By using emerging tech, Alo is showing that the future of consumer engagement lies at the crossroads of physical and digital.

Today we’re going to look at the following:

• Alo Yoga brand

• Alo Yoga’s digital initiatives

• 5 key takeaways for brand leaders

Let’s dive in. 

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The Alo Brand: Digital Wellness 

Alo Yoga, a premium activewear brand, has carved out a distinct identity in the highly competitive activewear market by positioning itself as "mindfully modern," known for its "studio-to-street" style, promoted by celebrities.

Zooming in: Alo Yoga caters primarily to affluent women aged 25-40 who lead active, health-conscious lives and value high-quality, sustainable products. This means: using plant-based materials, solar-powered headquarters, and paper-free warehouses. 

By the numbers: 

• With a product line that includes yoga wear, winter gear, sneakers, and skincare, its international expansion, and by doubling its brick-and-mortar stores, Alo Yoga sales skyrocketed from $200M in 2020 to over $1B in 2022.

• The brand’s success is also bolstered by its digital platform, Alo Moves, which offers online yoga, fitness classes, and meditation sessions. This platform has seen rapid growth, with subscribers increasing from 100K in 2019 to 500K by 2021.

• Ecommerce sales and subscriptions to the Alo Moves fitness platform account for roughly 90% of annual revenue.

• Alo Yoga operates 43 stores in North America (targeting 80.19% in the United States) and it plans to open over 100 stores by the end of 2024.

Its competitor Lululemon generates around $8B a year and has 400+ stores worldwide).

Targeting the next generation of consumers—tech-savvy individuals who value both wellness and innovation—Alo Yoga has embraced digital assets, gaming, and immersive commerce to deepen its engagement with consumers.

Angelic Vendette, former VP of Marketing at Alo Yoga, instrumental to the brand’s digital strategy, underscored the brand's forward-thinking approach:

“We are always looking to engage our consumers in new ways, and our move into Web3 is mainly because we want to remain ahead of the curve.” 

Why it’s important: The yoga clothing market is set to double by 2032, and Alo Yoga is primed to grow. With a loyal female audience, strong online engagement, and a new digital approach, it has big opportunities ahead.

• The global yoga clothing market size was valued at $27.63B in 2023 and is projected to grow from $29.69B in 2024 to $55.65B by 2032.

• The total number of yoga practitioners in the world currently is more than 300M with 36M in the US, out of which 72% are female. The gender distribution for Alo Yoga: 72.69% female, and 27.21% male.

• Alo Yoga was ranked as the 46th most engaged fashion brand on Facebook. Additionally, Alo Yoga made it to Fast Company's prestigious annual list of the World's Most Innovative Companies in 2021.

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Targeting Gen Z and Gen Alpha

Alo Yoga is going all-in on digital.

They’ve locked in on Gen Z and Gen A, and they’re not just talking the talk—they’re experimenting with the tech that younger audiences care about.

What they’re doing:

• 'Digital Twin' NFTs that mirror real products.

• A VR shopping experience on Meta Quest 2.

• Digital wearables on The Sandbox.

• A virtual ‘Alo Sanctuary’ on Roblox for yoga and meditation.

And, by accepting cryptocurrency for online purchases and providing employees with the option to receive paychecks in crypto, Alo Yoga is experimenting with building blocks for the future of brand engagement. As Vendette explained, “Our goal is to show that the digital world can be more relaxed and mindful than one may view it.”

This isn’t just tech for tech’s sake—it’s about connecting where the next generation already is.

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Alo Yoga is mastering the social game

Their strategy? Simple: go where their audience is—Instagram, YouTube, and influencer partnerships. By teaming up with yoga influencers and micro-influencers, and offering discounts to instructors, they’re building real trust within the yoga community.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Sub-brands like Alo Moves and Alo Wellness focus on niche audiences while staying true to yoga.

• They’re blending paid media with celebrity partnerships to boost reach.

• The goal? Promote a healthy lifestyle with an omnichannel approach that meets consumers everywhere they are.

It’s a smart, focused strategy that keeps them connected with both hardcore yogis and newcomers alike.

Alo Yoga is taking its social strategy even further

With new initiatives like “Alo in the Wild” and “Club Alo events”, they’re not just partnering with influencers—they’re deepening those relationships while reinforcing their brand.

