How 13 Top Brands Are Using NFTs

Catch up on this summer's NFT campaigns from brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Lufthansa – and some key learnings.

Sep 05, 2023

Dear Readers,

To help you to distill signal from noise, I put together a brief overview of how top brands were using NFTs this summer with some key learnings. I’ll cover:

Lufthansa
Adidas x BAPE
Mercedes-Benz
Crocs
Beatport
Dior
Tommy Hilfiger
Warner Bros
BMW Motorrad
7-eleven
Lacoste
Coca-Cola
The United States Golf Association

My personal highlight: Lufthansa’s NFT-based loyalty program announced last week. Why? More on that below.

Happy exploring! ✨

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Brands & NFTs Summer Recap

✈️ Lufthansa

The German air carrier has announced the public start of its NFT loyalty program with its partner app Uptrip. Passengers who scan their boarding pass in the Uptrip app receive a Polygon-based NFT. These NFTs can be stored a crypto wallet of their choice and traded on an integrated marketplace. Link

Insight: Lufthansa executed this very well. The word “NFT” is nowhere mentioned (instead they say “Cards”). The onboarding is as easy as downloading an app (Uptrip). Collecting “Cards” by scanning the flight ticket is fun and easy. The rewards such as airport lounge access, flight upgrades, or for status and award miles, are equally straightforward. Plus, these NFTs are transferable beyond Lufthansa's ecosystem. Could this be the blueprint for scaling Web3 to a billion users? Possibly.

👟 Adidas X BAPE

Adidas auctioned off 100 access passes (“fresh forum”) linked to 100 corresponding pairs of physical sneakers. Each physical pair is also equipped with an NFC chip, which provides the owner with access to the Digital Certificate of Authenticity. Link

In for a new pair of Adidas Superstars? Make sure they're by Bape | British GQ

Insight: This is a great way for both brands to tap into each others communities. It’s also a great way to enhance a limited edition: As shoes are tied to only 100 access passes, the limit is probably enforced on the blockchain.

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🚗 Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz NXT announced its second collection “Mercedes-Benz NXT Icons”. These collectibles are digital re-interpretations of the most notable designs across seven design eras, resulting in a total of 18’860 NFTs. Link

Insight: Monetizing brand IP, i.e., launching limited digital collections, has been a popular way for more traditional brands to experiment with NFTs (e.g. Nike’s “OurForce 1” or Porsche’s 911 collections).

🐊 Crocs

Doodles, one of the most popular NFT collections, announced a partnership with footwear giant Crocs to introduce shoes, wearables, and “jibbitz” (charms that can be attached to the holes of Crocs shoes). Link

Insight: Many of the top collections have recognized the opportunity to use their communities and existing IP to build media franchises. Earlier this year, for example, Doodles launched “Doodles V2” to expand its franchise into music, animation, consumer products, live events and more. This included a partnership with Camp for hybrid shop/play experiences. Pudgy Pengunis, another popular NFT collection, partnered with Retail Monster to launch its Pudgy Toyline on retail shelves globally. Naturally, the best NFT collections will become brands and communities that transcend the Web3 bubble and go mainstream. Content and storytelling will be key.

🥁 Beatport

One of the biggest electro-music hubs and online stores, launched a Web3-based marketplace, Beatport.io, and describes it as an “environment to explore and engage with new digital formats.” For now, selected artists can release NFTs to their fans. Link

Insight: Music is one of many areas where Web3 could revolutionize how creators interact with their fans and are compensated for their work. Sound.xyz, for example, the leading Web3-native music marketplace, allows artists to debut new music as a set of NFTs, giving listeners the chance to showcase their early support.

👟 Dior

Dior unveiled a $1,350 sneaker called “B33” equipped with NFC Chip to access the shoes’ certificate of authenticity. The NFC chip stores information about the shoe's provenance, such as the date it was made, the materials used, and the location where it was produced. The wearer can access this information through the Aura Blockchain Consortium's platform. Link

Insight: The use of NFC chips and blockchain technology in the luxury goods industry is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to significantly reduce counterfeiting and improve the customer experience.

👖 Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger launched Tommy Parallel, digital clothing based on a Tommy Jeans collection in collaboration with The Fabricant. These items are not NFTs. Users can wear items across virtual worlds and games connected to Ready Player Me’s ecosystem (includes brands like Adidas, BMW, L’Oréal, Alo Yoga, Universal Music, New Balance, etc.). Link

Insight: This is Tommy Hilfiger's first venture into virtual experiences. The launch generated little social buzz. For now, not using NFTs isn't a big deal, but that might change as the brand develops more virtual offering.

🍿 Warner Bros

The studio announced a NFT and AR-based movie experience with its upcoming movie “The Flash”. Link

Insight: Marketed as a “Web3 movie experience”, two thoughts come to mind: First, the experience has little to do with Web3. Even though its collectible artwork, it has no function within the broader Warner Bros ecosystem. Second, let’s move away from using “Web3* or “NFTs” in marketing lingo. Frankly, people don’t care about neither of those. The experience is what matters.

🏍️ BMW Motorrad

BMW Motorrad has launched MetaRide, a virtual reality platform where users can experience riding the new BMW CE 02 electric motorcycle and engage with the brand. Link

Insight: Again, this isn't rooted in Web3 or NFTs; it's a virtual space to display a new product. As AR/VR devices become more common, expect to see more of this. For now, it's largely experimental.

🏪 7-eleven

The American convenience store chain entered Web3 with an NFT-based activation to celebrate its 96^th birthday. Besides picking up Slurpee drinks in stores, customers can also mix and mint virtual drinks to their wallet. Link

Insight: This is an example of how to use NFTs for a customer activation campaign. However, details and complicated terms make the campaign unnecessarily difficult to understand. Furthermore, 7-Eleven's digital collectibles are a standalone release with no ongoing role in the brand's ecosystem, diminishing their value.

🐊 Lacoste

The fashion brand expanded its Web3 universe. It now rewards holders of Undw3 (Underwater) NFTs with access to a dedicated web platform that hosts creative sessions, contests, video games and interactive conversations, further entwining Web3 technology within its loyalty strategy. Link

Insight: Lacoste’s loyalty program is sophisticated, as it includes community rewards, co-creation, and a vision to invite customers “into our creative process." Undw3 is accessible from the brand’s main website, showcasing its dedication to the project.

🧊 Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola launched an NFT collection called “Masterpiece” featuring art intertwined with the iconic Coca-Cola bottle. The launch was part of Coinbase’s “Onchain Summer” campaign for its new Layer 2 chain “Base”. Link

Insight: This is a great example of how iconic brand IP can be leveraged to an NFT-based brand awareness campaign. Nike used a similar strategy for its “OurForce 1” collection. Coca-Cola made over $450k in revenues from sales.

⛳️ The United States Golf Association (USGA)

USGA announced an NFT-based fan engagement experience for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open in Pebble Beach. Link

Insight: The project, developed by “NFT Tech” who is also behind the Artball project for Australian Open, is poorly described and still incomplete. Benefits of owning NFTs are not yet finalized.

That’s all for now, folks. Thank you for being part of the journey.
Back to building! 🚀

– Marc

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