Total 525 words used.
Creating a unique customer experience is in Soapy Joe’s DNA. As a subscription company, retention and loyalty are keys to net-membership strategy and growth. The company has developed a cult following of its signature air fresheners which fans, called the Soapy Squad, actively collect. The Passport to Fun game amplified fans’ collector behavior and catapulted the company into the Web3 metaverse through the distribution of air freshener themed NFT collectibles – the first in the car wash space. To access the NFTs, along with a host of swag and perks, members visited multiple sites unlocking four prize tiers as they went.
Known for its sweet citrus scent and smiling mascot, Soapy Joe’s vibrant air fresheners can be seen in windshields across San Diego. LTO versions are released for holidays and events. This summer, the company dropped 16 location-specific designs that reflected each of the company’s neighborhoods. NFTs matching the physical air fresheners were minted on the OpenSea web3 platform and distributed as customers unlocked Passport to Fun prize tiers. Each tier included four NFTs.
Reflecting each customer’s personal journey in the NFT deliveries was a priority. Weekly drops featured the exact sites customers visited during that time. To ensure the cutting-edge technology was easy to understand and adopt, user-friendly emails and blogs explained saving and adding NFTs to existing web3 wallets.
Setting activity-tier levels was a focus of the planning process. Soapy Joe’s analyzed past wash history to assess multi-site use. The typical pattern is sole-use of one site with occasional use at a second. This informed the game’s entry-point and activity bands, resulting in a 4-tier program. The initial bar was set within reach to entice participation. Members were challenged with escalating activity to access higher-value prizes. Tier 4 was set at an unprecedented visit level: all 16 car wash sites for an annual membership and a chance at $5,000.
During the 3-months, the company minted an unprecedented 17,704 NFT tokens and created 2,833 custodial wallets for 3,771 members. The game drove +22% visits to 4-8 sites and a paradigm-bending 800-fold increase in 12+ visits. In all 12% achieved Tier 4, visiting all 16 sites. Unexpectedly, 115 loyal fans visited the company’s 17th site, which opened mid-promotion and was not incentivized.
Stimulating social content was another program driver. Participants shared visits, prizes, and displayed their air freshener collections leading to the brand’s best-performing follower acquisition period yielding a 28% increase (+5,283), a 3.2% engagement rate, with Facebook at 7.8%. Program emails had a unique open rate of 74% and average CTR of 39% vs. 5.7% average.
Through innovating in the NFT space Soapy Joe’s tapped into new press segments: technology, cryptocurrency, metaverse. The car wash company joined top-tier media conversations with A-list celebrities and blue-chip companies, who experimented with NFTs contemporaneously. Four national top-tier publications covered the program with articles, podcasts, and social, as well as those within the car wash vertical.
Soapy Joe’s innovation in technology, loyalty and experiential marketing continue to surprise and delight, with thousands of customers participating in Passport to Fun, thousands of NFTs awarded, and company social and digital benchmarks shattered.
Nomination Title: Passport to Fun
