Digital Collectible Trading; Interview with Doug Neil, CMO and Brand Officer of Chronicle
The Chronicle brand introduces the next phase of marketable digital collectibles from the world’s most recognisable companies to the blockchain market. Doug Neil, CMO of TechBullion, provides additional information in an exclusive interview with TechBullion.
Could you please tell us a little more about yourself?
My name is Doug Neil, and I’ll be joining Chronicle as Chief Marketing and Brand Officer in the coming months. For Universal Pictures, I served as Executive Vice President of Global Digital Marketing from 2006 to 2020. While there, I oversaw 200 digital marketing campaigns for films such as DESPICABLE ME, JURASSIC WORLD, GET OUT, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS, TED, and many others. Previously, I was in charge of the online and mobile strategies for theatrical releases, which included everything from website development to publicity and promotion to social media to creative strategy to digital analytics and data mining to emerging platforms and media placements and everything in between. My current position at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management is as an adjunct professor, where I teach courses in Entertainment Marketing, Digital Media and Marketing, and Digital Media and Marketing. It was my pioneering contributions to digital theatrical marketing that earned me the Silver Pixel Award from Hollywood in Pixels in 2017. I’m a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and I was named to the organization’s Silver Pixels Award in 2017. My MBA is from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, and my BA in Computer Science is from the College of William and Mary.
What exactly is Chronicle?
Chronicle is developing a fan-focused platform that will serve as an ecosystem for immersive, digital collectible trading cards (NFTs), complete with a shop front and secondary marketplace. The site is expected to launch in Q3 of 2021. The Chronicle Marketplace, similar to a virtual swap-meet, allows fans and collector card holders to buy, sell, and trade collectibles from the Chronicle Store with one another, much as they would in person. Authentication of all digital collectibles will take place on the blockchain.
Could you give us a walkthrough of the unique features and services Chronicle is bringing to the NFT market?
Chronicle’s mission is centred on the fans that support it. Unlike other marketplaces that are aimed at the cryptocurrency community, Chronicle is the first marketplace that is being designed to be available to fans who are collecting NFTs from their favourite companies. This is in contrast to other marketplaces that are aimed at the crypto community. All collectibles are created with the fan in mind and with the goal of providing them with the most value possible. Chronicle has a number of distinguishing characteristics, some of them are as follows:
Infrastructure that is environmentally friendly. As part of its commitment to creating a climate neutral marketplace, Chronicle is actively seeking out partners and technical solutions that are driven by Proof of Stake and that are devoted to lowering their carbon footprint.
Signing up for emails is simple. To gain access to the platform, no encryption or private keys are necessary.
Onboarding fees are in US dollars. All transactions on Chronicle will be processed in US dollars via a payment tool such as Venmo, Paypal, or a comparable service.
Digital treasures that have been certified to a high level of quality. All of the cards available will be from well-known companies.
Integration with social media. On their social media profiles, users will be able to display their treasures.
Gamification. Fans will be rewarded for participating on Chronicle, which will encourage them to return.
As a result, there are benefits (XNL). For the purpose of rewarding fans, Chronicle will create its own cryptocurrency (XNL), which may be used to obtain discounts, priority access, and other benefits.
How will you be able to use your experiences at Universal Pictures, AOl, and the Disney Channel to help grow Chronicle
Tell us about your first meeting with Chronicle CEO Tim Glover while working at Universal Pictures and how you came to begin collaborating with him.
It was during the JURASSIC WORLD campaign that I first met Tim and began working with him (over eight years ago). Jack Ewins and he had come up with the idea for a website that examined the mythology surrounding the organisation that was featured in the film on their own. It was the enormous knowledge and passion for the Jurassic franchise that attracted the director’s attention, and this website was a good representation of that knowledge and passion on the website. I contacted him as the head of digital at Universal Pictures and asked him to participate in the marketing campaign for JURASSIC WORLD – specifically from the perspective of a fan – as well as to assist in the development of a website that would be used to further the narrative of Masrani Corporation in our marketing campaign. It was because he and Jack did such a terrific job with that site that we began working with them to develop a storey extension for JURASSIC WORLD FALLEN KINGDOM that revolved around the Dinosaur Protection Group (which was an organisation featured in the movie). I was quite pleased with his capacity to think outside the box in order to discover solutions and carry them out for the task at hand.
What made you decide to become a member of the Chronicle team, and what will your responsibilities be?
Chronicle has hired me as the company’s Chief Marketing and Brand Officer. My responsibilities will include engaging with brands, negotiating with them, and onboarding them into the development of an NFT strategy on Chronicle. Aside from that, I will be in charge of promoting Chronicle, gaining clients, and ensuring that revenue targets are fulfilled for all non-financial products (NFTs) that are available on the platform. Having the opportunity to join a developing firm with a very clear aim to interact with fans is quite exciting.
When it comes to growing Chronicle, how will you be able to draw on your previous experiences at Universal Pictures, AOL, and the Disney Channel?
My previous work in digital marketing has made me acutely aware of the power of fans, as well as the opportunity to present them with unique experiences and services that will encourage them to return to Chronicle time and time again. At Universal, my team was successful in bringing millions of fans and followers into the communities for the studio’s core properties, resulting in the studio’s highest revenue ever (The Fast and Furious Saga, Jurassic World, Minions, Shrek, Ted, etc.). This set of rules will be applied as we continue to expand the fan communities on Chronicle.
What makes Jack Ewins and Manuel Bejarano the most qualified candidates to be the Chronicle Studio’s directors?
Jack and Manuel are not only extremely skilled designers, but they are also huge followers of the entertainment industry as well. I had the pleasure of working with them on the JURASSIC WORLD films and was able to observe firsthand their originality and ingenuity. I’ve had the opportunity to work with them at Chronicle, and I’ve seen firsthand how their abilities and awareness of what matters to fans translates into the most optimum experience possible for the creation of collectibles on our platform.
If Chronicle has raised $3.2 million from top venture capitalists in an oversubscribed round, could you please provide any additional details on the raise and how the funds will be used?
The initial round of funding was utilised to speed the development of the platform, add executives and staff, expand the company’s global operations, and establish an in-house studio in San Francisco.
