Market an NFT effectively by applying these tactics to your NFT brand
In the fast-paced and ever-evolving world of digital marketing, NFTs have emerged as a game-changer. Also known as Non-Fungible Tokens, they have revolutionized brand promotion, offering a unique opportunity for companies to engage with their audience on a whole new level. With NFTs, brands can create digital assets that are limited in supply and authenticated on the blockchain, adding a sense of exclusivity and value.
By tapping into the power of NFT marketing, brands can unlock unprecedented levels of customer engagement and loyalty. The scarcity inherent in NFTs makes them highly desirable, driving up demand and fostering a sense of urgency among collectors. Whether through limited edition digital art, virtual real estate, or even virtual merchandise, NFTs provide brands with a cutting-edge avenue to captivate their target market.
In this article, we delve into the world of NFT marketing and explore how it has transformed brand promotion. We’ll examine real-life case studies, discuss the benefits of NFT marketing, and provide insights on how businesses can leverage this exciting technology to enhance their brand presence. So buckle up, as we journey into the world of NFTs and discover the endless possibilities they offer for brand promotion.
What is an NFT?
An NFT is a blockchain-based digital token with a unique set of metadata that can never be duplicated or replaced. The traits and values of one NFT will be completely different from that of another. This token exists on a blockchain or digital ledger, which ensures its ownership and authenticity are verifiable and trackable. When you buy an NFT, you buy a digital certificate of a specific digital asset.
For better understanding, a real-life example of a fungible token is the currencies we use to pay for things every day. Whatever currency it is, it can be replaced by an identical currency.
On the other hand, a plane ticket is non-fungible. Each plane ticket is unique in terms of information and characteristics. You cannot exchange your plane ticket with another traveler. NFTs can be any digital device. Anything can be tokenized, including a personal photograph, a tweet, or a two-second video of a person. The most common types of NFTs are crypto art, in-game assets, virtual land, music, and crypto collectibles.
While NFTs are somewhat related to cryptocurrency, they are not cryptocurrencies. Rather, an NFT is an asset that can be purchased with cryptocurrency but behaves differently from Bitcoin or Ethereum. Every NFT is distinct and one-of-a-kind. Ethereum and NFT technology have frequently been used together. Ether is the native currency of the Ethereum blockchain and is a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin. It’s also used for NFT creation and transactions, and it’s the most widely used blockchain for NFTs right now, particularly for CryptoArt.
Why brands love NFTs so much
The reason why NFTs are valuable is that they allow for proof of ownership in the digital world. To understand this better, consider this: only one person can own the original Mona Lisa, but millions can own copies. However, the real Mona Lisa is more valuable. Digital collectibles and artwork work the same way. There was no way to prove the ownership or authenticity of digital artwork or collectibles before the invention of NFTs.
The scarcity principle now exists in the digital world thanks to blockchain technology and NFTs. When a digital asset is tokenized, it gains value because you can prove its authenticity and ownership. You can also buy and sell it multiple times. This is because each NFT is rare, one-of-a-kind, and indivisible. If the creator wants to make many of them, there can be several NFTs of the same trading card or art piece. The first few hundred editions are usually the most expensive.
The ability to showcase and represent digital files such as art, audio, and video is one of the core reasons NFTs are important to brands. They’re adaptable to various types of creative work, including virtual objects, real estate, fashion, and much more. This adaptability comes in handy when it’s time to market an NFT uniquely and memorably.
What does all of this have to do with marketing strategy?
NFTs have opened up a new form of brand storytelling and consumer interaction. These are the two main pillars of an effective marketing strategy. You can use storytelling and interaction to create unique experiences, increase brand awareness, encourage interaction, and create interest in your brand and its products. Ultimately, both these strategies can help increase conversions and drive revenue.
Let’s look at how some brands have successfully used these approaches to market an NFT or to integrate NFTs into their marketing strategy for a different product.
1) Taco Bell
According to research, 83% of millennials tend to gravitate towards companies sharing similar values. As a result, to gain attention and draw in more sales, brands must publicly and genuinely support the causes they believe in.
Taco Bell’s foundation has been known to do this for several years, but it took its philanthropy one step further by selling taco-themed NFT GIFs to benefit their Live Más Scholarship. The GIFs their team created were auctioned off within 30 minutes of putting their 25 NFTs (dubbed NFTacoBells) up for auction on Rarible (an NFT marketplace). Even though each GIF had a starting bid price of $1, they eventually sold for thousands, with one art piece selling for $3,646.
Taco Bell made a good business decision by creating and selling NFTs. The company discovered that to generate a lot of buzz in the mainstream media and social media, they needed to market an NFT to the right audiences.
You can adapt Taco Bell’s strategies with their NFTs to increase brand awareness while supporting a good cause. Both can help you win more clients over and boost your sales.
