In today's digital world, with customer engagement as the cornerstone of business success, companies are constantly in pursuit of new strategies to bolster customer loyalty. For an industry titan like SK Planet, South Korea’s largest information and communications technology platform, the true challenge wasn't in retaining its large user base, but in seamlessly integrating cutting-edge blockchain technology into the user experience, while also properly rewarding their trust. Rising to this challenge, in collaboration with AvaCloud, SK Planet rolled out a pioneering loyalty program to revolutionize their customer reward system.

OK Cashbag: On-Chain Loyalty Reimagined

While SK Planet has big plans to roll out Web3 capabilities across its business, it led the way with OK Cashbag, a popular membership and rewards platform in Korea. Already boasting a remarkable user base of over 21 million, OK Cashbag was seamlessly transitioned onto Web3 infrastructure powered by AvaCloud and the Avalanche blockchain, enabling new loyalty opportunities such as NFT rewards. In just the first 48 hours after launch, over 100,000 new users signed up to the program. And now, with partnerships spanning more than 50,000 stores, it's clear that Web3 solutions have found a significant foothold among today's tech-savvy consumers.

Web2.5: Seamlessly Transitioning Traditional to Decentralized Web Solutions

SK Planet’s approach was notable as it involved integrating powerful Web3 technology into a successful, pre-existing Web2 application to better serve its users, what some now refer to as a ‘Web2.5’ approach. Users were largely unaware and unaffected by the major technical upgrade until it was already live, but soon benefitted from brand-new capabilities. By introducing new blockchain features like NFTs, SK Planet now fosters a sense of self-sovereign ownership of assets for users. This approach has amplified the traditional user experience by enabling users to truly own their assets within the platform.

How They Built It: SK Planet’s Dedicated Avalanche Subnet

To support its transition to a Web3-based loyalty framework, SK Planet built its very own dedicated Avalanche Subnet, made easy through AvaCloud’s enterprise-grade blockchain solution. On the Avalanche blockchain, a Subnet is essentially a dynamic group of network validators, working together to achieve consensus on the state of one or more blockchains while allowing for different rules and applications. This adaptability ensures that the chain created for a business application can be tailor-made to specific use cases, making it possible to support diverse needs, including the robust existing loyalty program of SK Planet.

The Subnet created for SK Planet was designed to be integrated with the company’s existing portfolio of consumer applications and serve as the foundation for SK's digital collectibles, digital wallets, decentralized communities, and various other blockchain-enabled functionalities for tens of millions of users. With its very own Subnet, SK can fully cater to the ever-growing demands of the modern-day tech landscape, bringing together various elements of the Web3 world all under one umbrella.

Redefining Live Events: SK Planet's NFT Ticketing Solution

In addition to revamping its loyalty program, SK has big ambitions for the live event ticketing experience. In collaboration with Dreamus, an electronics and entertainment company, SK recently revealed its strategy for the future of event ticketing. By integrating Avalanche NFTs into the ticketing process, they are aiming to transform how fans engage with live events, bringing a new dimension to fan interactions and event participation. Through NFT-based ticketing, not only is the authenticity of tickets guaranteed but issues like ticket scalping, which has long plagued the industry, can be effectively mitigated. This forward-thinking approach paves the way for a more transparent, secure, and user-centric event experience for everyone. With the hint of a new NFT marketplace on the horizon, they are poised to even further enhance the blockchain value proposition worldwide for fans and artists alike.

The AvaCloud Difference

Transitioning a major loyalty program serving millions of customers is no small feat. Industry giant SK Planet needed a robust, highly customizable, end-to-end enterprise-grade blockchain solution as well as a trusted partner to help coordinate a seamless technology transition. Here are some of the key reasons why AvaCloud was SK Planet’s choice for this ambitious project. 

Scalability to Serve Millions of Customers

Underpinned by the blazingly fast Avalanche blockchain, AvaCloud delivers enterprise-level speed, sub-second finality, and virtually infinite scalability. This was ideal for SK Planet, as it ensured that the new blockchain solution could handle its existing loyalty program serving millions of customers, as well as support evolving business needs and continued growth. Additionally, AvaCloud introduced a special custom capability for the SK Planet solution, now available to all clients, called a Gasless Relayer. This feature aims to mitigate the transaction costs (gas) that traditionally hinder blockchain operations and impact user experience and scalability.

Customizable Tech to Meet Regulatory Requirements

SK Planet needed a blockchain solution that could be customized to their unique business and regulatory environment. With AvaCloud, they were able to easily deploy a dedicated Avalanche Subnet, enabling them to maintain a secure and private environment with robust specifications to handle customer data and transactions. As an added bonus, AvaCloud allows organizations like SK Planet to determine how exposed they wish to be to the crypto world by enabling crypto-free balance sheets. Whether it's for internal operations or customer-facing products, companies can tailor their exposure as they see fit.

A Team of Experts for a Seamless Transition

Entrusting blockchain operations to a third party requires the utmost confidence in their expertise and capabilities. The expert Web3 consultants at Ava Labs managed the dedicated Avalanche Subnet for SK Planet, ensuring a smooth transition to a Web3-based loyalty framework while providing ongoing support, significantly reducing the operational burden on SK Planet's in-house team. Additionally, the Ava Labs team provides around-the-clock monitoring and support to ensure the uninterrupted operation of SK Planet's blockchain infrastructure, providing peace of mind and allowing SK Planet to focus on enhancing user engagement and loyalty.

As the digital landscape evolves, more enterprises from various sectors are venturing into the Web3 space. AvaCloud, with its revolutionary no-code onboarding approach and a range of customizable solutions, is at the forefront of facilitating this transition in a frictionless way. The innovative overhaul of SK Planet's loyalty program, powered by AvaCloud and Avalanche, serves as a leading example for enterprises aiming to reimagine their operations with blockchain technology, ushering in a new era of customer engagement and business innovation.

About AvaCloud

AvaCloud is a managed blockchain service enabling teams to rapidly build, deploy, and scale decentralized networks–customized for any use case. In minutes, launch robust blockchain networks with 50k+ transactions per second, sub-second transaction finality, and net-zero carbon impact. AvaCloud features a no-code portal, automated infrastructure, network monitoring, and 24/7 customer support. Stop worrying about your blockchain infrastructure, and start growing your business and maximizing your revenue.
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About Ava Labs

Ava Labs makes it simple to deploy high-performance solutions for Web3, led by innovations on Avalanche. The company was founded by Cornell computer scientists, who partnered with Wall Street veterans and early Web3 leaders to execute a promising vision for redefining the way people build and use open, permissionless networks. Ava Labs is redefining the way people create value with Web3. 

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