Talent, sports, and entertainment firm UTA and Rally, a social token fan engagement and monetization platform, this week announced an alliance to educate and inspire creators, artists, celebrities, athletes, and to launch their own social tokens with Rally.
UTA Marketing, the agency’s consulting division, will spearhead the relationship and work alongside UTA Digital Assets division to educate and facilitate talent onboarding onto the Rally platform. UTA Digital Assets was one of the first among major agencies to delve into the crypto and NFT space.
Rally is a launchpad for creators, artists, celebrities, and organizations to create social tokens – a type of cryptocurrency – to build sustainable, independent economies with their fans. The project offers artists and creators the ability to authenticate, engage and drive shared value with their fans by inviting them to participate in the economy by holding these branded social tokens. In return, fans gain access to exclusive benefits including unreleased content, private communities, backstage access, early-access to tickets, and exclusive merchandise
“Rally has created a powerful set of tools to help talent connect with their fans in new ways, and we are excited to work with them in this dynamic space,” said Lesley Silverman, head of UTA Digital Assets.
“As we leverage the power of UTA’s global platform, we will navigate untapped avenues for creators to build new economies and communities,” said Julian Jacobs, UTA marketing co- head.
Since its launch in October 2020, more than 150 personalized cryptocurrencies have debuted via Rally including Grammy-award winners Portugal the Man ($PTM), international soccer star Keisuke Honda ($KSK), Clubhouse innovators Bomani X ($BOO) and Christina Holder ($WOMXN), and global esports organization Gen G ($GGSC).
“Rally empowers creators, artists, celebrities, athletes and more to launch their own crypto economy and to re-imagine fandom as a symbiotic relationship where the entire community participates in launching and growing a digital economy,” said Bremner Morris, CMO/CRO of Rally. “UTA’s strong reputation will be essential in partnering with crypto-interested talent to innovate in this exciting new space.”
The project’s original funding included a mix of VCs including Andreesen Horowitz, Canaan, Battery Ventures, and Green Bay Ventures.