Sacramento Kings Collaborate With Socios.com On Marketing Partnership
August 13, 2021
The Sacramento Kings have unveiled a new partnership with Socios.com, a direct-to-consumer platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide the world’s leading sporting organizations with the tools to engage with and monetize their global fanbases.
Starting with the 2021-22 season, the partnership will focus on marketing Socios.com through advertising within Golden 1 Center including on pole pad signage, fan engagement emails, the Kings website and the team’s social media channels. Socios.com will be integrated into the team’s voting activations as the presenting sponsor of polling on the Kings social media platforms, providing numerous opportunities for fans to win.
“The Kings have always been a forward-looking franchise, especially when it comes to the fan experience,” said Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations John Rinehart. “We are excited to add to our blockchain portfolio and partner with Socios.com to continue to be at the forefront in incorporating technology with fan engagement.”
“I’m delighted the Sacramento Kings have become the latest major US-based sporting organization to join our rapidly expanding network,” said CEO of Socios.com and Chiliz Alexandre Dreyfus. “Socios.com is fast developing into a global fan engagement powerhouse, where passive fans are being transitioned into real players in the day-to-day activities of their favorite teams. This is the start of an exciting partnership that we believe can eventually lead to greatly enhanced fan engagement for fans of the Kings around the world.”
The Kings join a 50+ strong network of major international sporting properties on the Socios.com roster, which includes European soccer giants FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, Manchester City and the Argentina and Portugal national soccer teams, as well as several leading teams from F1, esports and cricket. In addition, the partnership is part of Socios.com’s growing expansion into the US sports industry including the 76ers (NBA), Boston Celtics (NBA), New Jersey Devils (NHL), MMA promotion company UFC® and NASCAR’S Roush Fenway Racing.
The Kings were named the “most innovative company in sports” by Fast Company and “Most Tech Savvy Team of 2016” by Sport Techie and were a recipient of Sports Business Journal’s “Facility of the Year.”
In 2019, the Kings announced the NBA’s first blockchain-powered reward program in collaboration with Blockparty – an enhancement to the NBA’s first predictive gaming application, “Call the Shot.” Also in 2019, the Kings announced a collaboration with CryptoKaiju, creator of the world’s first vinyl toys powered by Ethereum and fully traceable on a public blockchain, to launch the first physical crypto-collectible in professional sports. In 2020, the team launched the NBA’s first Live blockchain-powered auction platform for authentic memorabilia with Consensys and Treum. Last month the team launched a digital collection of 85 NFTs depicting the 1985 commemorative pin given out in the Kings inaugural season in Sacramento and featuring exclusive experiences including 2021-22 Opening Night tickets. In addition, the team piloted the first-ever Smart Ticket NFT Experience Pass for 100 lucky fans during California Classic, NBA summer league games.
