a “shoe locker” where we designed the Genesis Curry Flow into the unique language of the leading metaverse platforms of Decentraland, The Sandbox, Gala Games and RKL. The locker connected directly to the platforms, meaning that, for the first time, the game player could enter the distinct worlds with the same unique sneaker, permanently changing the game and the metaverse.

It’s one thing to have an insight about the gaming world, or even to have a great idea about “changing the metaverse for good,” but when you have $0 to market your idea, that presents a different challenge. With no traditional media and no influencers to hype our drop, we instead developed another strategic first by turning the gaming platforms into media. The gaming platforms don’t do commercials or much of what might be seen as traditional marketing, but they have large, loyal gamer audiences on Twitter and Discord engaged in conversations about the games. We created high-quality video assets, essentially teasers, for our drop and invited the platforms to get as excited as we were about achieving the first true landmark of metaverse interoperability by sharing with their audiences. The strategy worked beyond our wildest dreams, driving conversation and anticipation.

The lead-up to the drop began with a simple video asset, a “loot box” that gamers recognize as a sign that something exciting is coming. This was distributed throughout the gaming social channels of Decentraland, Gala Games, The Sandbox and RKL, followed by a video asset of our “Shoe Locker” teasing the interoperability. A 30-second video of our Curry Flow moving through the metaverse platforms, starting with real- life Steph Curry himself, was dropped to the same gaming audiences. The video captured the core idea by revolving on an axis from one “world” to the next while keeping the sneaker and player central to each world. The 2,974 Genesis Curry Flow NFTs are 3D high-fidelity video assets in five distinct rarities, each one focusing on a unique aspect of Steph’s game. Each variant airdropped to our locker came with its own specific utility, adding to the value for the holder.

At the time of the drop, over 25 million people had visited our site. When the drop went live, 4.5 million tried to buy the digital sneaker, ensuring the shoes sold out in minutes. All proceeds from the initial sale went to UA’s charities resulting in $1 million raised for Access to Sports. Secondary sales followed and continue to rise, with over $17 million in volume, contributing to greater funds for the charities, paying for the cost of the entire marketing campaign more than twice over, and setting a new standard for how to generate a true metaverse product.

Our campaign was No. 1 on Polygon for over a week, earning over 1.3 billion impressions with $0 paid media and an overall 98% positive sentiment. The campaign was also picked up by 30-plus media outlets including Time, WSJ, Hypebeast, and CoinDesk, proving this was a truly cross platform campaign.