Tommy and Binance debut groundbreaking reality show in the metaverse – a closer look

As the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance plays a crucial role in the web3 space. For years, Binance has endeavored to foster innovation within the industry. Previous efforts had minimal impact, with their Incubation Hub primarily reaching those directly involved, resulting in a project that was isolated and had little influence on the broader space.

Faced with such an engaged community, they were determined to do more. It was time to shift the culture, empowering those with ambitions to create their own pathways to success and to cultivate a sustainable future for the entire web3 space.

Insight

Individuals native to the metaverse are not your average people; they are tech-savvy, risk-taking visionaries eager to make a difference in the world. Binance aimed to harness this energy and create something remarkable to showcase that anything is achievable.

Key insights into their behavior & interests included:

• Meeting in the metaverse: Prioritizing reaching people within the metaverse instead of expecting them to come to us.
• Community engagement: Recognizing their tight-knit community, we aimed to involve as many individuals as possible, anticipate significant engagement, and simplify the process.
• Embracing individual identity: Celebrating their pride in self-expression within the metaverse.
• Emphasizing accountability: Leveraging their affinity for analysis and research, rooted in blockchain origins.
• Encouraging risk-taking: Providing opportunities for informed decisions and calculated risks, appealing to their business acumen.

Strategy

While crypto, tech, and investments may seem mundane to some, in this community, they were anything but. Yearning for drama like that seen on X every week, they sought entertainment over numbers and facts. Thus, we needed to deliver on that expectation.

It was time to create a groundbreaking event for the metaverse community, uniting the best, the brightest, and the most engaged. How were we going to capture the disruptor’s attention? Enter the first-of-its-kind reality show, ‘Build the Block’. Filmed in a custom virtual studio within the metaverse, the show featured 12 web3 startups battling it out in a pitch-style format. With industry leader judges, audience members, and competitors, the prize at stake was a $2 million investment.

In addition to the investment, exposure from streaming the episodes would offer further opportunities for the winners. Their success would be solidified by the approval of the crypto deities, paving the way for a prosperous future.

Execution

Hosted in a virtual studio tailored for the metaverse, the show’s pitch-style format had each startup vying for approval from a judging panel comprising crypto and metaverse experts, industry billionaires who had launched their own crypto coins and were leaders in the field.

Embracing the entertainment factor, the show was hosted by real-world Asia’s Got Talent presenter, Justin Bratton. The show mirrored the excitement and stakes of a traditional reality show, catering specifically to the metaverse community.

Each episode drew in a live virtual studio audience of 150 attendees, including influential figures, venture capitalists, and project founders. With personalized avatars, their unique personalities shone through, as they voted in real-time to show their support.

With a core theme of building the foundational components of the metaverse, startup competitors ascended virtual blocks based on audience votes, culminating in evaluation by the judges at their final stop on the journey to success.

Spanning seven weeks, each 20-minute episode ensured sustained engagement from an audience accustomed to fleeting attention spans, airing during prime time on Monday nights at 6 pm. This consistent schedule catered to a community that enjoyed the comfort of routine.

Including a week break between episodes allowed viewers time to delve into business plans, share insights on online platforms, and interact with entrepreneurs on social media. They wanted assurance they were backing the right horse.

Results

If you missed this show, you might not be part of the web3 community. 900 startups applied to participate, with the show streamed to 44 countries and racking up 370 million views on Live and YouTube channels. The trailer alone garnered 1.6 million views, surpassing the views for Netflix’s major release at the time, ‘the Witcher’.

To guarantee a seamless show production every week, a team of 300 individuals collaborated across four regions (England, Singapore, Dubai, the United States, and China) to coordinate the stream.

Build the Block has spearheaded an annual global event set to be the epicenter of web3 innovation and triumph. This initiative not only transformed the landscape for metaverse entrepreneurs but also positioned Binance at the forefront of this transformative shift.

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