2) RTFKT Digital Sneakers
NFTs can help a brand to disrupt its market and establish a name for itself in the industry.
The sportswear industry is highly saturated with many brands. RTFKT – a relatively unknown Chinese virtual sneaker brand – created and auctioned off an NFT sneaker for the Chinese New Year. The sneaker managed to fetch $28,000 at auction.
This is especially impressive for a brand that has only existed for the past two years and created a sneaker that cannot even be touched, let alone worn. The company was also able to get $3 million for an NFT sneaker That they made in collaboration with 18-year-old artist FEWOCiOUS.
With NFTs still in the early stages, this is the best time for companies to get involved. Drawing inspiration from other existing companies is an excellent way to get people’s attention and grow a fan base. For companies and brands looking to set themselves apart from the competition, RTFKT would make a superb muse for using NFT technology. RTFKT leveraged FOMO by producing limited edition memorabilia to commemorate a significant event and holiday. This caused potential buyers to jump at the chance of purchasing the NFT before it disappeared.
3) Grimes
Grimes is known as being Elon Musk’s “ex-partner.” She’s earned accolades for her work as a musician. She’s also renowned as one of the only people to make 6 million dollars in 20 minutes through NFTs after she auctioned a collection of 10 NFTs on the NFT marketplace, Nifty Gateway.
People get excited about new NFT products being introduced into the market. New brands should capitalize on that interest by adopting an aggressive marketing and PR strategy. For example, you could collaborate with artists or auction sites to get your brand featured in an auction. Once you’ve created an NFT, you can auction it off for charity or hold a contest to generate leads with NFTs as the prize.
When you want to market an NFT, remember that a good marketing strategy capitalizes on current trends while remaining creative enough to draw attention to your brand.
4) Kings of Leon album launch
The music industry has become highly competitive. It is not easy to build and then maintain a loyal fanbase. Even artists and bands in the industry have had to find new ways to keep their existing fans and attract new ones.
To achieve this, the band Kings of Leon devised a unique strategy. They released their album “When You See Yourself” as an NFT. This one-of-a-kind album release allowed fans to choose from three types of tokens. They could choose between a special album package, benefits from live shows, or exclusive audiovisual art. The band also plugged into the FOMO effect – all three types of tokens were only available for two weeks. As a result, they became a tradable collectible. The Kings of Leon made history by being the first band to release an NFT version of an album. More importantly, this album solidified its place in the hearts of its fans by allowing them to own a digital collectible. This was an excellent way to boost brand loyalty.
5) Nyan Cat GIF
A decade ago, we were all introduced to the Nyan Cat GIF. As one of the first of its nature, it made a colorful splash on the digital scene. To keep it relevant and forever in our hearts, creator Chris Torres created an NFT version of the GIF. This NFT sold for over $500,000 on the crypto auction site foundation. Beyond that, Chris also held an auction for NFTs of other classic memes like Bad Luck Brian, which sold for over $34,000.
NFT enthusiasts are willing to pay a premium for exceptional service. You can use this knowledge to your advantage by converting your existing content, especially ads and other visuals into NFTs. If you choose to market an NFT, you can also hold an auction to reach new audiences in the tech industry and raise brand awareness.
6) Atari
Atari is famous for introducing home console gaming to the masses. They have saturated the gaming industry, nearly putting all their competitors out of business.
However, some of its products failed to live up to the hype and survive multiple ownership changes. Infogrames Games bought the company in the early 1990s and renamed it Atari SA. Their most significant foray into the gaming world was the recently relaunched VCS console.
Since its relaunch, the company expanded its focus to include other industries rather than gaming alone. In 2020, Atari gave the green light to create and launch a crypto-based online casino with its coin – The Atari Token – and several other NFTs. The launch of the casino brought the company’s most popular games, including Centipede and Pong back into popularity. Their NFTs were 3D models of their games and added a level of exclusivity, with the first ten cartridges created being black and the remaining 100 red. They didn’t publicize the personal details of the first buyer of the Centipede NFT. However, this token holder received an original Centipede arcade cabinet.
As Atari has proven, NFTs are a creative and effective way to branch out and reach new audiences. Your business doesn’t need to be failing for you to appreciate how taking the right steps to market an NFT offers to grow your customer base.
Conclusion
NFTs are still in their early stages, and their practical applications are limited. Nevertheless, people love them and are willing to spend money on them. From what we’ve seen so far, NFTs are here to stay.
NFTs, like the blockchain technology that powers them, have the potential to play a significant role in the future digital landscape. Non-fungible tokens have opened up new channels for interacting with an audience and creating memorable experiences for them. This is especially true for marketers. NFTs may appear to be a fad right now, but they offer several advantages (such as transparency and security) that overcome the limitations of current technologies.
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