Memberships, collectibles, and NFT access gates, the latest underutilized marketing tool.

NFT Token Gating

Despite certain pilot projects, traditional and digital marketing have yet to fully exploit the potential that NFTs can offer in terms of loyalty, segmentation, cross-selling and upselling, customer knowledge, and co-branding. The possible strategies are numerous and the opportunities, infinite. So far, the visible examples come from brands with large budgets and costly projects, whose effectiveness is difficult to measure. However, if properly implemented, NFTs can become marketing strategies with almost immediate and lasting effects, providing sustainable benefits and revolutionizing the interaction between brands and consumers. These digital assets have the potential to transform the way companies build relationships with their customers, offering exclusive and personalized experiences that can significantly increase customer loyalty and engagement.

It is important to mention to the reader that NFTs are no longer just images, videos, or 3D elements. The NFTs in a user's wallet constitute a ticket that can be shown, bought, sold, transferred, and used as access. NFT token gating is a method where access to specific content, experiences, or products is limited to people who own certain NFTs. This concept has been gaining traction in various industries, including consumer products and sports. 

Here are some of the projects and brands that have already ventured into the web3 world.

Consumer Products

1. Adidas and Nike: Both sportswear brands have ventured into the NFT space. For example, Nike acquired RTFKT Studios, a company known for creating virtual sneakers as NFTs. These NFTs can be used to unlock limited edition physical products or exclusive digital content. Adidas, on the other hand, created Adiclub, creating customized versions for communities like Bored Ape Yacht Club, PUNKS Comic, and gmoney welcomed adidas Originals Into the Metaverse.

2. Gucci: The luxury fashion brand has experimented with NFTs, offering exclusive digital collectibles and experiences that can only be accessed by NFT holders. This can include early access to new collections or special events.

3. Budweiser: Budweiser launched an NFT collection that provided owners with access to exclusive merchandise, events, and even beer. The project, launched in 2022, mentioned on its website, "You can claim your own Budweiser football product kit by creating your own live scoreboard!" Each kit includes: 1 Budweiser World Cup scarf, 1 color-changing aluminum Budweiser cup, 1 Budweiser Football collectible card. However, as observed on OpenSea (One of the largest NFT marketplaces), it has had no further movement (purchase, sale, transfers), mainly because its underlying assets expired, and the associated art with the NFT was not even maintained, as evidenced by the deleted file (i.quantum.tech's server IP address could not be found). 

Sports

1. NBA Top Shot: One of the most prominent examples of NFT token gating in sports. Fans can buy, sell, and trade officially licensed NBA collectible highlights. Certain events and exclusive content are only available to holders of specific Top Shot Moments. As observed on their website, there are various price ranges, from $99 to $999 in their three editions for sale. https://nbatopshot.com/ 

2. Fan Tokens: Various sports teams, including FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Manchester City, have launched fan tokens through platforms like Socios.com. These tokens can grant fans exclusive voting rights, access to VIP events, and unique experiences. For example, FC Barcelona NFTs have included Meet & Greets, visits to La Masia, hospitality rights (for a minimum of five years), the right to play at Spotify Camp Nou, and the official ball delivery before a friendly match. https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/fc-barcelona-in-a-way-immortal/fc-barcelona-in-a-way-immortal?locale=en 

3. Tickets and Events: Some sports events have experimented with NFT-based ticketing systems, where the ticket itself is an NFT. This can provide additional benefits, such as exclusive merchandise, meet and greet opportunities with players, and special seating options.

Consumer Goods

1. Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola launched a new collection of NFTs linked to its "Masterpiece" campaign in collaboration with Coinbase. This collection includes digital Coca-Cola bottles printed with illustrations of famous artworks, providing owners access to exclusive experiences and unique digital collectibles​ (Adlatina)​. 

General Benefits of NFT Token Gating

• Exclusive Access: NFTs can provide holders with access to limited edition products, events, or experiences that are not available to the general public.

• Verification and Authenticity: NFTs can serve as proof of ownership and authenticity, ensuring that only legitimate holders can access the restricted content.

• Increased Engagement: Brands and sports teams can create more engaging and interactive experiences for their fans and customers by leveraging NFT token gating.

These examples illustrate how NFT token gating is being used to enhance consumer and fan experiences, providing unique opportunities and creating new forms of value.

Conclusion

There are still significant barriers that marketing professionals must overcome to understand and leverage the possibilities offered by NFTs. Simple, low-budget, and immediately actionable strategies can extend the audience, increase revenue, and build customer loyalty. One of the technologies I recently explored for certain projects includes Unlock Protocol and Crossmint, which allow token gating, payments with traditional and crypto methods, as well as web3 wallets. These tools facilitate the implementation of innovative and accessible strategies for any company, regardless of its size or budget.

By overcoming these barriers, marketing professionals can unlock the true potential of NFTs, transforming how they interact with their audiences and generating a lasting impact in the market.

Consider the Budweiser case, which involved a lasting asset with a timely strategy. NFTs also allow themselves to be deleted. Having an NFT collection and a live website with a one-time activation that no longer serves a purpose does not make sense. Those NFTs and that website should have already been closed. Conversely, a company like Lemon Cash (the wallet) uses and conducts NFT airdrops for its users consistently with marketing strategies, digital identity, and collectibles earned for actions users must take, such as buying with a card, paying for services, buying crypto, etc., which can be displayed on each user profile.

Lastly, and no less important, is the mass adoption of web3 wallets among these audiences, about which I will write an article with an exhaustive explanation of possibilities, functions, and solutions.