They’ve also rolled out a referral program and showcased user-generated content on their website, highlighting real customers. This approach fosters inclusivity and builds trust, encouraging people to organically share their experiences.

It’s about cultivating a community that feels connected and authentic while getting people to talk about the brand in a genuine way.

Alo Yoga has mastered the art of staying relevant.

They’ve built a strong presence in upscale spots like Aspen, Beverly Hills, and Soho, naturally aligning with the shopping habits of their target customers. But it goes beyond activewear—Alo is creating a full lifestyle experience.

Here’s how:

• Digital fitness through Alo Moves.

• Holistic wellness at Sanctuary yoga studios.

• Alo Gives, their nonprofit teaching kids yoga and mindfulness, deepens their commitment to the community.

By blending fashion and athleisure, they’ve become a go-to for trendy gear, boosted by celebrity partnerships, fashion events, and influencer collaborations. Alo Yoga isn’t just a brand—it’s a movement.

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How Alo Yoga Uses New Tech to Connect with Customers

• Alo Moves: Alo Yoga started accepting cryptocurrency for online purchases and offered a free month of Alo Moves (online fitness classes) to customers paying with crypto. It also allowed employees to receive paychecks in crypto in 2022.

• Gaming: It launched the virtual 'Alo Sanctuary' on Roblox in 2022, offering immersive yoga and meditation experiences to promote well-being.

• Digital assets: Alo Yoga tried digital assets to connect with customers online:  'Digital Twin' NFTs for Aspen Collection buyers, offering 3D renderings and exclusive perks, debuting in 2023.

• Immersive commerce: VR shopping experience on Meta Quest 2 in 2023, allowing users to browse and shop their collections in an immersive 3D environment.

• Digital Wearables: A collection of digital wearables on The Sandbox was launched, enhancing its engagement with the digital gaming community.

Alo Yoga's consistent activations—like collaborations, influencer partnerships, virtual initiatives, product launches, and expansions—have helped the brand stay top of mind.

While it’s hard to pinpoint which specific move made the biggest impact, these efforts have kept Alo engaged with its audience. The chart below shows how interest in the brand has steadily grown over time. Each activation likely played a part in this upward trend.

Let’s unpack this. 👇

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With UNDW3, Lacoste made one of the boldest and most thorough entries into Web3, reinventing the brand and setting a standard for community-led branding for consumer brands.

Today, we’re going to untangle Lacoste’s Web3 strategy and look at:

• The Lacoste Brand

• Lacoste’s Web3 journey

• Performance Analysis

• Bottom line & What’s Next

• Take-Aways For Brand Leaders

Ready? Let’s jump in.

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Lacoste: Timeless Elegance🐊

Who’s Lacoste? A globally recognized French fashion brand known for its iconic crocodile logo and sportswear.

Its essence centers around its heritage in sports elegance, most notably tennis. And that isn’t a coincidence. René Lacoste, the French tennis champion with nearly a dozen Grand Slam titles, founded the company in 1933.

His nickname, "The Crocodile,"1 became the brand's iconic emblem, as his friend and stylist Robert George began sewing a crocodile onto the white jackets Lacoste would wear to his tennis matches. Lacoste hated playing in long sleeves so invented the polo shirts the brand is now famous for, embodying a blend of sportiness and casual chic.2

Over its almost 100-year history, Lacoste has never been about being the first or the most flashy; but about understanding their brand's strengths and moving forward in a way that is authentic and strategically sound.

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For example: Lacoste’s logo, while uniquely distinct, has virtually remained unchained for the past 40 years, while competing in a market that’s flushed with shiny new trends and new competitors.

That’s pretty cool right? This serenity made Lacoste a symbol of quality and timeless, smart casual style, upholding its founding principles: quality, understated elegance, and a belief that life is a beautiful sport.

Over its history, it has maintained its association with tennis while expanding into golf and sailing, reinforcing its image as a brand for sports enthusiasts who value sophistication and comfort.

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Key historical periods include:

• Foundation and Innovation (1933-1950s): Launch of the classic Lacoste polo shirt, featuring a unique petit piqué fabric and the now-iconic green crocodile logo. This was a revolutionary design for tennis apparel that emphasized comfort and functionality, setting a new standard in sports fashion.

• Global Expansion and Product Diversification (1960s-1980s): Expansion into global markets and broadening of product range to include fragrances, sunglasses, and footwear, transforming Lacoste into a comprehensive lifestyle brand. This included the launch of Lacoste's first fragrance, "Eau de Sport," in 1967, and the introduction of the iconic Lacoste 101 sunglasses in 1980.

