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POAP NFTs – The next big thing in marketing for better customer engagement?

If you nod three times in a row, we may have the right technology for you: You want to improve customer engagement? You want to strengthen customer loyalty? And you want to present yourself as up to date? So: Are you ready for POAP NFTs?

  • Dieser Artikel wurde am 7. April 2026 aktualisiert.
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lockchain, crypto, NTF – all super-fancy buzzwords! But how can you actually use them in the here and now for marketing? Really concretely, without having to play through the entire crypto game? Since 2019, there’s been a technology that can be used for customer retention and better user engagement—and for which there are already some practical brand cases: POAP NFTs.

What is a POAP NFT?

Hand on heart, can you explain what a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is? Here’s a quick reminder: Non-fungible tokens are assets that, as part of a blockchain, represent a kind of tamper-proof certificate of ownership for an object. They are very popular in the virtual space and especially in the metaverse. For example, digital artworks or songs can be certified with an NFT.

POAP NFTs: Definition

POAP NFTs stand for Proof of Attendance Protocol NFTs – virtual badges that you use to prove that you attended an event. Put simply, these are tamper-proof digital certificates. They can be used for both virtual and real-world events.

These are some examples of how POAP NFTs are used:

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Attendees of a cryptocurrency conference can receive POAP NFTs as proof of attendance. 

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Online groups award POAP NFTs to people who want to take part in regular meetings. 

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Blockchain games use POAP NFTs to mark special milestones in the game.

So far, POAP NFTs have mainly been used in the crypto environment, but there are many other possible uses for the tokens. For example, they can serve as “souvenirs” for concerts, provide proof of participation in training courses, or even represent a university diploma.

What are POAPs used for in marketing?

Okay, so POAPs are virtual certificates for certain events or milestones. They primarily serve to document certain life experiences. But how do these NFTs fit into the marketing world?

More and more companies are jumping on the POAP NFT bandwagon. Particularly for large events—whether in the metaverse or in real life—there are some impressive possibilities. Because with a POAP NFT, participants get a genuine brand experience. Your company can interact better with the target audience and organize personalized experiences such as private chat rooms or giveaways.

»Your company can interact better with the target audience and organize personalized experiences such as private chat rooms or giveaways.«

In addition, the tokens help improve customer loyalty. For example, Adidas celebrated its entry into the metaverse with POAP NFTs. Loyal fans who had been there from the start received a POAP and thus got exclusive access to Adidas’ mysterious plot of land in “The Sandbox”, a game in the metaverse.

In addition, NFTs like POAPs provide interesting and at the same time largely anonymized customer data, known as wallet data. For example, you can tell from it when someone keeps going to the same event and may therefore be interested in suitable advertising messages.

How can companies use POAPs for marketing and customer retention?

POAPs are a great way to connect the target audience more closely with the brand. After all, anyone who receives a POAP NFT can mark milestones with the company, the brand, or an influencer, which significantly contributes to customer loyalty. Like a loyalty pass, POAPs can offer rewards or exclusive access to products, experiences, or information. That’s attractive for everyone involved!

As more and more companies use POAPs and make them accessible to the public, the tokens will become increasingly popular. There are new, innovative possibilities—from pop-up shopping to access to digital-first concerts. It’s also conceivable that collected POAPs could help in the application process, as they show how interested individuals engage in the community or which training courses they have completed in the past. With POAPs, your creativity can really run wild!

»Collected POAPs can help in the application process, as they show which training courses interested individuals have completed in the past.«

POAP NFT case: #WhatWeValue by Telekom

Telekom’s #WhatWeValue initiative is an exciting example of using Web3 technologies such as POAP NFTs. With it, the company aims to support selected non-profit projects and, above all, give young Gen Z people from across Europe a stage. 

Users can present their non-profit projects on a platform and connect with one another. Selected projects that make particularly good use of networked technologies are supported by Telekom. In this way, the company wants to showcase “digital optimism” in areas such as social and ethnic equality, sustainability, climate change, animal welfare, or migration. 

When submitting a project, users receive a POAP NFT that gives them access to an exclusive program. This includes a private Discord group with expert talks. Telekom also points out the significantly smaller ecological footprint of events in Web3, which is very important to Gen Z. The company also wants to encourage offline action with the campaign. POAPs therefore act as true innovation drivers!

No fear of NFTs!

POAP NFTs are still less well known. But that’s a great opportunity, because these virtual certificates allow you to stand out from the competition right now. Even in the tech world, quite a few companies are afraid of the metaverse and NFTs. We hope we’ve been able to take away some of that fear. Just try POAPs and think together with your team about how you can use POAP NFTs to optimize your marketing and customer loyalty!

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About the author

Till Zier is CPO at Matchilla and, as a MarTech expert, reports in MatchZINE on news and trends in marketing, automation, analytics, and data.

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