Although bored apes and pudgy penguins are making headlines and the potential for decentralized finance (DeFi) and Play to Earn Gaming is undeniably great and exciting, the marketing potential for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) deserves equal attention. It boils down to this: NFTs can be used to gamify virtually anything to drive desired marketing outcomes.
Gamification — defined by Gabe Zichermann, author of The Gamification Revolution, as a “process that uses game thinking and game dynamics to engage audiences and solve problems” — is nothing new to sales and marketing. The mechanisms with which you can address and motivate prospects and customers are new. And, my goodness, they’re exciting. To illustrate this point, here are five example use cases of NFTs for marketers.
Co-marketing for in-market segments
Let’s say you’re one of the 40 million or so people in the United States who move house every year. As a “New Mover” you are highly sought after by a range of brands striving to meet your highly predictable needs.
In the past, Sherwin Williams (color), Simplisafe (home security), Spectrum (cable), Stanley Black & Decker (hardware), Sony (electronics), and Pottery Barn (furniture) wanted to join forces to market you in your time of the great Otherwise it would be practically impossible. Finally, disparate internal systems, ingrained hesitations in sharing data, disparate advertising structures and loyalty program designs, overlapping sales outlets, and other obstacles inevitably lead to an insurmountable deadlock.
Now imagine these brands teaming up to create a Move Me NFT or something similar. Consumers purchasing these would generate revenue for all participating brands and bring our New Mover into a virtual community where they can tour neighborhoods, attend a metaverse housewarming with a celebrity, win digital real estate, hang their digital art and of course, learn how each brand’s product/service can help them, along with an “exclusive and generous” discount.
Additionally, you could offer Bitcoin to our highly desirable consumer (Bitcoin), ether (ETH) or other coin rewards incentivized to purchase two or more of the Move Me brands – funded from the NFT revenue pool or contributions from program participants to a relative extent.
Name your segment: the possibilities are practically endless.
Related: Why Are Big Global Brands Experimenting with NFTs in the Metaverse?
Cross-brand loyalty marketing
Let’s say you’re a brand with multiple Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs) in your portfolio, e.g. B. Diapers, detergents, oral care, over-the-counter medicines and skin care. Your goal: create a mechanism to reward customers for buying more often across your entire portfolio.
Most past attempts at this have been colossal failures. The combination of an annoying proof-of-purchase mechanism and the lack of a truly behavior-motivating cross-currency doomed the effort.
But what if your customers could create a My? [insert brand name here] wallet and link it to their loyalty cards such as Food Lion’s MVP program, Kroger Plus or CVS ExtraCare. Now proof-of-purchase can be done effortlessly across brands. Armed with transactional data and a broader customer profile, each of the participating brands can drop NFT rewards (like an offer to add their newborn’s picture to collectibles), Metaverse experiences, and even currency out of thin air. Even the retailer can get involved.
While traditionally getting small sums of money back in fiat currency or dollars on a future purchase can underwhelm the effort of engagement, the addition of crypto can become a real game changer with its interchangeability and potential to add value. think value perception.
Related: The biggest consumer brands dabbled in crypto in 2021
trial marketing
Picture this: You’re sitting at your computer at home in Manchester and dreaming of a trip to Manhattan. So you take a virtual tour of the city’s famous destinations and also visit specific shops, restaurants, clubs, theaters and more advertised as part of the tour to add to your itinerary.
As you visit each destination, you can collect NFTs, which can serve as digital souvenirs to increase the anticipation of your trip while providing priority access, unique experiences, special offers, and more.
Suppose you added the Museum of Modern Art to your itinerary. Your NFT could get you access to an exclusive auction of NFT’s iconic NYC art, and maybe even access to a “hidden exhibit” at the museum. Oh, and crypto opens up a whole new fundraising mechanism for nonprofits like MOMA.
Show your NFT to the restaurants on your list and you’ll receive a surprise amuse-bouche or the option to order a ‘hidden’ menu item. I could go on. There are many ways to promote tourism.
New product launches
Now imagine the car manufacturer who has no problem getting in touch with someone who is in the market for a new car, as they are already everywhere that customer is looking but has a much higher hill to climb to delight existing customers who are not in the market Upgrade to a major model year update.
However, when that manufacturer encourages its customer community to express their shared passion for the brand, affinity with their current product, and a committed interest and enthusiasm for NFTs, all of that can change.
picture a dynamic NFT drop to this community That teases the new model at first, then adds additional looks and features over a set period of time to encourage engagement. At each intersection there are additional opportunities to see a virtual demonstration of these features and, of course, to request a test drive.
At the dealership, the NFT brings “exclusive offers” and allows the dealership to provide a more focused and customized test drive experience based on the content the consumer has seen. And of course, the NFT becomes a collector’s item – especially when the customer decides to actually buy the product.
Team building for sales
When it comes to the annual sales kickoff meeting, what can be more disappointing than a “Steve Balmeresque” speech that goes off the rails, endless slide decks littered with stock photos, and conversations about achieving an annual “stretch” Ziels, which is actually , a euphemism for good luck, mate.
Now imagine that each member of your team chooses from a gallery of NFTs what they believe embodies their approach to being successful in the year to come. Then let members choose (or be elected to) teams based on their similarity or compatibility.
Teams could be announced at your kickoff meeting (live or virtual). Each team is then given a series of challenges aimed at delving into the established strategy and the dynamics of their market, among other things. These, along with meeting set goals built into smart contracts, could reward members with crypto, other NFTs, or any other “currency” you might want to consider. And the NFTs themselves become badges of achievement with varying degrees of rarity.
Related: We haven’t even started to unlock the potential of NFTs yet
The concept can be further developed by making it evergreen, allowing trade, granting airdrop “bonuses” and much more. To see another example of the concept in action, check out what Enjin did for Microsoft deploy its developer community.
But first things first
Of course, technology and consumer acceptance are still in their infancy. But things are moving very quickly, fueled by huge injections of investment capital, a literal “land grab” among major players and the transcendent forces of FOMO.
In the meantime, a massive consumer education campaign is on the agenda, with support from across the industry. Not just how to buy, sell, and trade crypto and NFTs, but—perhaps more importantly—how to do so securely. Because let’s face it, if you think fraud, phishing, hacking, and other nefarious actors are now sophisticated and evil (and they are), things are only going to get worse as the multiverse becomes more mainstream.
Yes, fortune favors the brave. But let’s face it, trust and confidence are essential pillars of possibility.
So next time you dismiss as “crazy” that a Beeple collage sold for $69.3 million, instead think about what the technology holds for the future. think big Test aggressively. And educate, educate, educate.
This article does not contain any investment advice or recommendation. Every investment and trading move involves risk and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Rich Feldman currently leads marketing for Finario, a SaaS provider for corporate capital planning. Previously, he was Chief Marketing Officer at PrimaHealth Credit and Agency Owner/Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Doner CX (part of the MDC Partners Network) where he led the company’s CRM, analytics, digital media and other strategic areas. Rich has lectured on strategy in the New York University master’s program in marketing at Syracuse University and is an adjunct professor at Western Connecticut University, where he serves on the advisory board of the Ancell School of Business. He is also the author of the book Deconstructing Creative Strategy.