• Brand Reinforcement and Heritage Emphasis (1990s-2000s): Strengthening of brand identity through campaigns that highlighted Lacoste's rich heritage, e.g. by signing Andy Roddick as a brand ambassador in 2005 and the establishment of the Lacoste Foundation in 2006, focusing on youth empowerment through sports and education. They would later sign Novak Djokovic as a brand ambassador as well.

• Digital Transformation and Modernization (2010s-Present): Integration of digital innovations such the "LCST Lacoste AR app" in 2014, which allowed users to virtually try on shoes using augmented reality, and the integration of omnichannel services, like "click-and-collect”. This enhanced the customer's retail experience both online and in-store and ensured Lacoste's relevance in the increasingly digital consumer landscape.

• Sustainability and Future-Forward (2020s-Present): Introduction of eco-friendly practices, such as the launch of the LOOP polo made from recycled materials and the adoption of organic cotton, aligning the brand with contemporary sustainability trends.

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Lacoste Today

Today, Lacoste still is an ‘accessible luxury brand’, symbolizing “elegance, authenticity, and the union between style and sporting performance.”

In recent years, Lacoste has experienced significant growth. In 2023, the brand surpassed the €2.5 billion mark in turnover, which is double the amount from the mid-2010s, and is present in 98 countries with 1,100 monobrand stores.

This aligns with the growing athleisure market, valued at $358 billion and projected to expand annually by 9.3% through 2030. The popularity of Pickleball helped grow sales in tennis apparel and footwear by 15% from June 2022 to 2023, mirroring broader trends where athleisure orders soared by 84% post-pandemic, and the intersection of luxury and activewear gained traction.3

The brand adeptly capitalizes on these dynamics, navigating a market where luxury represents a significant share of new store openings and where the demand for "Smart Clothing" is poised to grow at 25% through 2025.

Speaking to Next-gen Consumers: Disney, Highsnobiety and Minecraft

Lacoste didn’t strike us as particularly forward-thinking in speaking to next-gen consumers. During the 2010s, the brand faced challenges in maintaining relevance among younger audiences. Thierry Guibert, CEO since 2015, said that “Lacoste was, some years ago, considered an old-fashioned brand, like your father wore Lacoste”.

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Unlike its peers, FIAT has taken a new approach in how it uses Web3 to redefine customer engagement and brand loyalty.

Today, we’ll explore how FIAT's recently launched Web3 program could flip the script on customer engagement in the automotive sector. We’ll look at:

• Challenges for modern car brands

• The FIAT brand

• FIAT’s Web3 activation

• Why Web3

• Learnings & what’s next

Ready? Let’s jump in.

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This article is published in a partnership with Web3Audience, FIAT’s Web3 digital & marketing agency, which provided me with exclusive insights.1

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Car Brands: Building Digital Relationships

In the past, car manufacturers primarily competed through superior driving performance, car reliability and car-centric marketing strategies.

Now, the landscape is changing. Performance remains important but is now considered basic expectations by consumers.

Many consumers, especially those under 45, prefer digital interactions over visiting car showrooms. And around 60% of car buyers under 45 are likely to purchase their next car online.

This changes how car brands interact, engage and build relationships with their customers.

Let’s unpack this.

Before the Showroom: Customer Lifecycle Management

Customer lifecycle management is a fancy term that describes how a brand connects with its customers across the lifecycle of a product.

For car brands, it starts when a customer first notices the brand and goes on through the buying process until the car is no longer used.

Cars last for years, so the time a brand has to keep a customer interested is also long.

This leaves car brands struggling in keeping engaging customer relationships over several years, in the hope of being top-of-mind when the purchase decision eventually happens.

For example, when car buyers first begin to shop, 6 out of 10 them are open to considering multiple vehicle options. On average, car brands have a loyalty rate of around 50%.

Let’s look at some obvious reasons for this:

• Long and spread-out customer journeys

• Few direct ways to connect with customers

• Not enough data for personal, relevant customer experiences

Traditionally, car brands have sold their cars through dealerships. This limits their chance to build direct relationships with customers. Plus, these relationships often start only at the point of sale. This approach misses out on the years leading up to the purchase.

