Hi everyone, Daria Strategy here. I’m a brand strategist and communications expert with blockchain and crypto projects. I create Value Propositions and build brand awareness among users, developers, and VC funds.
Recently, I spoke at the ETHBucharest conference about the value of Account Abstraction technology from the perspective of product and brand building. In this article, I share the main takeaways from my speech and empower you to build not code-focused products but Love Marks for your users and partners using innovative technologies like Account Abstraction.
The purpose of creating Love Marks in the Web3 industry
Initially, I want to give you an overall understanding of brand building and the purpose of creating Love Marks in the Web3 industry.
Big and famous companies like Nike, Starbucks, Netflix, Balenciaga, McDonald’s, and others have built outstanding brands and connections with their audiences because they propose not only products but additional experience in the form of design, smell, sound, and other brand attributes.
The brands switched from traditional advertising to phygital (physical + digital) engagement to give their customers a holistic, immersive experience.
The principles of immersive brand experiences:
- Personalization
- Simplicity and ease of use
- Emotional engagement
- Interactive elements
- Consistency across channels
- Storytelling
- Use of visual and audio elements
- Real-time responsiveness
- Gamification
- Community building
If you want to build something outstanding, these principles must be included in your product strategy. In this article, I’ll reveal some of them: personalization, simplicity and ease of use, emotional engagement, and gamification. Read it to the end to learn about the cases and examples.
The main idea of branding is to help a company or project stand out from the crowd and be more visible in a highly competitive market.
So, how about blockchain brands? Unlike traditional businesses, blockchain-powered products don’t have smell or sound, but they can use the power of innovations! However, these innovations often do not look easy to use and implement by the mass audience. As a result, the user feels lost while using tech-sophisticated products.
It is no secret that the blockchain and crypto industry has many challenges that build barriers between products and users. I’m sure you all know all these issues and can add even more. Even Vitalik Buterin, the person who knows everything about blockchain, often has trouble when using DApps. In his article, Vitalik described his attitude to user experience.
Brand experience challenges appear in addition to UX challenges. You can see some of them in the picture. People don’t trust crypto companies; they are afraid of making mistakes and don’t have enough information about the sphere and each particular project:
So, the main idea of brand experiences in the blockchain field is to tackle obstacles, add extra value, and create strong emotional connections with users. In other words, you need to build your product and communication to make it a Love Mark for different categories of users.
Let me introduce you to Joe. Joe is our user. He can be a trader, developer, NFT artist, anyone! But in all cases, Joe is a real human with rational thoughts and emotional feelings. Like most of us, he decides based on the first impression. Joe wants to try two products, A and B. Both have good ideas and a solid technical foundation, but they have different UX, UI, and marketing.
UX, UI, and marketing make a difference and influence the brand perception. Of course, Joe wants to use Product A because it not only gives him answers to his questions but also interacts with him and opens new frontiers of brand experience, including the help of Account Abstraction.
In September 2023, the Ethereum Foundation announced the successful conclusion of the grant round. This grant initiative will support 18 teams in their efforts to build diverse projects centered around Account Abstraction. Such massive investment in AA-supporting projects shows that the concept is promising and will be explored and implemented as much as possible.
Clave was one of these 18 projects supported by the Ethereum Foundation. This project has been launched recently, and here is my interview with its co-founders:
https://youtu.be/6p8JjV6mgbo?embedable=true
Ethereum Foundation believes AA can help attract the next 1,000,000 users to Web3. How can it be implemented? There are three main business features that influence the brand experience:
- Onboarding non-Web3 users to Web3 seamlessly;
- Paying gas fees instead of users when they mint NFTs makes transactions on blockchain;
- I turning Web3 into a more secure and user-friendly environment.
The different categories of companies and users can benefit from implementing Account Abstraction:
How does Account Abstraction Empower Web3 and Web2 Businesses
In this part, I will share four examples of using AA to attract users, engage with them, and create immersive brand experiences. These examples show how Account Abstraction can empower traditional businesses or make Web3 projects more user-friendly.
1. Friendly DeFi with Enhanced Security and Privacy
Account Abstraction in DeFi products allows Web3 newcomers to overcome the barrier and be more open to new technologies. A user could designate a group of friends or family members as their social recovery guardians. If the user loses their private keys, they can contact their guardians and get help recovering their account. That’s how people can plan their future with savings in crypto.
2. Phygital Experience and Innovative Engagement Models
Bridging the digital and physical gap is key to Web3's mass adoption. To build immersive, interactive experiences, blockchain brands must bring the power of Web3 to users worldwide in a way that is easy to onboard, fun, and accessible.
You probably know about Pudgy Penguins' NFT collection, which was turned into plush toys in the US and UK. The magic happens when a buyer scans a QR code on the box and gets their dedicated NFT without any gas fees. It’s possible because of native AA by zkSync.
3. Exciting Gaming with Seamless Interaction Across Platforms
AA allows gamers to manage their addresses and program them with better experiences. The smart contract creates a customizable wrapper with information that can be ported across different apps.
I like this user case of cross-game interoperability, where gamers can exchange their skins from Assassin’s Creed for the skins from Diablo and use them to enhance the gaming experience and become active users of both gaming platforms.
4. Personalized Loyalty
Loyalty programs are very popular in engaging audiences in traditional industries such as fashion, HoReCa, hospitality, etc. In Web3, Starbucks tried to implement a revolution of loyalty with its Odyssey program. The program is closed, but it can be reimagined later, and AA can be a good instrument for onboarding more non-Web3-native Starbucks customers.
No matter what type of tokens you use for a loyalty program, AA helps simplify the user experience and commitment to the brand.
Customers can join without a wallet and technical knowledge. Pay fees and reward your customers using the blockchain that works best for you.
Another example of using loyalty programs is digital collectibles from famous sports teams and athletes. Such collectibles have become very popular among F1, American Football, and the NBA. Using Account Abstraction helps sell these collectibles more easily and grow the communities faster.
The Road Ahead
The journey towards fully realizing the potential of Account Abstraction for immersive brand experiences is still in its early stages. Challenges such as interoperability between different platforms, user privacy concerns, and the development of universal standards need to be addressed. However, the benefits of creating a more integrated, personalized, and engaging digital landscape are undeniable.
As technology evolves and brands become more adept at leveraging AA, we can expect to see even more innovative and immersive experiences that blur the lines between the digital and physical worlds, ultimately transforming how consumers interact with their favorite brands.
Account Abstraction is a tool for turning a mountain of GitHub code into a Web3 Love Mark for all types of users.
When your project is a Love Mark, you get more attention, user-generated content, longer business life, and more profit. I want to empower you to experiment, innovate, and create an unforgettable brand experience for users in Web3 and beyond!
Read my previous articles about making blockchain as popular as AI and launching a Web3 Project in 2024.