Now you can brag about having been to a parade in the Metaverse

With the return to physical events and the rise of virtual ones, a new Web3 trend is emerging: the digital proof of attendance. Leaving the Metaverse without a souvenir to attest to having been there does indeed seem like a waste of time, so VIP lanyards, ticket stubs and post-event Instagram photos, nft offering considerable potential for fashion and beauty brands to encourage loyalty and reward engagement. POAPs, purchasable via Ethereum, are the best-known version of these tokens, short for 'proof of attendance protocol', designed to commemorate a specific time and date and marked with a specific smart contract (on the technology side) and a unique image (on the consumer side). They gained popularity at Metaverse Fashion Week (MVFW), where visitors asked each other at the start of events if there was a possibility to apply for a POAP, although, as with most Web3 and NFT technologies, adoption and deployment is still in its infancy. 

POAP 'badges' from a number of brands, including Flower Girls, Lottie London, adidas, Brytehall and Estée Lauder, can include specific place and date information to certify attendance at an event. The term is trademarked, so although brands may offer special NFTs for attendance at specific locations at specific times, not all are technically considered POAPs. They can be issued in different ways: in digital spaces that allow people to link their cryptocurrency wallets, such as Decentraland, where one can go to a digital kiosk to request a certificate of attendance. In the physical world, on the other hand, a QR code on a private dinner menu or seat assignment could invite people to download their POAP wallet to collect their NFT, while others could receive it via email. «It's a great way to engage new users who aren't familiar with cryptocurrencies - Gmoney, a Web3 influencer and investor who invested in POAP, tells Vogue Business - you can get a link on your phone, download the POAP wallet, and if you don't want anything else to do with crypto, that's it.»

As brands develop Web3 strategies that extend to virtual events and NFT collectibles, attendance tokens add another dimension to the potential ability to retain customers using blockchain technology. Brands can make engagement a game, reward loyalty and connect the digital with the physical, all while providing a badge of honour that does not require the customer to reveal their personal details. Now, should someone at a party question your attendance at a Balenciaga fashion show, a POAP can come in handy.