This is why, in recent years, car brands have shifted to digital acquisition channels like social media, although even this approach is becoming less effective.

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Crowded Web2 Acquisition Channels

Organic social reach on Facebook has been dropping for years. Research shows that only about 0.07% of a page's fans engage with an average post. Facebook is still the top social media site, but Twitter and Instagram face the same issue.

This means a brand's posts reach only a small part of its audience.

Let's sum up the current challenges for car brands:

• Adapting to digital-first customer journeys, where most research and decision-making happen online.

• Increasing brand strength throughout the customer lifecycle.

• Personalizing marketing to different customer groups with varied needs and preferences, for deeper connections.

• Moving past simple "likes" on busy Web2 platforms to create new, relevant ways to engage.

• Avoiding transactional relationships and unvalued rewards, which lead to high brand-switching rates. In fact, 61% of consumers switched from one brand to another in the last year.

Now, let's look at how FIAT is addressing these issues with its Web3 initiative. But first, a bit about the brand itself.

The FIAT Brand: 100 Years of History

FIAT, an iconic automobile brand, stands for affordable luxury by blending practicality with elegance.

Founded in 1899 in Turin, Italy, by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli, FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) quickly became known for its innovative engineering and design, symbolizing accessible automotive innovation.

FIAT believes in making high-quality, stylish vehicles that are affordable, showing that luxury and affordability can go together.

The brand played a big role in Italy's motorization and became a symbol of Italian design and engineering.

FIAT’s cars, known for their compact design, are ideal for cities. The FIAT 500, its most popular model, launched in the late 1950s, turned into an icon of Italian culture and style. It’s a perfect example of FIAT’s ability to create vehicles that are both functional and aesthetically appealing.

Today, the FIAT 500 is at the forefront of the brand's Web3 initiative. Here's how.

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FIAT enters Web3

Recognizing these challenges, FIAT USA has entered Web3 with a customer engagement initiative, with a vision to expand into an augmented loyalty program. Loyalty programs have become a key use case for Web3 among brands.

Strategic Context

Let's understand why FIAT USA launched this:

• Entering the US market: With its electrification strategy, FIAT plans to enter the US market in early 2024 with the new FIAT 500e. Its Web3 activation should support that. In 2022, the FIAT New 500 led EV sales in Italy, ranked third in the top 10 European markets, and was Stellantis’s (FIAT’s parent company) best-selling battery electric vehicle in Europe.

• Rewarding loyal fans: Like Starbucks’ “Odyssey” program, which strengthened ties with its loyal customers, FIAT aims to deepen connections with its most loyal fans.

• Attracting new audiences: FIAT seeks new ways to draw in a growing, tech-savvy audience. These younger consumers use multiple channels and spend a lot of time online. They expect virtual products and experiences, including digital collectibles.

• Community-led branding: FIAT is keen on building a community-led brand, allowing it to shape the company's future.

• “Breaking the code”: FIAT's launch aims to elevate the Web3-enabled loyalty experience for car brands. This aligns with their spirit of innovation and offers a chance to explore blockchain technology.

The FIAT Pass

At the heart of the program is the "FIAT Pass".

It serves as an entrance ticket to FIAT’s future Web3 loyalty experiences. FIAT USA launched it in mid-November as a free, "open edition," mint, allowing unlimited minting by users, attracting  over 55,000 new and existing FIAT customers. 

FIAT aimed for accessibility and inclusivity, aligning with its values. This contrasts sharply with Porsche’s exclusive NFT drop earlier this year, which cost over $1,500 per NFT and was highly exclusive.

What makes the FIAT Pass unique? It's soulbound and dynamic.

Let’s unpack this.

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Evolving Loyalty

FIAT is the first car brand to launch a dynamic, soulbound NFT.

• Soulbound: This means the NFT can't be transferred or sold. It's a unique membership ID, similar to Nike's ".SWOOSH ID" for its Web3 platform.2

• Dynamic: Unlike most static NFTs, dynamic NFTs can evolve. User activity changes the NFT's state, allowing it to grow over time with user input. This opens up many use cases, like evolving loyalty programs.

As FIAT Pass holders engage in the FIAT ecosystem, their Pass updates, unlocking new experiences and real-world benefits like:

• Free rides, mobility subscription discounts, and priority car reservations on Free2move, a global car sharing and rental platform (170 countries, 450k rental cars)

• Access to special branded collectibles, such as CINQUECENTO released today

• Early access to upcoming cars

• New roles within the FIAT community

• and other rewards.

