NFT corner; how brands are getting into the game

The NFT world minted its first billionaires last week, and it’s no surprise that many brands have lately jumped on the bandwagon. What is important to distinguish is that brands are using NFTs not only as a marketing vehicle, but as a substantial source of revenue. For example, NFTs recently issued by Adidas generated $22 million in sales for the brand last month via their artistic partnership with Bored Ape Yacht Club.

But the NFT gold rush is not without its risk and brands should tread carefully. Consider McDonalds, who discovered in November that a user encrypted a non-removable racist message into one of their tokens.

Happily, many brands are taking steps to ensure that their NFT releases are trouble-free. For example, Pepsi dropped free NFTs in December which were available through a waitlist system the brand implemented to prevent the bulk of the available tokens from ending up in the hands of just a very few collectors. Nike went so far as to acquire one of the hottest NFT generating outfits, RTFKT, in order to have a hand in the entire production and distribution process.