Leicester Tigers gets in on the crypto grift...

[Darc Tiger]

Personally, I won't be buying any gear with crypto branding.

[CrumblingTerrace]

Socios is a crypto scheme.

As I understand it, the 'Fan Tokens' can only be purchased using the cryptocurrency $CHZ. The initial batch of tokens are offered to us at a fixed price of £2 (or 20.97 CHZ at today's rates) but after that all tokens go onto the marketplace. At that point, not only does the value of your token fluctuate (Socios say, "Due to club performance, transfer news etc.") but you're also exposed to the fluctuations of CHZ's valuation.

Their CEO says, "My job is to monetise the 99 per cent of fans that aren’t in the stadium."

[TigerFeetSteve]

Hopefully the club does monitor this space because they need to know this is a horrific misstep and the fact that Football and F1 have also made it does not provide any mitigation. Massively disappointed that our name is associated with this...

Exactly, Tigerbeat does say that some bits of threads are passed on to the club, can we make sure this thread is!!!!

[Darc Tiger]

Great post on the unoffy from johnthegrif

My interpretation is that if I purchase fan tokens I gain access to players, can watch training and a few other things that I thought (pre pandemic) were part of the season ticket. Admittedly I never considered that I would be able to take the Premiership Trophy to work or to the pub, I wonder how insurance regards that?. I have found that if you speak to a player they normally speak back without tokens involved, being retired I often went to watch training, for me fan engagement is the responsibility of the club and they should be engaged in that without a bunch of parasites jumping in to leach off our fan base. Maybe I am just old fashioned but I am sorry I cannot see where these people fit in except as another outsider level between me as a fan and the club I support.

[Rugbygramps]

Hopefully the club does monitor this space because they need to know this is a horrific misstep and the fact that Football and F1 have also made it does not provide any mitigation. Massively disappointed that our name is associated with this...

Exactly, Tigerbeat does say that some bits of threads are passed on to the club, can we make sure this thread is!!!!

It is something that has never been of any interest to me so my knowledge base is zero. However I think that anyone hoping to see this reversed will be disappointed as we have already agreed the deal hence the name on the training gear

[Grimlish]

Their CEO says, "My job is to monetise the 99 per cent of fans that aren’t in the stadium."

Well he would say that whatever type of loyalty scheme he were running!

Socios is a crypto scheme.

As I understand it, the 'Fan Tokens' can only be purchased using the cryptocurrency $CHZ. The initial batch of tokens are offered to us at a fixed price of £2 (or 20.97 CHZ at today's rates) but after that all tokens go onto the marketplace. At that point, not only does the value of your token fluctuate (Socios say, "Due to club performance, transfer news etc.") but you're also exposed to the fluctuations of CHZ's valuation.

What isn’t clear to me however is whether the ‘price’ of rewards under the scheme fluctuates too. IF it’s a loyalty scheme you will be rewarded with tokens for, say attending matches or spending £x in the shop. IF that translates to a price in tokens then the crypto element is irrelevant. If it’s priced in the cryptocurrency not so. IF rewards are priced in tokens the only point at which the ‘value’ of the crypto token becomes relevant is if you want to ‘cash out’. It’s no different in principle than trying to turn your Green Shield Stamps or “Luncheon Vouchers” into cash - never worth the bovver and so pretty irrelevant.

[CrumblingTerrace]

What isn’t clear to me however is whether the ‘price’ of rewards under the scheme fluctuates too. IF it’s a loyalty scheme you will be rewarded with tokens for, say attending matches or spending £x in the shop. IF that translates to a price in tokens then the crypto element is irrelevant. If it’s priced in the cryptocurrency not so. IF rewards are priced in tokens the only point at which the ‘value’ of the crypto token becomes relevant is if you want to ‘cash out’. It’s no different in principle than trying to turn your Green Shield Stamps or “Luncheon Vouchers” into cash - never worth the bovver and so pretty irrelevant.

The Tigers press release says, "Clubs will launch a tiered community of benefits and rewards," so I take it that your £2 token won't get you much, if anything, in the way of rewards once the tiers are launched.

If the value of your 'token' drops because the cryptocurrency drops then do you maintain the same tier of benefits/rewards?

How much of a cut do Socios (vs. Tigers) take on all the transactions?

Is Tigers' benefit from this scheme also dependent on the value of the cryptocurrency?

[CJ]

I’m lost for words. Awful. Just awful.

[johnthegriff]

My current feeling, and I wait to be enlightened is that there is no benefit to the fans of Leicester Tigers and indeed the fans of any sports club. With the history of this concept and the failed attempt to introduce it at West Ham United to refer to I find it incredible that we as a club have adopted the scheme and are even promoting it on kit, I feel whoever is responsible has little affinity with ordinary fans and it is therefore not surprising that they think they need an outside body to enhance fan engagement with the club. Just at the time fans feel closer and more supportive of the club than they have for many years somebody decides to drive a wedge between them.

[Scott1]

Don't get me wrong I'm early 40s and I'm not a fan but whenever Im at a rugby ground I look around at the crowds and for me WR seems to have the highest average age by far. Is this just something to maybe hook in the new breed of fan? Are times changing? Or am I completely barking up the wrong tree?

[Offside]

Blockchain as a security concept is a few levels above a username and password. As a way of proving ownership of a right to access special events it would be fine, but it means you can then limit that access. If the value of that membership can be changed by supply and demand you need to limit the resource. In this case that may be played access etc. limiting the resource may increase demand and increase value of the “membership” or turn people away. The later is a serious risk.
Having the value of the “membership” determined by the open market price of another token is plain stupid though. The club decides to value access to players based on a bet on a bitcoin with no inherent value! How is that actually going to increase club revenue and Dan engagement?

[Offside]

Don't get me wrong I'm early 40s and I'm not a fan but whenever Im at a rugby ground I look around at the crowds and for me WR seems to have the highest average age by far. Is this just something to maybe hook in the new breed of fan? Are times changing? Or am I completely barking up the wrong tree?

Did being sponsored by an online betting company Leo Vegas achieve that? I do not think so. Did having a well coached team who seemed to enjoy playing help. Probably.

[Scott1]

Don't get me wrong I'm early 40s and I'm not a fan but whenever Im at a rugby ground I look around at the crowds and for me WR seems to have the highest average age by far. Is this just something to maybe hook in the new breed of fan? Are times changing? Or am I completely barking up the wrong tree?

Did being sponsored by an online betting company Leo Vegas achieve that? I do not think so. Did having a well coached team who seemed to enjoy playing help. Probably.

I'm just curious mate is all. Would we have jumped in head first without researching the hell out of it first? Saying that scratch that,I remember our marketing department and the ticket fiasco

[wigworth]

Don't get me wrong I'm early 40s and I'm not a fan but whenever Im at a rugby ground I look around at the crowds and for me WR seems to have the highest average age by far. Is this just something to maybe hook in the new breed of fan? Are times changing? Or am I completely barking up the wrong tree?

Did being sponsored by an online betting company Leo Vegas achieve that? I do not think so. Did having a well coached team who seemed to enjoy playing help. Probably.

I would imagine the sponsorship was more to pay the bills rather than attract new fans.

[Scott1]

Just as an aside boxers are now using NFT,Connor Benn being the most famous to recently announce it. Is this the first step to our players using them,could be!