Essentially, FIAT Pass serves three main functions:

• A foundation and entry ticket to the FIAT community (FIAT's Discord has 37k members)

• A gateway to future loyalty and co-creation experiences

• And in the future, could be a link to FIAT cars. Wait, what?

This last point is transformative, creating a new connection between car owners, their cars, and the brand.

Connecting Cars to NFTs

Connecting NFTs to cars is a novel idea. Mercedes-Benz explored it in a patent for using NFTs as proof of ownership and vehicle data storage.3

The FIAT Pass could play this role in the future. It will enable car-NFT connections, offering benefits based on car usage, like:

• Rewards for sustainable driving

• On-chain vehicle data storage

• Proof of car ownership

• and more.

Dynamic NFTs will update automatically with vehicle data.

Why is this significant?

• Post-Purchase Marketing: Car ownership proof in virtual environments could lead to NFT-based loyalty activations and token-gated experiences.

• Personalized User Experiences: FIAT can offer rewards tied to specific cars, customers, and driving behaviors. Vehicle settings and preferences could be linked to an individual's NFT, applying seamlessly in any compatible vehicle.

• Secondary Sales: Digital records of physical products can enhance transparency in car trading, potentially boosting resale value.

For now, this could be the vision for FIAT Pass's long-term goal. With their current announcements, the foundation for such experiences is already set.

Direct Customer Relationships & First-Party Data

FIAT USA's recent NFT drop, attracting 55,000, isn't just a big campaign for lead generation and engagement. It's also a tool for:

• Engaging directly throughout the entire customer lifecycle

• Building direct relationships with people who may not even own a FIAT car yet (!).

These 55,000 users include FIAT fans, customers, and Web3 enthusiasts – the campaign reaches both ways.

And here’s where it gets interesting:

FIAT Pass NFTs augments FIAT's CRM. Users provided their wallet and email addresses, and ZIP codes for US residents, to mint.

This is significant. It enables FIAT to:

• Merge traditional data with digital assets in wallets (and possibly car data) for unique offers.

• Meaningfully engage with its audience, years before a purchase.

This could be the marketing tool the car industry needs for deeper customer connections. Again, a purchasing journey that takes years is very hard to keep track of.

More first-party data means more personalized experiences, a key opportunity of Web3 for brands, especially with cookies fading away.

A big question remains: privacy. Are users aware of how much data Web3 wallets share? Brands might need to be transparent about data use without Web3 data protection mechanisms.

Building on Arbitrum

FIAT launched its program on Arbitrum, an Ethereum layer 2 blockchain, chosen for its reliability and capacity for high-volume, low-cost transactions. It's the first major brand to use Arbitrum, with others opting for Polygon, Flow, or Ethereum.

Cinquecento: The First Drop

Today’s Cinquecento NFT drop kickstarts the FIAT Pass loyalty experience, offering the first tangible benefits for holders:

• Priority access to order the FIAT 500e’s in North America.

• Digital art for a FIAT 500e car from Italian digital artist Stefano Contiero.

• Privileged access to future vehicle releases, digital and physical experiences, and more.

• Mobility credit for the FIAT® 500e.

• Planting a Longleaf pine in a restoration project.

These benefits clearly outweigh the initial cost of the NFT, while focusing on FIAT's core product: the car. This is similar to Starbucks that designed its whole Web3 loyalty program around the coffee drinking experience.

What’s more, the NFT not only provide physical benefits linked to the car but also allow buyers to own a piece of the brand through a digital experience, making it one of the richest Web3 experiences among car brands.

It’s easy to see how this allows FIAT to build up a loyal, global community with tens of thousands of members and run targeted activation (and even co-creation) campaigns for new car models they release.

Could this be the next-gen loyalty model for car manufacturers?

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Why Web3?

Why choose Web3 for all this? It remains the most important question for all Web3 activations. Here are some reasons:

• Next-gen loyalty: Web3 enabled loyalty – once deployed at scale across brands – could unlock tremendous value for customers with loyalty ecosystems and transferable, dynamically upgradable loyalty assets4. Those assets (or NFTs) are powerful, as they can be issued on a brand’s platform and exchanged off the platform without a brand having to build all the infrastructure for it.

• More data: Web3 offers an additional data source for brands.

