The drum | The North Face launches NFT range to tap into outdoor-obsessed Chinese consumers
The North Face has launched a series of NFTs on Tmall to tap into Chinese consumers’ desire for all things adventure and outdoors in the post-pandemic and post-lockdown market.
Created by McCann Shanghai, the Spirit of Exploration campaign features three NFTs, which link to specific product portfolios and are based on relevant features, weather and terrain conditions and product history.
Since Chinese regulations dictate that NFTs cannot be purchased directly, consumers can only purchase an NFT when purchasing a specific The North Face item. With each consumer receives the product, an NFT and a unique digital certificate – all of which combine to create an exclusive brand experience for consumers.
To promote the collection, McCann launched a teaser campaign across social media, which has already contributed to the sale of 5,000 NFTs in the first week.
How Chu, executive creative director at McCann Shanghai, said: “Many people think that NFTs are just a simple product designed for display. But in fact, every single touch point can become a platform for brands to engage with consumers.”
The first NFT promotes The North Face’s trail shoes and the brand’s TNF100 cross-country ski, which has a long-standing reputation among Chinese runners. As part of the campaign, The North Face produced a list of “100 reasons to return to the mountains” based on real responses from 100 runners, and the text from the responses was formatted into a finish line design, which was woven together to become part of the campaign . of the shoe.
The second NFT promotes The North Face’s Summit Series, the brand’s mountaineering clothing designed to handle extreme weather conditions. During the 15 seconds to promote this, we see a layer of clothing added each time the top gets higher to demonstrate the brand’s extensive range.
The third NFT promotes the brand’s iconic down jacket, originally launched in 1992, and includes classic 90s New York imagery such as arcade games, the Times Square building, the Walkman, subway tokens and graffiti.
Shu Wu, Managing Director of McCann China, said “Based on the in-depth research we have conducted on China’s Metaverse market, we believe that NFT is not only fashionable at this moment, but will also have great potential in the future.”
The launch of the campaign comes as consumer interest in outdoor apparel and gear is experiencing a huge surge in interest on the back of China’s prolonged lockdowns due to the country’s zero-covid policy. Sales of active wear, outdoor clothing, promotional gear and sneakers and apparel were among the top categories in China’s e-commerce festivals such as 11.11.
