The Basics of NFTs – What Should B2B Marketers Know?

Everyone seems to be gung-ho about NFTs these days. But first, what are NFTs?

Let’s dig a little…

NFT stands for non-fungible token. That doesn’t explain anything though. Technically, a non-fungible token means, it is a unique one, and it cannot be replaced with anything else. For instance, you trade a bitcoin for another bitcoin as it is fungible, but if you trade an NFT, you will receive something that is entirely different. 

As of now, NFTs are a part of Ethereum blockchain. They can store extra information that makes them work little differently. These NFTs can be anything from music, drawing, art, etc. The current excitement is however, around using NFT to sell digital art. 

Marketing Technology News: Benefits Of Using Targeted Ads and Chats To Drive ABM Success

NFT mania is increasing at a fast rate, the question is how important is it for brands. 

The primary reason NFTs are important for brands is because they can be used to represent digital files like art, audio and videos. NFTs are so versatile that they can represent other forms of creative work like virtual worlds, virtual real estate, fashion and much more. 

Consumer interaction and brand storytelling are the two main pillars of effective marketing strategy, and fortunately, NFTs are opening up new ways to achieve more in this regard. Modern marketers must focus on NFTs because they help: 

• Create unique brand experiences. 

• Boost brand awareness.

• Improve customer interaction.

• Drive interest in a particular brand or product. 

The concept of NFT can be a little difficult to understand for some. Let’s create a better understanding by looking at the following brands who are using the concept successfully as part of their marketing campaigns. 

• Taco Bell’s GIFs

Taco Bell made a huge success by launching their NFT Gif in the name of NFTacobells to support their Liv Mas Scholarship. All their NFTs were sold out within 30 minutes of putting those on Rarible (An NFT trading platform). It was quite clever on the part of Taco Bell to introduce GIF, and it generated quite a buzz around social media. 

With such an initiative, Taco Bell killed two birds with one stone: 

• Drove brand awareness, and 

• Supported a good cause. 

Both of these factors together became a game changer for Taco Bell. 

• RTFKT Digital Sneaker

NFT’s give you a chance to disrupt the market and make a name for yourself. Look at this example of  Chinese virtual sneaker brand RTFKT. 

It successfully designed an NFT sneaker for the occasion of Chinese New Year, and put it up for auction. To everyone’s wonder, the sneaker was sold out for $28,000. 

Isn’t it impressive, a brand that is hardly two years old made a mark in the industry, sold an item that can hardly be touched, let alone be worn. 

As a modern marketer, it’s important to take inspiration from what RTFKT did. We know NFT is still in its infancy and thus, it can be the right time to grab your place in this zone. 

• Nyan Cat GIF

Nyan Cat is an old Gif, and most of us know about it. What you do not know is that the same GIF was converted into a NFT and sold for around $5,00,000 on the crypto auction site named Foundation. A Gif from the past sold out for such a huge sum of money!

The creator of Nyan Cat NFT did not stop here and organized more auctions where memes were converted into NFTs. 

Brand marketers need to understand that customers are paying for the experience they get. You can capitalize it by turning your popular ads into NFTs. Who knows, it may become the next talk of town? 

• NBA Shoots and Scores with NFTs

The National Basketball Association was one of the first businesses to make its users experience more immersive with NFTs. On their website, users can buy and sell player cards, capture the moments of their favorite plays and lots more. Dapper Labs is the NFT company, running their site. 

The software was launched in 2020, but the sales skyrocketed in February with more than 8,00,000 users found interacting with the website. The sports fans are ready to trade in dollars to get the best gaming experience. For instance, Los Angeles Lakers Lebron James dunk was traded for $280,000.

As of now, NFTs are growing as a concept and in popularity, marketers can create memorable experiences for their customers. It is true that this technology is still in its infancy, but brands need to pay close attention to it to learn how to gain traction from it.

Simplest example is, mint your luxury designs of the product, create ad campaigns and collaborate with NFT creators. The technology is here to stay, and it is going to become an inseparable part of tomorrow’s digital marketing. 

Marketing Technology News: How can Marketers Benefit from using Call Analytics Platforms?