• Blockchain for car interaction: An untested but promising use case for customer data.

• Future proofing: We’re early. It’s very likely that we’ll see tremendous innovation happening in the Web3 consumer space, particularly around loyalty. Stellantis group, FIAT’s mother company, owns many of the leading car brands such as Alfa Romeo, Maserati, FIAT, Jeep, Chrysler, Opel and Peugeot. Such a program could be rolled out to other portfolio brands, unlocking interoperable loyalty benefits.

Take-Aways & What’s Next

FIAT's Web3 journey is just starting, offering insights into what’s yet to come.

Key takeaways for brand leaders are:

• Focus on real-world utility within a brand ecosystems: End of 2022, I predicted that brands will move beyond NFT collection towards real world benefits within their brand ecosystem – and ecosystem of brands. That’s exactly what FIAT is doing now. Its partnership with Free2move (also part of the Stellantis Group) and the direct benefits connected to vehicles is a first step towards that vision.

• Focus on new and existing audiences: FIAT Pass appeals to both fans and new Web3 users who haven’t had an existing relationship with the brand. The FIAT Pass experience still feels more like a Web3 than a Web2 experience – the team might tweak that in the future.

• Focus on community: Successful Web3 activations start with community. FIAT's engaged 37,000-sized Discord community is central to its strategy. FIAT Pass is no exception.

• Long-term engagement: Mix immediate (e.g. priority access to order the FIAT 500e) and lasting benefits to maintain engagement.

Could this be a blueprint for other car manufacturers? Possibly.

For now, it's an experiment, but a promising one.

That's it!

Talk soon,

Marc

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Why Starbucks?

Starbucks is a leading consumer brand and urban lifestyle icon.

It launched its Web3 loyalty program “Starbucks Odyssey” in December 2022, and positioned itself as an industry benchmark for scalable Web3 loyalty activations for consumer brands.

How is Starbucks doing it? What can we learn from it? And is Web3 just a gimmick or loyalty’s next big thing?

Today, we’ll look at: 

• Starbucks & Loyalty

• Starbucks Odyssey

• Performance analysis, incl. on-chain data and financials

• Why Web3

• What other brands can learn from Starbucks

• What’s next

Before we dive in, a thank you to my esteemed partner Magic.

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Executive Summary

• Starbucks’ loyalty program “Starbucks Odyssey” was launched in December 2022 and has been very successful.

• It lets users collect stamps by completing gamified, branded journeys. These stamps generate points that unlock rewards.

• Odyssey still runs in “beta” and has about 35,000 members. That’s 0.04% of its 75m Starbucks Rewards members.

• It generated about $1,040,000 of revenue in the first year and shows impressive revenue potential once rolled out to a broader user base.

• Key strengths are its simplicity and focus, the user experience, the mechanism around collecting and gamification.

• Starbucks executed its Web3 go-to-market exceptionally well by using a staged roll-out, infrastructure partnerships, and separation from its core business.

Starbucks: More than Coffee

Starbucks has established itself as more than just a coffee seller. Over more than 50 years it became a global symbol of urban lifestyle. Starbucks, which was established in 1971, has changed the way people enjoy coffee. They call it a "third place", a cozy spot between home and work where you can connect with others while sipping coffee and feel like you belong – just like in a typical Italian coffee shop (ok, almost. Nothing beats Italian espresso).

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Why Gucci?

Gucci is more than a brand – it’s a cultural icon.

As of 2021, Gucci was the fourth most valuable luxury brand worldwide, trailing Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermès.

Gucci was the first luxury fashion brand that released an NFT, and it continues to be at the forefront of Web3 innovations.

This wasn’t a coincidence: Gucci has excelled in the digital age. In recent years, the Italian luxury powerhouse found a way to speak to Gen-Z through a marketing strategy centered around Web3 and virtual experiences.

And just like Nike, as outlined in my previous case study, Gucci sits at the intersection of culture and technology – a sweet spot for deploying Web3 experiences. 

Did Gucci actually succeed with its Web3 strategy?

What can we learn from it?

And is Web3 really luxury's next big thing?

Today we’ll look at: 

• Gucci’s brand 

• Gucci’s Web3 journey

• Gucci’s Web3 scorecard (divided into performance & strategy)

• The big picture & takeaways for you

Ready? Let’s dive in!

PS: If you’re new to Web3 and the metaverse, I suggest starting here.

