NFC | SunMatrix Ramble

Nike NBA: NFC Jersey for Fan Access

To provide a radical new fan experience, Nike and the NBA have unveiled the Nike NBA Connected Jersey, that via an iOS NikeConnect app provides the wearer an all-access pass into the world of their favorite team and players.

To enable this new experience each adult-sized Nike NBA Connected Jersey will now come with an embedded NFC chip that will launch real-time team and player content such as pregame arrival footage, highlight packages and top players favorite music playlists, all on the jersey owner’s mobile device.

Additionally during the season, a wealth of exclusive offers and experiences will also bring fans closer to the game they love.

The jersey becomes a digital key

This is a classic shift from product to platform. The jersey is no longer just merchandise. It is an authenticated access point that unlocks value over time.

Persistent identity. The NFC chip links the physical item to a digital experience layer.
Content as a benefit. Real-time clips, highlights, and playlists extend fandom beyond game day.
Lifecycle engagement. Season-long offers and experiences create reasons to return repeatedly.

Why NFC is the right interaction here

NFC is fast, familiar, and low-friction on mobile. It turns “launch the app” into “tap the jersey”. That matters, because fan engagement dies quickly when the steps feel like work.

The best connected products reduce steps. They make the physical object the interface.

In sports and entertainment merchandising, the strategic unlock is to turn ownership into authenticated access, so the product keeps earning engagement long after the purchase moment.

What this signals about the future of fan experiences

Connected merchandise can do more than push content. It can authenticate presence, segment offers, and reward loyalty in ways that are difficult to achieve through generic apps alone.

Access becomes the differentiator. Not just ownership.
Value becomes ongoing. Not one-time at purchase.
The product becomes a channel. Not just a display of fandom.

What to take from this if you build connected products

Start with a clear benefit. Content and access are the reasons to tap.
Make activation effortless. Tap-based interactions beat long onboarding flows.
Design for a season, not a moment. The experience must evolve over time to stay relevant.
Use exclusivity carefully. The best offers feel earned, not gated for the sake of it.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Nike NBA Connected Jersey?

It is an NBA jersey from Nike that includes an embedded NFC chip and works with the NikeConnect iOS app to unlock exclusive team and player content and experiences.

What does the NFC chip do?

It enables tap-to-launch access to real-time content such as pregame arrival footage, highlight packages, and player playlists on the owner’s mobile device.

Why is this a “radical” fan experience?

Because it turns a physical jersey into an access pass that can deliver evolving digital benefits throughout the season, not just at the moment of purchase.

What kinds of benefits can connected jerseys unlock?

Exclusive content, season-long offers, and closer-to-the-game experiences that reward fans for owning and engaging with the product.

What is the transferable lesson for brands?

If you can make a physical product an authenticated key to ongoing digital value, you can extend engagement well beyond the initial sale.

Tostitos Party Safe Bag

On Super Bowl Sunday 2017, Tostitos puts safety into the packaging. The limited-edition “Party Safe” bag can detect when you have been drinking, then helps you get home safely from the party.

The trigger is built into the bag itself. The bag is created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners and comes equipped with a sensor connected to a microcontroller calibrated to detect traces of alcohol on a person’s breath. If alcohol is detected, the sensor turns red and forms the image of a steering wheel.

Then it turns that moment into action. The bag provides a $10 off Uber code along with a “Don’t drink and drive” message. If you have an NFC-enabled smartphone, you can also tap the bag to call an Uber.

Why Tostitos ties this to the Super Bowl

The campaign starts from a hard, uncomfortable statistic. According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 45 people are killed in drunk-driving crashes on Super Bowl Sunday 2015, nearly half of all traffic fatalities that day.

So the “Party Safe” bag frames itself as a practical intervention on the one day when party behaviour and driving risk collide at scale.

This is IoT packaging with a clear behavioural goal

The packaging is not a gimmick for novelty’s sake. It is packaging that nudges a specific decision at the moment it matters most. Do not drive. Call a ride.

The smart detail is the friction reduction. The message is immediate, the code is immediate, and the tap-to-request option removes even more steps.

The pattern worth stealing

If you work on connected experiences, the structure is reusable.

Put the sensor where the decision happens, not in a separate app.
Translate detection into a single, obvious next action.
Pair the behavioural nudge with a concrete incentive that accelerates compliance.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Tostitos Party Safe Bag?

A limited-edition bag that can detect alcohol on a person’s breath, then helps them get home safely.

How does the bag detect drinking?

A sensor connected to a microcontroller is calibrated to detect traces of alcohol on the breath.

What happens when alcohol is detected?

The sensor turns red and forms a steering-wheel image. The bag provides a $10 off Uber code and a “Don’t drink and drive” message.

How does the Uber action work?

You can use the $10 off code, and NFC-enabled smartphones can tap the bag to call an Uber.

Cornetto Commitment Rings

Netflix has taken the world by storm, transforming itself from a mail order DVD company into a streaming behemoth that uses immense amount of internet bandwidth worldwide. This in turn has led to a cultural phenomenon called Binge-watching, where you tend to watch 2-6 episodes of the same TV show in one sitting.

The insight ice-cream maker Cornetto had to this cultural phenomenon was that over 28 million Netflix users have binge-watch cheated on their loved ones. 21% of them did it while the other person was asleep, while 12% of them re-watched the show with their loved ones. So Cornetto to fix this “Netflix infidelity” created a pair of smart wearable rings that blocked access to the shows unless the two were watching them together.

The rings had to connect to the smartphone over NFC, and then through an app users would have to register the shows they wanted to watch together. After that, both parties would have to be present, and have their Commitment Rings nearby, to be able to play a new episode from any of the saved shows.

At the moment there aren’t any pricing details or release dates for this particular wearable, so you’ll have to keep checking the Series Commitment website for more details about it, or register with the site to receive more information about the product.