5 Iconic brands using NFTs as part of their strategy
NFTs are attracting a lot of people and consequently more and more companies start to wonder how they can use this technology to engage their consumers in a new and different way. In this article you’ll find some examples of 5 iconic brands that stepped up and took the initiative to incorporate this new technology tool in their strategy.
Lamborghini’s NFT art project reaches the space
The luxury car brand entered the web3 world with a very exciting, well thought, detailed (and profitable) project. Space Time Memory are art pieces made both of a physical element and a NFT component.
The Space Key, the physical element, is a piece of carbon fiber sent to outer space by Lamborghini. It’s engraved with a unique QR code that links to the NFT, a photograph of an Aventador lifting off towards the stars. A total of five Space Keys were made, each one linking to one of the five photographs created.
The photograph (digital component), depicts a Lamborghini Aventador Ultimate, lifting off towards the stars and it’s a true artwork. Fabian Oefner created a total of five separate images that depict individual moments within seconds from each other as the car rises above the earth. Its parts, the engine, the transmission, the suspension, and hundreds of nuts and bolts are shooting away from the chassis like the exhaust flame of a rocket.
What may look like a computer-generated image is in fact entirely created from elements of the real world: the artist captured more than 1500 individual parts of an actual car. The photograph of the earth’s curvature was made by sending a weather balloon equipped with a camera to the edge of the stratosphere. The artist then carefully assembled all these images into an artificial moment in time. Each piece has more than 600 million pixels. As one starts to zoom in, the hidden details of the hyperrealistic photograph are revealed.
The resolution is so enormous, that you can read tiny markings on the firing order of the V12 engine or marvel at the different milling patterns on the transmission cogwheels. The longer you look at the composition, the more secrets you discover.
In order to purchase one of these art pieces all the interested parties had to take part in an online auction. The timeframe to buy them, as every aspect of this campaign, has a reason why: the pieces were available for 75 hours and 50 minutes, which is the exact time that it’s taken to Apollo 11 to get out from the earth and enter the moon orbit.
The result of this initiative is overwhelming:
- Space Time Memory – T+0071S reached $150,000
- Space Time Memory – T+0072S reached $70,000
- Space Time Memory – T+0073S reached $110,00
- Space Time Memory – T+0074S reached $126,000
- Space Time Memory – T+0074S reached the incredible figure of $203,636
Adding up for an overall total of $659.636.
Lamborghini’s Space Key
“Louis: The game” a new approach of Louis Vuitton
After having a successful collab with the game “League of Legends” in 2019, when the brand launched an exclusive clothing collection based on one of the most popular games in the world, Louis Vuitton understood that technology could play a very important role in its branding strategy. It’s no news that games can engage a very large amount of the population, so why not? Louis Vuitton decided to merge these two worlds once again and launch its own NFT Game.
To achieve its goals this iconic brand partnered with Beeple’s (one of the most known NFT artists) to launch Louis: The game, a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Louis Vuitton.
The game’s primary quest is for players to help Vivienne, the brand’s virtual avatar, to find a sixteen-page manuscript in the first level. Afterwards, the second level of the game will see players try to collect up to 200 candles denoting the brand’s birthday as it celebrates its 200th anniversary.
The candles highlight the founding and the history of the iconic Louis Vuitton and once you’re able to reach a certain level in the game, players were able to qualify for entries to a raffle that had as the grand prize 30 Louis Vuitton NFTs, unique and exclusive in the market. As these NFTs are not for sale, playing is the only way to earn them, which provides a whole new experience and sets a high value on the pieces.
Since its launch in August 2021 the game has been downloaded more than 2 million times both in App Store and Google Play and is known as one of the most entertaining NFT games available. Usually, most NFT games are centered on mechanics for you to invest/earn money and don’t really care about the game itself, which is the exact opposite experience that you get when playing Louis: you have fun while learning about the brand, plus you could be a holder of an exclusive piece.
To keep the users engaged the game had already launched updates. At first the game could be played in seven locations inspired by important fashion cities such as London or Paris, but in the latest version, which landed in April 2022, two new locations have been included, they’re called “Radiant city” and “high in the sky” as well as new 10 NFTs and Vivienne being featured in different types of looks.
Louis: the game -thumbnail
Time magazine created TIMEpieces
TIMEPieces is a Web3 community initiative from TIME and it celebrates the work of artists, which has been a core aspect of the TIME brand for nearly 100 years.
The Genesis Collection launched in September 2021, with Build a Better Future, included the work from over 40 incredible, global artists spanning multiple disciplines. Owning a TIMEPiece also unlocks unlimited access to TIME.com through TIME’s 100th anniversary in 2023, exclusive invites to TIME’s in-person events, and access to special digital experiences. Owners of multiple pieces will also be extended additional opportunities.
In its release TIME President Keith A. Grossman stated “TIMEPieces is our latest foray into NFTs, this time with the goal of also fostering community, loyalty and rewards. While many of the NFT drops that have happened to date within the media space have focused on high-end single editions or multiple versions of collectables, the release of TIMEPieces marks the first time a major media brand has taken on a Web3 approach toward building community and using this technology as an innovative extension of our current Digital Subscription efforts”.
