A Year in Review: Brands Entering Web3
2022 was the year many Web2 brands—as they are now called—ventured into the future. Well, not exactly the future; many top traditional businesses, including Tiffany, NELK Boys, Etihad, Starbucks, Porsche, Nike, and Adidas, launched their NFT collections (but to name a few!)
Granted, the tech is still new, with many confusing terms. Regardless, the Web3 space offers (& will continue to offer!) significant opportunities for most well-renowned brands, to get a step closer to their customers - This is the key “light bulb” that clicked in 2022 for brands and will continue to be the key point, which brands will focus on in years to come with Web3.
This article reviews the top brands, who were bold enough in 2022, to begin transitioning from Web2 to Web3. If you want to see how Web3 can take your brand experience to the next level, you should keep reading.
Table of Content
#1 - How Businesses Entered into Web3
#2 - So What? Were they Successful?
#3 - A Word from NotAnotherNFT
How Businesses Entered into Web3
So here’s a quick rundown of how some of the world's best-known brands entered the Web3 space in 2022.
In summary, many focused on launching NFT-tied loyalty programs.
Why loyalty programs?
It's simple; given the complexity of the space, loyalty programs were the easiest NFT use case to test and the concept consumers outside of the Web3 space can easily understand.
These companies used their NFT collections to provide additional freebies and rewards to customers. How successful were they? We encourage you to make your mind up, but we have compiled a simple table, which may help you make that judgment
Web2 Brand | Collection | Utility | Hot or Not? |
Provided 250 customized Punk pendants, and a PFP replica as an NFT | Not | ||
10,000 NFTs providing exclusive access to future products and branded experiences. | Not | ||
Loyalty program-tied collection that grants holders access to silver-tier memberships and future access to upcoming drops. | Hot | ||
Loyalty program-tied metaverse experience, which rewards users with NFTs that unlock special rewards. | Upcoming | ||
A collection of 7,500 unique art pieces allowing holders to participate in the design of their NFT while unlocking access to virtual and real-life experiences. | Upcoming | ||
Nike | A mysterious box collection providing IRL and virtual items. | Hot | |
A special collection in collaboration with Punks Comic, BAYC, and GMoney featuring physical products. | Hot |
Each NFT collection launched by these brands is centered around rewarding customers with perks and experiences, associated with the core brand. The core of every business is customer satisfaction, which leads to repeat purchases and ultimately, the building of meaningful brand equity.
If you consider this as the basics of building a brand, then it really is no wonder that in 2022, we have seen a wave of the world’s most recognized brands entering the Web3 space.
So What? Were they Successful?
NFTs and Web3 take customer loyalty to another level. For instance, Starbucks Rewards, the loyalty program offered by the coffee giant, provides free coffee and food, plus complimentary birthday treats.
But with its Web3 project, Odyssey, the company is able to take things a step further. For instance, customers can now participate in fully-immersive journeys that teach customers about the brand’s history while learning about coffee. In return, they earn journey stamps (the brand’s fancy term for NFTs), which are redeemable in-store.
But, of course, not every drop goes smoothly. For instance, Nike was one of the first companies to make their entry into Web3 after purchasing RTFTK. A lot of hype surrounded the project, especially with the anticipation of the Monolith 2—giving holders a chance to claim a pair of IRL Genesis Cryptokicks.
Nike’s previous RRFTK drops have been huge successes, from Clone X to Fewocious, and even the MNLTH. However, the MNLTH drop was followed by FUD in the community as the team revealed the collectibles would only be available to US holders.
A Word from NotAnotherNFT
Digital collectibles, NFTs, journey stamps—call it what you like, non-fungible tokens, and blockchain technology offer great ways to improve customer loyalty and brand awareness. The NFT and metaverse concepts have huge roles to play in bridging the gap between traditional companies and their customers, and these companies are leading the way to massive adoption. Even BMW is now working on trademarking several assets for its NFT and metaverse project.
Of course, not every initiative will be successful, and there might be hurdles along the way. However, every brand can benefit from testing the waters of Web3.
Engage with the NotAnotherNFT Community
Questions, comments, or feedback on the above guide?! head over to our community page and get into contact!