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Writer's pictureAustin Stanfel

The Rise of NFTs and What It Means for Marketers

Updated: Mar 3



Although the first Non-Fungible Token (NFT) was sold in 2014, they only made their appearance in the mainstream digital marketplace in early 2021. The growth of the NFT market has literally exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry in just 12 months.


NFTs are a fantastic opportunity for marketers. They can be used to build brand awareness, engage with potential customers, generate sales, and provide incentives. Adding NFTs to your digital marketing mix can help you make your brand really stand out.


Like most people, you’re probably still trying to get your head around what exactly a NFT is and, if you’re a marketer, you’re probably trying to get your head around what this rise of NFTs means for marketers. Read on to find out what NFTs are, how they work, and the exciting impact they can have on your marketing strategy.



What Are NFTs and How Do They Work?

  • When an item is fungible it means it is exchangeable for an identical item. A dollar bill is a good example. If a one dollar bill is exchanged for another one dollar bill neither party gains or loses anything. They have the same value and are exchangeable.

  • When an item is non-fungible it means that there is no identical item that it can be exchanged for. It is unique and has its own unique value. An original artwork is an example. You can create a print of the artwork that may look identical, but it isn’t. It’s a print and will never have the same value as the original.

  • ·An NFT is a non-fungible token. This means that it is a token, it is unique, and it cannot be exchanged for anything else. A token is a single unit of crypto currency. Crypto currencies use fungible tokens because they work in much the same way as any other currency.

  • An NFT is not a currency, it’s a digital property like an image, audio, or sound file which has been verified as original. It can be bought and sold using crypto currency.

  • NFTs can’t be used like a currency as they are unique. Instead, NFTs are primarily used to prove ownership of something which has resulted in them being used for collectibles like music, art, or gaming memorabilia.

NFTs are being used in marketing by brands in a similar way to how they are used in the art world. Brands are creating collectible items that they sell or use to add value to their sales offering.

How Are Brands Incorporating NFTs in Their Marketing Campaigns?

Remember the Bratz dolls that were every little girls dream doll in the 2000’s? Well, they have stimulated a new interest in their dolls by releasing a series of NFTs of the original doll characters and one or two of the new ones. If you buy the rarest card you can use the NFT to get a real Bratz doll free.

By Elena Pleskevich - IMG_4493, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56836598


Major brands like Budweiser, Taco Bell, and Coca-Cola have created collectible NFTs which they then auction off. Often, for added publicity, the profits from these NFT sales are given to a charitable organization.


A streetwear company The Hundreds created an NFT collection which features cartoon bomb characters for its Adam Bomb Squad project. They set a deadline for the NFTs to be sold and any not sold by the deadline were “blown up” adding excitement to the campaign and increasing the value of the ones sold. They also gave anyone who purchased one of the NFTs in their collection free gifts, early access to future NFT drops, and invitations to exclusive online and physical events.


5 NFT Marketing Ideas


Here are 5 ideas of how you can incorporate NFTs into your marketing campaigns using your own NFTs.


1. Create Collectible NFTs: Design cards, art, memorabilia, or other content specific to a campaign and sell them or auction them off.


2. Use NFTs as digital event tickets: NFTs can be used as tickets for either a physical or digital event. You will reach more people as well as have tickets that are completely verifiable and can be used for multiple events.


3. Build a community: set up a group on your favorite digital platform and only allow people who have bought your brand’s NFTs to access the group.


4. Share royalties: give loyal customers who buy your NFTs the opportunity to profit of any products sold that feature the NFT they purchased.


5. Offer added benefits: you can allow your customers who have purchased your NFTs a range of added benefits like discounts, access to a free consultation, or redeeming a free gift in-store.

In a Nutshell


In general marketers have been slow on the uptake when it comes to cashing in on the extraordinary interest in and growth of NFTs. This means that there is a huge opportunity for you to shift gear and get ahead of your competitors by incorporating NFTs into your marketing strategy. This is the perfect time to get creative and create NFTs for your brand.

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