Blockchain and beer combine in novel competition

Miller Lite noticed something interesting. When people enter bars they aren’t immediately walking up to a bartender and ordering a drink. Instead, they more often turn to their smartphones and begin browsing their social media channels. This gave the beer giant an idea on how to take advantage of the situation to increase its marketing presence. Instead of offering advertising, though, it created trivia games and has tapped a blockchain marketing company, Vatom Labs, to make them happen.

Miller Lite discusses the games in a blog post from June. It launched a 12-question trivia game, Great Taste Trivia, at the beginning of July and which is available on smartphones in over 230,000 bars and restaurants around the US. This latest iteration of the company’s trivia games is an extension of its “Know Your Beer” marketing efforts and runs through the end of September. Geofencing helps limit play to establishments that have an alcohol license and participants have the opportunity, if they win, to pick up $5 to use toward the purchase of one of the company’s beers.

Vatom Labs created the game and incorporated the use of non-fungible tokens (NFT) to lead the game, offer social badges, social media awards and to guarantee that the prizes cannot be duplicated or faked. The company says that using NFTs allows it to easily track engagements and game activations, and Vatom co-founder and CEO Tyler Moebius explains in a separate press release, “We have built a powerful brand activation platform that leverages a new blockchain enabled SmartMedia object that is highly-programmable and able to deliver real tangible value from the brand to the consumer– like $5 to their PayPal account—that remains a simple mobile experience.”

While some may find the combination of blockchain and trivia not very newsworthy, they would be wrong. Not only does it show how versatile the technology is, but it also helps to ensure transparency and increase confidence, traits that are lacking from many current gaming platforms.

Moebius adds, “We believe providing brands the ability to create engaging and immersive digital promotions and activation experiences that are backed by the blockchain is the next major upgrade required to usher in the new era of brand innovation.”