Crown Royal launches first entry into digital collectibles

For every collectible purchased, Crown Royal Purple Bag Project donates to military

In honor of Giving Tuesday, Crown Royal, a brand of Diageo North America, New York, announced the launch of its first digital collectible.

Crown Royal is removing the physical barriers of their iconic bag-packing program that may stand in the way of amazing acts of generosity and allowing people to digitally honor those most generous as part of "That Deserves A Crown,” it says. The digital collectible does not require participants to have a digital wallet, it notes.

The brand partnered with Salesforce NFT Cloud, Crossmint and Vayner3 for the launch, which started Thanksgiving week. Crown Royal invited all fans in the United States of legal drinking age to pay it forward and nominate someone deserving in their life to receive a digital crown collectible.

For all the collectibles claimed between Nov. 24 and Dec. 31, a signature Crown Royal purple bag will be packed, and sent as a care package to American military active duty members, the company says. The packages will serve as an extension of the Crown Royal Purple Bag Project, an initiative designed in partnership with Packages From Home, it notes.

“This launch takes Crown Royal’s spirit of generosity to a new level,” said Sophie Kelly, senior vice president of Whiskeys Portfolio in North America at Diageo, in a statement. "We’re excited to use web3 technology to not only help consumers recognize special people in their lives who deserve gratitude, but also to support active duty service members through the Purple Bag Project.”

Visual and motion designer Adam Verhasselt created the dynamic digital collectible. His work spans from in-studio photography to NFTs.

“Nothing feels better than making something amazing and creating experiences that ‘wow’ people,” Verhasselt said in a statement. “Being able to partner with Crown Royal to use this art to help give back makes it even more fulfilling.”

Crown Royal has a deep tradition of giving back, and as a long-standing supporter of many from hospitality, service and military industries, they pride themselves on being strong supporters of the most generous people in our communities who selflessly serve others, it says. Through partnerships with organizations like Packages From Home, the brand has supported more than 1 million servicemen and women through the Purple Bag Project that provides food, hygiene, and entertainment items to active duty service members worldwide, it notes.

Vayner3, the Web3 consultancy under the umbrella of VaynerX, orchestrated the collaboration around Giving Tuesday and the brand's foray into Web3.

"We are honored to join forces with Crown Royal to support this incredible initiative during the Giving Season. The initiative will help fuse the brand's purple bag heritage with today's consumer's modern and digital preferences," said Avery Akkineni, president of Vayner3, in a statement. “This ‘give first’ approach stands out amongst other branded NFTs as an innovative form of brand engagement, paving the way for loyalty program integration in the near term.”

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