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A special thanks to Dr. Laurent Flores and Karim Eid for enhancing the the case study with Brand3Index.

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Gucci: Ever-Changing

Founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, the brand started as a leather goods store in Florence with a simple mantra: "Quality outlives price." 

It carved out a unique space that married Italian craftsmanship with off-the-rack convenience – something even its French contemporaries found hard to replicate. Even today, the majority of Gucci’s revenue comes from leather goods, such as handbags and wallets, followed by shoes and ready-to-wear clothing.

Since then, Gucci has crafted an enviable legacy characterized by an almost uncanny grasp on cultural moments.

Capturing the Cultural Zeitgeist

Over its more than 100-year history, Gucci mastered the art of reinvention, creating a brand that’s constantly evolving with the zeitgeist of next-gen consumers, while remaining true to its heritage. A few examples:

• Bamboo Bag: The introduction of the famous Bamboo Bag in the 1940s, crafted due to leather shortages, is an early example of how Gucci continuously developed the brand while staying true to its heritage.

  

• Post-war lifestyle: After WWII, for example, Gucci tapped into the resurgence of luxury with exclusive, high-quality leather goods, symbolizing the La Dolce Vita lifestyle.

• International jet-set: By the 1960s, Gucci became synonymous with the glamorous lives of international jet-setters, epitomized by the Jackie O bag.

• Sexualization: Under Tom Ford's creative direction in 1994, Gucci embraced the sexual openness of the late '90s and early 2000s (cf. TV shows like "Sex and the City" and "Friends"). Its provocative ads and sensual designs made headlines, capturing the attention of a new generation.

• E-Commerce: In 2002, Gucci ventured online, far ahead of other luxury brands that feared the digital realm would tarnish their exclusivity. This showed foresight into the purchasing habits of next-gen consumers who moved increasingly online.

• Social media: In the 2010s, Gucci started with social media campaigns and collaborations with influencers (e.g. Harry Styles, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, or Salma Hayek) and streetwear brands (e.g. collaboration with Supreme in 2017) that resonated with younger audiences.

• Sustainability, diversity, inclusion: Gucci launched the Gucci Equilibrium initiative and tuned into growing awareness about sustainable and ethical fashion. Its "Soul Scene" campaign, for example, featured an all-Black cast of models and dancers. And the 2018 runway show famously featured models carrying replicas of their own heads, challenging conventional ideas of identity and self-expression. In 2020, Gucci launched “Off The Grid”, its first genderless, sustainable collection, focusing on circularity, using bio-based and sustainably sourced materials. By featuring a diverse set of models, Gucci engages a younger, socially-conscious audience. It also partnered with Esports gamer group Fnatic.

  

By engaging next-gen consumers and tapping into subcultures, the Gucci brand remains an ever-evolving, cultural phenomenon in sync with the Zeitgeist of its era. In contrast, other luxury brands such as Hermès, for example, lean heavily on heritage.

Gucci's Instagram profile says it all: The oldest post is from Sep 16, 2023. This isn't just a social media strategy; it's a declaration. The past? Irrelevant. The brand evolves in real-time, continually reinventing itself.

Manuel Gonzalez, head of the luxury digital agency G & Co., notes:

“We commend Gucci’s willingness to adapt and allow consumers to enjoy the brand as they do. Its user-generated content and collaborations with some of the biggest icons of today’s world that can excite younger consumers.”

More than half of Instagram users are millennials and Gen Z, aged 34 or younger. Looking at the followers of top fashion luxury brands, it becomes evident that Gucci clearly strikes a chord with younger audiences:

Similar to how Gucci pushed digital channels and social media in recent year, Gucci’s latest venture into digital fashion, NFTs and virtual experiences is a result of its ongoing desire to stay culturally relevant.

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“People need reality”: redefining luxury

In recent years, Gucci has started making luxury more accessible, thanks in large part to its former creative director, Alessandro Michele (he left Gucci in November 2022).

Michele revamped the brand's aesthetic, moving from a sexy, jet-setter image to a more eclectic, artistic, inclusive look. He turned it into a brand for everyone: all ages, all genders, and all cultures. He also embraced unisex wear and seasonless, fur-free fashion to reduce environmental impact.

This adaptability is in tune with the values of Gen-Z, a generation that seeks inclusivity and purpose. David Abraham of Abraham & Thakore notes:

“The goals of aspiration have undergone change. Luxury products must be accessible yet special while retaining their desirability. Today, the perception of luxury extends well beyond a mere physical product to something as ephemeral as an experience or a state of mind.”

