Hennessy, meanwhile, has used NFTs quite differently to suit its brand and image.
It’s no secret that the market is as competitive as ever, and brands need to find new, creative and impactful solutions to really resonate with consumers.
“When you look at NFTs just 12-15 months ago, a brand might try to create a collection just as a revenue stream, and if it fails, that’s it.” Robbie said.
“Fast-forward several months later, and you can find examples of brands across a range of industries, including food and drink, looking beyond the news and adding tangible, real-world benefits to consumers who hold them. It’s a drastic change in a very short time and there is so much more to explore. ?
“And because NFTs can be any digital medium, the possibilities are endless when deciding exactly what you want your membership or loyalty element to be, whether it’s an iconic moment in time, a custom graphic or a personalized audio message from a celebrity.”?
If you’re good at marketing, you’ll be good at NFTs…
So what makes a good NFT collection?
“Creating a more personal relationship with your consumer will never go out of style”
At the end of the day, the answer is surprisingly simple and not that different from classic marketing techniques.
“?It all comes down to being authentic,”says Robbie. “Each brand can use NFTs to provide varying levels of value to their consumers, but the design, rewards and ease of use must all align with the brand’s values. ?
“That’s why luxury brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci are able to create completely different projects from something like the Nike + RTFKT Studios CryptoKicks collection. They can play with more expensive and innovative projects because they’re known for taking big swings. ?
“But not every brand is Nike or Gucci. ?For brands that aren’t playing with the same marketing budget, they can still focus on what they know consumers love: them. Creating a more personal relationship with your consumer will never go out of style and is extremely valuable to any brand of any size. Even at the basic level of customer interaction, membership and loyalty programs have been around for years. Now, through NFTs, marketers are able to increase their brand equity and engage with brand communities like never before.” ?
Should small brands enter the big world of NFTs?
So far, NFTs have largely remained the domain of large companies with the time and resources to put into the technology.
“?We have traditionally seen NFT collection launched from big brands with big marketing budgets who can afford to try something different without expectations.says Robbie.
But he sees that the market is changing.
“You can probably find several new NFT collections being released every week now, as brands seem to be ahead of the technology curve. When you look at the current NFT landscape, you realize that the barrier to entry can be steep; not necessarily from a monetary standpoint, but from simply not having the resources or knowledge to effectively strategize, create, create and distribute an NFT collection.”?
The real barrier to adoption, he explains, is that small brands remain intimidated by NFTs and lack the resources, understanding and motivation to explore the idea. But he believes that NFTs can and will have a place in helping brands of all sizes.
“As a company, we have compared NFTs to the early days of e-commerce adoption,”he says.
“While several large brands may have taken the plunge to add e-commerce to their overall strategy, some SMEs were hesitant to join, simply because they did not understand the benefit of the technology or they did not have the funds to promote a proper strategy effectively.”?
As an NFT agency, Myntr’s aim is to lower that barrier to entry: allowing them to enter the space “easily, efficiently and with purpose”.
“The barrier to entry, not just from a brand perspective, but a consumer perspective, has gotten much lower. It’s gotten so much easier for the average consumer to participate in the space, and will only get easier over time. Brands that choose to embrace this digital expansion will be better for it in the future, as those brands that adopted e-commerce early benefited.” ?