The Howe Foundation
The Howe Foundation, founded by hockey legend Gordie Howe and his wife, Colleen Howe, wanted to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Gordie’s hockey debut in a monumental way. How could Telemetry bring the talents of a legend into the age of digital memorabilia?
Digital art honoring and advancing the legacy of a sports icon.
Challenge
When The Howe Foundation wanted to break through the clutter of the NFT-world, they came to Telemetry.
We helped them synthesize 75 years on the ice into 10 unique and relevant NFTs that would be auctioned for charity.
We developed a unique strategy that would help bring the legacy of an icon into the modern age and assign specific value to the relative rarity of newly minted works of art.
Approach & Solution
The world of digital art, specifically NFTs, is filled with possibility, much of it without much direction. By aligning the mission of The Howe Foundation with a unique opportunity to capitalize on the storytelling potential of the Blockparty community, Telemetry was able to uncover a new way to cement the legacy of a hockey legend.
Partnering with Detroit-based artist Zelley, THE GENTL9MAN 2021 NFT Art Collection features NFTs in three categories: Ultra Rare (only 1 minted); Rare (only 9 minted) and Limited (only 50 minted). We packaged digital art plus exclusive memorabilia and experiences donated by the Howe family to enable a highly successful 6-day auction that benefited both The Howe Foundation and the NHL Alumni Association.
Results
Telemetry’s unique and contemporary communications strategy allowed for unprecedented reach for The Howe Foundation. Focused coverage followed, with stories on Global News, The Athletic, NHL.com, The Detroit Free Press and amplification from high-profile Twitter users like Michael Bublé and Dave Coulier. Our coverage has scaled to an estimated 91M readers in the digital space.
Working closely with The Howe Foundation team, we were able to align key publications with key Foundation values. A high level of social shares, at 672, indicated a deep connection with those focused audiences and successful validation of our strategic approach.
By creating distinct levels of scarcity, Telemetry was able to create different tiers of participation for audiences that broadened the appeal of the program by scaling beyond typical NFT auctions.
