Salesforce launches NFT tools to help businesses embrace Web3
Salesforce Inc. today announced that it is rolling out its digital collectible platform for Web3-branded non-fungible tokens in a limited release to help brands more easily embrace the decentralized technology and build loyalty programs.
Salesforce Web3 brings the power of blockchain technology into the hands of businesses to create, manage, and distribute non-functional tokens in a way that can be trusted, scalable, and sustainable. It also connects these new digital assets to the company’s customer management system, so their collection and use can be tracked and associated with sales.
Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are a type of digital collectible and an emerging market that many international brands are interested in, but wary of because of the ease of use, potential security and sustainability issues associated with them.
In an interview with SiliconANGLE, Adam Caplan, general manager of Web3 at Salesforce, explained that the launch of NFT Management – previously known as NFT Cloud – has given companies the ability to create and manage their own digital collectibles through Salesforce. The company first piloted NFT Cloud in June to a few companies to give them what it called a “360-degree view” across customers’ physical and digital experience.
“When NFTs just exploded a couple of years ago, we just had a ton of interest from [chief marketing officers] and customers just asking us how we can leverage this technology,” said Caplan. “They thought there was something interesting here, but they were nervous from a brand perspective, from a reputation perspective, from a security and trust perspective, and from a sustainability perspective. “
To handle that, NFT Management was built with the customer’s safety and ethics in mind. Digital collectibles created and managed in Salesforce Web3 are audited and secured, and the company has engaged its Office of Ethical and Humane Use of Technology and the Web3 Advisory Board to talk about ethical issues for value-driven approaches for Web3 technology. The company will also only work with energy-efficient proof-of-stake blockchains, which the company notes produce 99% less emissions than proof-of-work blockchains.
Since the initial launch of the pilot program last year, more than 275,000 transactions have been recorded by the platform for brands such as Crown Royal, Mattel and Scotch & Soda, all of which use it to create and securely distribute digital collectibles.
Along with NFT Management, Salesforce is also making available Web3 Connect, a new application programming interface integration that allows brands to more easily create personalized experiences through their websites and apps, allowing them to offer NFTs and track them through Salesforce.
Mattel Inc. put this to use by launching digital collectibles with Salesforce by releasing digital collectibles in bundles. Since Mattel has a massive collector community with their Hot Wheels toys, these collectibles were sold in digital packs with multiple cars per pack that could have different rarities of NFTs in the packs. Each pack may have the potential to feature a high-rarity digital collector car that winners can redeem for a physical die-cast replica.
“Salesforce Web3 enhances our NFT collections to help us connect with customers and bring our Web2 and Web3 systems together,” Sven Gerjets, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Mattel. “Web3 Connect provides invaluable insights into our audience and seamlessly bridges Web3 channels with the rest of our customer experience.”
And now that Mattel has collected all of this data from its customers who buy these bundles, enter their information, redeem digital cars for physical cars and more, all of that data comes back into Salesforce and can be used for more opportunities.
For example, ownership of a digital collectible can open up the possibility of in-store discounts, or enable digital experiences or VIP rooms on a website that are only available to people who own the digital collectible – in the same way that specific premium NFT Hot Wheels can be redeemed for the physical car.
For now, Caplan said, the program is in limited general availability for brands interested in creating and releasing their own digital NFT collectibles. That’s how Salesforce can help coach new businesses and make sure they’re ready to embrace the new technology.
