Meet the ARIA Network, a new media company looking to disrupt advertising through augmented reality, NFTs and new shopping experiences

Consumer engagement has gone digital. The global pandemic has made this clear for many brands. After a year of lockdown, as customers turned to online shopping, entertainment and video games to socialize, physical goods and digital experiences blended to create a phygital reality. A new media company called The ARIA network is about to launch, and they seek to disrupt the current media ecosystem by using emerging technology to implement a phygital model.

We had an exclusive interview with Darren Manco-CEO of The ARIA network. The ARIA Network transforms any physical space into a potential virtual access point for digital goods, NFTs and exclusive augmented reality moments that consumers can bring to life with their phones. Their disruptive proposition is aimed at brands and businesses willing to leverage experience-driven branding instead of just traditional advertising.

Cathy Hackl: What is the ARIA network?

Darren Man: The ARIA Network is an integrated media network bringing billions of physical and digital assets to life through advanced image recognition, augmented reality (AR), immersive 360° experiences and groundbreaking NFTs.

ARIA is a Fan Engagement Partner of the National Basketball Retired Players Association, NHL Alumni Association and Major League Baseball Players Alumni. ARIA is also Brookfield Properties’ exclusive AR/VR partner responsible for bringing all common areas to life in more than 100 shopping centers across the United States. I think ARIA is certain to disrupt the current media ecosystem with a new phygital model that brings fans closer to their idols from anywhere.

Hackl: ARIA wants to be a game changer for media, marketing and advertising. How? ‘Or’ What?

Mann: The ARIA Network isn’t just changing the game, it’s creating a new game. It’s a new way for brands and celebrities to engage consumers by leveraging billions of existing assets around the world as gateways to their lives. . Consumers only need their phone to access unlimited new worlds, hottest products, unique NFTs, exclusive moments and many other interactive features, such as digital treasure hunts, virtual hangouts and more. Any physical space is now a candidate for a virtual experience and can be animated simply using a phone’s native camera.

Hackl: What is the why of ARIA?

Mann: Advertising is a trillion dollar business at a standstill. Consumers demand more experience and fewer ads. As we emerge from the COVID lockdown over the past 15 months, consumers have grown accustomed to leveraging digital instead of physical. We view the phone’s camera as a gateway into these new shopping experiences and leverage emerging technologies to create a new ecosystem of opportunities for brands to connect with consumers that will be less intrusive than classic advertisements.

Hackl: What does ARIA do to stand out from the competition?

Mann: With the new ARIA Scholarship, The ARIA Network is setting a new standard, delivering today’s highest quality, fastest, most durable, most secure and seamless NFT solution. Additionally, ARIA’s “Living NFTs” represent a truly unique opportunity to build a relationship with NFT buyers by increasing value over time through the addition of unique and up-to-date content.

Hackl: You mentioned that the ARIA Fellowship is environmentally sustainable. Can you share more about this?

Mann: Committed to reducing its impact on the planet, the ARIA Scholarship is an innovative NFT trading platform that leverages Hedera’s Hashgraph to deliver over 10,000 transactions per second compared to Ethereum’s 12 transactions per second with much lower user latency and a fractional carbon footprint.

The ARIA Exchange powered by Suku’s NFT engine accepts many payment methods, including fiat currency (money in your bank) which is more accessible and uses much less energy. With speed and monetary flexibility as the basis for a dramatically reduced carbon footprint to begin with, ARIA and Suku also track and calculate the carbon footprint of every NFT from mintage to purchase in partnership with Carbon Analytics. Additionally, we partner with Moss.Earth to reinvest carbon deposits exceeding CO2 emissions, making all transactions carbon negative.

Hackl: What do you think are the 3 most important things brands should know about your business?

Mann:

1. It’s unique. No other company delivers better digital experiences and collectibles with multi-touchpoint integration.
2. It brings together the best technologies, creatives and talents in immersive worlds.
3. It’s fully integrated to deliver anytime, anywhere experiences for any purpose, leveraging first-party data, deep analytics, and doubling consumer engagement with better consumer memory retention and a return on investment compared to traditional digital and social advertising platforms.

Hackl: What can you tell me about your team at ARIA?

Mann: I co-founded ARIA with my Co-CEO, Rebecca Jonas, two years ago. When she and I came together, we saw the future of digital engagement move faster than most organizations could embrace.

In order to create a new, fully integrated media platform from experience to commerce to trading, we knew we needed to have the best of the best on our team and that’s exactly what we set out to do. Our team includes real experts in the field like Nadine DietzChief Marketing and Strategy Officer, former Chief Community Officer of Adweek, Evan GreenChief Business Officer, former CMO of The Recording Academy (GRAMMYs), and Barry Sandrew, CTO, AR/VR expert, serial entrepreneur, digital imaging expert and visual effects (VFX) pioneer with over 33 patents and decades of feature film and television achievement, invented digital colorization and 2D to 3D conversion of feature films. We will also be recruiting key new hires over the coming months who will continue to enhance our team’s domain expertise and benefit our customers and partners.

Hackl: What is the current vision and what is the future vision of the company?

Mann: The current vision is to move full steam ahead in creating truly immersive AR experiences and best-in-class NFTs. The future will build on these anchors, bringing together all of our market advantages under the ARIA Network, to include fans, celebrities, athletes, brands and arenas, in a new phygital normal.

Towards a new form of commitment to the brand

The pre-Series A company has already raised nearly $14 million and appears to be poised for hypergrowth. Mann also shared that the ARIA Exchange will announce substantial partnerships in the coming weeks as they pioneer new ways for brands to engage with consumers.

As the new normal emerges, it will require a phygital approach to serve consumers in new ways that meet their ongoing expectations and deliver advanced experiences, both physical and digital. It’s time for a new way to reach fans and for fans to reach brands, celebrities and athletes.