On October 30, in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, the audience's attention was drawn to the stage as singer Crush began performing. Attendees enjoyed the festival organized by Naver while exploring brand booths and merchandise.
Naver hosted its first offline festival exclusively for Naver Plus Membership users in Seongsu. This event aims to expand membership benefits, traditionally focused on shopping rewards and online content subscriptions, into cultural experiences such as brand interactions and performances.
The three-day Naver Plus Membership offline festival, named 'Naver Festa,' kicked off today in Seongsu-dong, with a total attendance of 3,000 expected, averaging 1,000 visitors per day. The event attracted significant attention as it combined Naver's online services with cultural performances.
Tickets for early access, available to membership users who spent over 200,000 won through Naver Pay, sold out within 40 minutes.
The festival's entry process was notably different from typical events. Instead of presenting tickets, attendees entered by simply using facial recognition technology through Naver Pay's AI-based service, 'Face Sign.'
Inside the venue, booths featuring fashion, beauty, and food brands lined the space. Attendees could experience products and participate in a program to collect non-fungible token (NFT) stamps by scanning QR codes. The collected NFTs could be redeemed for prizes, generating additional interest among visitors.
A dedicated space for experiencing fashion brands also caught attention. At the showroom for Naver's fashion brand service 'KNOKIT,' launched in April, visitors could try on new fall and winter items and purchase their favorites via QR codes on Naver Shopping, effectively bridging online shopping with offline experiences. Additionally, exclusive products and merchandise co-planned by Naver and brands were available throughout the venue.
Naver chose Seongsu as the location for its first offline membership event due to its appeal to young consumers and the presence of diverse brands. Sim Jun-yong, Naver's Brand Experience Leader, stated, "We aim to provide cultural benefits through various events, not just reward incentives for membership users. Seongsu was selected as the first venue because it attracts a lot of young people and hosts various brands and pop-up stores."
This event also served as a showcase for Naver's membership program, which was launched in 2020. The Naver Plus Membership has expanded its benefits from shopping rewards to include partnerships with services like Netflix and Spotify, as well as lifestyle services such as grocery shopping, delivery, and mobility.
According to Naver, the retention rate for the membership program remains around 95%. Membership users shop more than three times as much as non-users. Consequently, Naver used this festival to enhance user engagement by showcasing the membership in various ways, connecting online services like search, reservations, shopping, and payments to offline experiences.
Notably, the use of Face Sign for entry served as a practical test of Naver Pay's offline technology at a user interaction point. Face Sign handled entry verification and payments, while the Npay wallet managed NFT ticketing and event participation verification.
Naver is also exploring ways to streamline entry procedures and enhance safety in environments with large crowds, such as concert venues, by utilizing facial recognition and NFTs.
Naver's strategy for offline expansion naturally leads to the Naver Arena. On October 26, Naver signed a naming rights and strategic partnership agreement with Inspire Resort, officially naming the performance venue 'Naver Arena.' Various events are planned, starting with the 'Naver x Hyundai Card The Six' tennis tournament in December.
Lee Jae-hoo, head of Naver's entertainment division, stated, "We will experiment with how to effectively integrate Face Sign and NFTs to create unique experiences. We aim to utilize the technologies showcased today to develop a smart arena experience at Naver Arena."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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