Over the years terms like NFT have been becoming more and more popular and we’ve been hearing a lot of it. NFTs are set to open the floodgates to a new sort of brand narrative and consumer dynamics as Web3 is emerging slowly as the next big commercial technology infrastructure.

Wading into the murky waters of Web3 will seem daunting at first. However, this provides the perfect opportunity for brands to figure out what works for them through trial and error and by observing what succeeds and what fails.

Brands should strike when the NFT iron is hot. The opportunity for brands to capitalize on this is technology to leverage fan engagement, and potentially generate revenue is at its all-time high. All of this while staying ahead of the curve and keeping pace with innovations in commerce and technology.

Leveraging NFT as a marketing tool

NFTs can be a value-adding tool to your marketing strategy by offering consumers a clear differentiator from your competitors. They can help improve consumer experience and build a community by creating a new way of engaging with consumers.

Layer-E has already helped some brands enter the space very early and create some unique experiences for their fans. Prada and Adidas selected 3,000 fans to turn their own original images into an NFT that they’d mint as their own. Prada and Adidas allowed the users to mint the tokens for free, and the owners got to hold onto the intellectual property rights and could sell their NFTs at will.

There are a few ways that brands can engage with NFTs, with the caveat that this is an ever-evolving landscape.

• Today, most brands enter the NFT market by exploiting scarcity. They employ NFTs to drop a product or give unique admission to an event.

• The luxury and fashion industries were among the first to get on the NFT bandwagon. Brands have begun to manufacture limited-edition NFTs or to reward customers with NFTs that are linked to tangible consumer experiences. Early adopters include Gucci and Givenchy to name a few.

• Brands can also have a presence in metaverse platforms (Decentraland and the Sandbox, for example), where they can own virtual land and sell NFTs. NFTs and the metaverse will change the way we look at a typical consumer journey. Consumers will want their digital experiences and physical experiences with a brand to feel intertwined. The Layer-E Phygitals Module is made for exactly this, it helps bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds.

• There may also be possibilities to engage in the long run and to build and nurture a dedicated fan base, for as by creating a club. Many celebrities and brands are utilizing them to engage with their audiences.

• Brands can monetize ads multiple times over by turning them into NFTs; they can further their equity via storytelling and collectible assets; or, create a buzz in the lead-up to events and product launches via early access tokens

Ultimately, NFTs are ways for brands to get next-level engagement, one that lasts and could create more than advocacy. Brands will need to go make sure they understand their current value in people’s lives.

Creating brand identity

Most companies don’t want to be in the business of generating and selling digital art in the long run. Connecting your NFT collection to your brand identity is critical. A new philanthropic dimension can also improve brand perception. Many brands donate the proceeds from NFTs to charity. This is not just a great method to establish a business as a useful community asset; it’s also an important approach for attracting today’s customers, who are more inclined to buy from purpose-driven companies.

Brands can also use NFTs to collect data or to reward those who participate in crowdfunding. For years, companies like Starbucks and P&G have been soliciting product ideas and feedback from customers. Co-creators can now be compensated for their efforts by owning a piece of the finished product.

NFTs don’t just provide a way to provide exclusivity but also provide a way to build some excitement and bring attention to your project. For example, to mark and celebrate the integration of Polygon NFTs in Coinbase Wallets, Coinbase decided to have an NFT mint, and this wasn't a regular old mint, this was one of the BIGGEST NFT mints in the world, this caught the attention of the community and we’re well on the way to a million mints. With this little stunt, Coinbase established themselves as a brand that's exciting and ahead of the curve.

As NFTs are gaining popularity, this would be the perfect time for brands to step in and experiment with NFTs. Exclusive experiences provide companies with the ability to make more money and interact with their core fan base. For digital media makers, new business models could be tested, allowing them to circumvent traditional platforms and earn directly from their consumers.

Providing exclusivity within communities

Exclusivity is just one lever that shapes consumer interest. Brands may also use NFTs programmability to make them more collaborative and engaging. Gap’s NFT collection has been made more gamified by allowing many common NFTs to be blended into fewer, more restricted ones. Community elements in an NFT collection can help to boost engagement even further. Part of the reason for the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s higher interest (and prices) than its CryptoPunks precursor is its social significance.

Layer-E also bring together different creators and creator studios to a single platform and this helps provide value to all people in the network and creates a positive-sum effect.

We’ve also helped some big brands like Mercedes come into the web3 space. Powering NFTs for the Mercedes-Benz Blockchain Day 2022 and providing the Mercedes Community with a new experience. The drop consisted of 2 types of Soulbounds- for the expert speakers, and the other for the participants. We made the mint completely gasless and enabled a social wallet onboarding, making it seamless for all web3 newbies and enabling the community to easily shift to web3.

NFTs are disrupting the current marketing landscape by putting the power back in the hands of the community by letting them decide what’s popular and incentivizing them to support what they like and prompting brands to find innovative ways to incentivize their audience to engage.

NFTs are particularly crucial for building out these communities and encouraging customer participation since they allow data gathering possibilities, which businesses can then utilize to acquire insights and improve their marketing approach.

The future of Brand NFTs

The good news is that NFTs’ actual significance will manifest gradually over the next few years, giving us plenty of time to figure out where brands can fit in. Focusing a brand's metrics on factors that will help you envision a future in which NFTs underpin all real-world products and experiences while extending them into the digital realm.

A new era for brands is only coming and those that act now can position themselves as pioneers. Those who dismiss it as another fad, like social media and the internet were once, will bite their fingers later.

The new economic model allows companies to interact with customers in new ways. And those customers will be able to benefit from the brands’ success in ways that were previously unavailable.

Now is the best time for your brand to step up and shape the future of NFT marketing. Do it thoughtfully. Join the future.

Layer-E is the leading Collectible Relationship Management product suite in web3 built for creators, companies and fandom to turbocharge revenue and reach. Interested in being part of our exclusive club of launched brand including Coinbase, Flipkart, Mercedes and more? Get in touch with us here to build your Collectible Relationship strategy with us.