Forget apes and penguins — Let’s talk diapers, hardware and museums

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Forget apes and penguins — Let’s talk diapers, hardware and museums

Though the likes of Bored Apes and Pudgy Penguins take the headlines, and the potential for decentralized finance (DeFi) and play-to-earn gaming is un

Though the likes of Bored Apes and Pudgy Penguins take the headlines, and the potential for decentralized finance (DeFi) and play-to-earn gaming is undeniably grand and exciting, the marketing potential for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) deserves equal attention. It boils down to this: With NFTs, virtually anything can be gamified to promote desired marketing outcomes.

Gamification — defined by Gabe Zichermann, author of The Gamification Revolution, as a “process of using game thinking and game dynamics to engage audiences and solve problems” — is not new to sales and marketing. What is new are the mechanisms by which you can engage and motivate prospects and customers. And, gosh, they are exciting. To illustrate the point, here are five example use-cases of NFTs for marketers.

Co-marketing to in-market segments

Let’s say you’re one of the approximately 40 million people in the United States who move each year. As a “new mover,” you are highly coveted by a slew of brands that are keen to meet your highly-predictable needs.

In the past, if Sherwin Williams (paint), Simplisafe (home security), Spectrum (cable), Stanley Black & Decker (hardware), Sony (electronics) and Pottery Barn (furniture) wanted to get together as one to market to you at your time of abundant need, it would be virtually impossible. After all, differing internal systems, an entrenched hesitancy to share data, dissimilar promotional structures and loyalty program designs, overlapping points of distribution and other roadblocks invariably create insurmountable gridlock.

Now, imagine those brands teaming together to create a Move Me NFT or something similar. Consumers purchasing these would create revenue for all the participating brands and put our New Mover into a virtual community where they can tour neighborhoods, attend a house-warming party in the Metaverse with a celebrity, enter to win digital real estate, hang their digital art and, of course, learn about how each brands’ products/services can help them along with an “exclusive and generous” discount.

Moreover, you could offer our hyper-coveting consumer Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or other coin rewards as incentives for buying from two or more of the Move Me brands — funded from the NFT revenue pool or contributions from the program participants on a relative scale.

Name your segment: The possibilities are virtually endless.

Related: Why are major global brands experimenting with NFTs in the Metaverse?

Cross-brand loyalty marketing

Suppose you’re a brand with multiple consumer packaged goods (CPGs) products in your portfolios such as diapers, detergent, oral care, over-the-counter medicines and skincare. Your goal: To create a mechanism for rewarding customers for buying across your portfolio, more of the time.

Most attempts at something like this in the past have been colossal failures. The combination of a burdensome proof-of-purchase mechanism and lack of a truly behaviorally-motivational cross-currency have doomed the efforts.

But, what if their customers could create a My [insert brand name here] wallet and link it to their store cards such as Food Lion’s MVP Program, Kroger Plus or CVS ExtraCare, for example. Now, proof-of-purchase can be effortless cross-brand. Armed with transaction data and a broader customer profile, any of the participating brands can airdrop NFT rewards (an offer to add their newborn’s picture to collectible art, for instance), metaverse experiences and even currency. Even the retailer can get in on the action.

While getting small sums back in fiat currency or dollars-off a future purchase can be traditionally underwhelming for the effort of engaging, the addition of crypto with its swapability and potential to accumulate value can become a true game-changer. Think value perception.

Related: The biggest consumer brands that engaged with crypto in 2021

Experiential marketing

Imagine this: You’re home on your computer in Manchester dreaming of a trip to Manhattan. So, you take a virtual tour of the city’s iconic destinations and also visit specific stores, restaurants, clubs, theaters and more that are promoted within the tour in an effort to have you add them to your itinerary.

As you visit each destination, you can collect NFTs, which could serve as digital souvenirs to dial up the excitement for your trip while also gaining you priority access, unique experiences, special offers and more.

Let’s say you’ve added the Museum of Modern Art to your itinerary. Your NFT could get you access to an exclusive auction of NFTs of iconic NYC art and perhaps even entry 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 get a surprise amuse-bouche or the opportunity to order a “hidden” menu item. I could go on and on. The opportunities to promote tourism are…

cointelegraph.com