TIMEPieces followed with a second collection called Long Neckie Women of the Year by Artist in Residence, Nyla Hayes. The other collections are called Inspirations, Slices of TIME, and the newly announced, Beatclub Collection.
One year ago, the initiative that started with a single collection of 4.676 NFTs made by 40 artists, today has big figures to demonstrate its success, 5 collections, made by 89 artists that created 20,000 NFTs and generated through a community of 55.000 members, donating $600,000 to charity.
NFT Collection by TIME Magazine
Adidas own metaverse
Adidas Originals enters the metaverse and web3 universe with a capsule collection created by Bored Ape Yacht Club, Pixel Vault and GMoney, pioneers in the creation of NFT files. The project called “Into the metaverse” is divided into 3 phases, phase 1 consists in selling NFTs that will be used as tickets to claim physical merchandise (phase 2) and then creating your own metaverse version (phase 3).
The digital items will be usable in the blockchain-based gaming world of The Sandbox as well as other platforms, while the physical products include the iconic adicolor Firebird tracksuit, a graphic hoodie, and NFT influencer gmoney’s signature orange beanie.
The NFTs went on sale on 17 December 2021 for the cost of 0.2 Ethereum (Phase 1), and the digital and physical wearables for NFT owners were only made available in 2022 (Phase 2). In this phase holders are required to burn the Phase 1 NFT to claim the physical merch. The product claim period, as well as the ability to proceed to Phase 2 was open until May 11th, 2022.
Meanwhile everybody waits for Phase 3 “You. In the Metaverse. In creation…”, the Into the Metaverse NFT holders don’t catch a break from all the benefits that come while owning the NFT. Just last month Adidas revealed the exclusive giveaway of 200 Alpha Passes to its ITM holders. Using the Alpha Pass, users can participate in Alpha season 2 on The SandBox.
As part of the launch strategy, Adidas purchased its first NFT – ape #8774 of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s 10,000-strong collection of ape avatars. The company also acquired a plot of virtual land inside The Sandbox, which it plans to fill with “exclusive content and experiences”. Phase 1 NFT is the ticket to claim the merch. Actually, upon launch Into the Metaverse NFT collection was sold out quickly and garnered $23 million worth of profits.
This is how Erika Wykes-Sneyd, vice president of communications in Adidas Originals, explains the adventure in the metaverse:
“We have embarked on the new era of originality, and if we said from the beginning that we were going to be the brand that is going to represent and drive the values of this new generation in the world, then we should move at the speed of culture. That has been the attitude since the beginning of adidas, when at that time we decided to embrace the avant-garde and open the door to the new. Since then we have acted with a rebellious optimism. Last April we started to study the web3 values that really sustain the community around this new universe of the open metaverse. And we thought we should organize adidas Originals to engage with this new generation. It’s the universe where people spend their time and where they express themselves freely, a universe that will force brands to act in a way they are not yet comfortable with. That is already in our DNA, we are a true collaborative brand. And we would be the first, we would be ambitious, we would pave the way in an equitable, fair and inclusive way.”
This action puts Adidas on the list of pioneering brands to enter the metaverse. The brand wants to be a role model and a success case of how creativity and technology can generate a whole new world of possibilities in terms of talking to and engaging your audience.
Adidas Into the Metaverse team
Coca-Cola’s Pride NFT collection
Coca-Cola first ventured into the metaverse on International Friendship Day 2021 by auctioning four Coca-Cola NFTs to raise funds for Special Olympics International. The brand since has released limited-edition digital collectibles to celebrate additional internationally recognized days, in this article we’re going to talk about the collectibles that were dropped to celebrate 2022s Pride Month.
The big stars of this celebration are the 136 collectibles that were available for purchase at the artistic digital community Tafi. The collection called “NFT Pride collection” was launched on June 30 of 2022. The NFTs were designed by Rick Minsi, a Sud African LGBTQIA+ advocate.
The series celebrates the “Real Magic” and diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community. Each collectible features bespoke Minsi artwork offering an exclusive take on the iconic Coke bottle, transformed through the light into a magical kaleidoscope of color. Mnisi’s artwork has been sliced into individual fragments and dispersed across 136 unique collectibles—a nod to the 136-year-old Coca-Cola brand.
The Coca-Cola Pride Collection is a generative series of collectibles, which means the artwork is broken up into unique “traits” used to create metadata files before rendering and minting the final digital collectibles on the Polygon blockchain.
All Coca-Cola proceeds from the initial sale and resale of the collectibles were donated to charities serving the LGBTQIA+ community. As it is a charity project, profit is not considered the main goal, the figures of the initial sale sum up to less than $23,000. Although this number is not quite impressive, a fraction of the NFTs resales will belong to Coca-Cola, this way in each and every Coke NFT transaction the company will keep earning money for charity.
NFTs of Coca-cola’s Pride collection
These examples are just a grain of sand of what can be done in Web3. It’s safe to say that brand’s value proposition is changing to adapt to consumer technology behavior nowadays. Web3 can bring a ton of different new experiences and ways not only to promote and strengthen the connection between brands and consumers, but to enhance the journey experience.
If you don’t know what Web3 options would be the best fit for your company, inlea can help you, contact us and we can talk about what solutions can make you achieve your goals.