This captures Alessandro Micheles’ thinking:

People really need reality. We can try to argue that Gucci is just about catwalk but it’s not true. Gucci is a really huge expression of different things. It’s a symbol.

Embracing digital

Gucci and its parent company, Kering, have shifted focus to direct-to-consumer sales in recent years. This approach offers control over brand image and customer relationships. It's a trend also seen with Burberry, LVMH, Richemont or Nike.

In 2021, 91% of Gucci’s revenue came from direct-to-consumer channels, a threefold increase since 2019. While part of this growth can be attributed to the pandemic, Gucci's digital strategy has been a key driver.

Half of Gucci's sales now come from millennials. The brand has built out its omnichannel strategy and was among the first luxury brands to integrate features like AR within its app, allowing users to virtually "try on" products. Partnerships with platforms like Snapchat1 further connect social engagement and e-commerce.

Why does this matter?

It demonstrates Gucci's ability to reinvent its brand within new cultural, social and technological contexts and its keen understanding of shifts in culture, technology, and consumer behavior.2

And it explains why Gucci was the first luxury fashion brand in Web3.

Now, let's delve into Gucci's Web3 journey.

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And then, Web3 came along

Gucci pioneered fashion luxury's entry into both the NFT space and The Sandbox's metaverse.

This wasn’t a coincidence. Kering is exceptionally vocal about its Web3 and metaverse ambitions. “We think that Web3 and NFTs are a real breakthrough and we want to be pioneers on that,” says Kering chief client and digital officer Grégory Boutté. Other fashion brands are approaching Web3 much more cautiously.

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This is the definite case study of Nike’s Web3 strategy – and it is much more.

Nike would already be intriguing enough in its own right. At the same, Nike helps us to understand the sweeping changes at the intersection of culture, branding, communities and technology - changes that herald a new era for consumer brands.

So, why focus on Nike?

Nike has been a trailblazer among consumer brands that have started using Web3 tech to redefine their consumer relationships. “Nike has embedded itself into the fabric of Web3 culture before the competition has even taken off”, titled CoinDesk. And we know how so much in Web3 is about culture.

In April, Nike revealed its inaugural digital collection, named “OurForce 1” (OF1). This marks a new phase in its Web3 journey and a shift towards a wider consumer market. Described by Nike as a "tribute to our first 50 years, designed for the digital generation," the collection underlines the brand's continued evolution.

How did the leading Web3 consumer brand (just) do it? What can we learn from it? And what’s the big picture?

In this article, I’ll cover:

• Understanding Nike’s culture, storytelling, and brand experience

• Nike’s Web3 journey

• Assessing Nike’s Web3 performance. For that, I’ll be using my Web3 community formula outlined here, among others.

• The bottom line of Nike’s Web3 journey

• The big picture (the 🥩 part of the discussion)

If you’re new to Web3 and the metaverse, I suggest starting here.

Ready? Let’s dive in!

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Understanding Nike’s culture, Storytelling, and Brand Experience

Nike is one of the most iconic brands in the world. It has achieved global recognition as a brand synonymous with performance, innovation, and style. With its timeless slogan "Just do it," Nike evokes a sense of aspiration and ambition, transcending the barriers of language, age, and culture. Nike succeeds in expanding its brand appeal to diverse audiences and subcultures with a perfect mix of impactful storytelling, cutting-edge innovation, and engaging brand experiences. It's an art that few have been able to replicate.

Creating and becoming part of culture has been a trend in branding spanning decades. Aleksija Vujicic from Multicoin Capital writes:

“As religion declined across the Western world, consumers began to seek meaning, identity, and belonging elsewhere – such as influencers, or more importantly, from brands. It was not enough for brands to merely be attached to a subculture—brands recognized the need to become culture.

Nike embodies this trend by integrating into everyday life, effectively becoming a part of culture itself.

A key factor in Nike's cultural impact lies in its strategic partnerships with influential individuals and brands, keeping brand at the forefront of cultural trends. From hip-hop collaborations with Drake, Wu-Tang, Jay-Z, Eminem, to partnerships in skateboarding with Paul Rodriguez, Stefan Janoski, and in e-sports with Jian Zihao, Nike consistently maintains cultural relevance.

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