Owned content is becoming a loyalty surface
The ITC report, as surfaced by Buzzincontent, points to a shift many brand managers will recognize: content is no longer just the soft layer around commerce. It is increasingly the place where a consumer first signals interest, spends time, asks for utility, and decides whether the brand deserves a second interaction.
That matters for membership and loyalty design because brand-owned content can do something paid media rarely does well: it can teach the customer how to get more value from the product after the sale. A recipe hub, a usage guide, a seasonal idea, a creator-led format, a challenge, a scan-to-unlock experience — none of these has to be “Web3” on the surface to behave like a loyalty asset. The mechanics are simple: the consumer gives attention or data; the brand gives usefulness, access, entertainment or recognition in return.
The caution is just as important. We should not read more into the ITC report than the available snippet confirms. We do not have enough detail here to say which formats, platforms or metrics ITC is using. But the framing itself is useful: brand-owned content is being discussed as an engine, not an archive. That is the strategic leap.
Coca-Cola shows the connected packaging playbook
A second source, TradingView, describes a broader version of the same movement at Coca-Cola. According to the report, Coca-Cola’s digital transformation is moving from a marketing support function into a core part of its consumer engagement strategy, with management emphasizing data, personalization and connected experiences.
The most concrete example is connected packaging. Through the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour campaign, consumers can scan Coca-Cola packages to access interactive experiences, games, music, ticket giveaways and personalized content. In plain English, the package becomes a doorway: not just a container on a shelf, but a repeatable entry point into a brand-owned environment.
For our world — loyalty, memberships, ticketing and tokenized access — this is where the lesson becomes practical. The strongest consumer-engagement systems do not ask people to download an app, learn a wallet, join a Discord and decode brand jargon before they receive value. They start where the customer already is: holding the product, watching the event, opening the email, scanning the label, redeeming a ticket.
TradingView also notes that Coca-Cola is using these interactions to gather consumer insights and tailor future campaigns and offerings. It cites Coca-Cola Zero Zero in Europe as an example of consumer data shaping innovation after identifying interest in caffeine-free beverages during evening occasions. The important point for loyalty teams is not the beverage itself; it is the loop. Engagement creates insight, insight shapes the offer, the offer gives the customer a reason to engage again.
The practical test for brand NFTs and memberships
For teams building NFT memberships, access passes or next-generation ticketing, ITC’s reported move and Coca-Cola’s digital push point to the same operating principle: content should not sit outside the loyalty system. It should help power it.
Before adding a token, badge or collectible, ask a more grounded question: what customer friction are we removing? If someone scans packaging, opens a member hub or taps a digital ticket, what do they get in that moment — a useful recommendation, priority access, a game, a giveaway, personalized content, a local event benefit, a better way to use the product?
That is the difference between community building and campaign clutter. A collectible with no next step is a souvenir. A piece of content that unlocks access, captures preference, improves the next interaction and makes the customer feel seen is a loyalty mechanic.
The action for marketing teams is straightforward: audit your owned content as if it were a membership journey. Mark every point where a consumer gives you attention. Then decide what value you return, what signal you learn, and what the next invitation should be. If ITC is indeed moving owned content into the role of engagement engine, the brands that learn fastest will be the ones that treat every content touchpoint as the beginning of a relationship, not the end of a campaign.