ZSC Lions

On 26.10.2020, ZSC Lions celebrated their 90th-anniversary and played against their rival, SC Bern. It was a memorable day with a 3-0 victory over their opponent, but moreover, because all players wore a revolutionizing technology in their jerseys - powered by collectID.

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ZSC became the first ice hockey club in Europe that uses blockchain technology to protect the authenticity of game-worn jerseys and other merchandise. The tech also creates a unique, new channel of communication for engaging with fans. After the game, the 33 jerseys that the players wore against SC Bern were put up for auction. The collectID technology connects every jersey to its respective player and provides a tamper-proof verification of its authenticity and in-game usage.

On top of that, collectID technology proved that it's easily applied without impacting the player's performance. Ice hockey is considered one of the roughest and most intense sports there is, but that's no problem for the collectID technology. The NFC tags, which get applied to the jerseys post-production, can withstand temperature, pressure, and other harsh conditions. Moreover, they have a thickness of only 560 μm and a diameter of 25 mm, so they don't affect the jersey's comfort in any way.

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But it's not only the game-worn jerseys that get equipped with collectID technology. Additionally, the club released a special 90th-anniversary jersey as a limited edition series for its fans.

The customers just hold their smartphone next to the jersey, scan the collectID NFC tag, and get all the relevant product information displayed within the app.

Furthermore, this new form of interaction, dubbed phygital, for the first time allows fans to experience personalized content based on the products they own. collectID lifts customer engagement to a new level and strengthens the crucial bond between the club and its fan base - a key factor, especially during Corona. ZSC Lions provided all jersey owners with unique and exclusive content accessible only after scanning and registering their jerseys within the collectID app, including a chance to win free tickets for a game of their choice.

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In total, 51% of all jerseys got scanned at least once and fans of the club registered over 37% of the jerseys in their personal collectID collections. The jersey transformed the perception of ZSC into one of the pioneers of digitization in the sports industry, becoming frontrunners in the use of innovative solutions. collectID is looking forward to launching new projects with other sports clubs in 2021 - stay tuned!

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Check out the collectID jersey in action