5 Examples Of NFTs From Top Brands + Design Tips
Brands, customers, art collectors, artists, crypto-traders – almost everyone has been talking about NFTs. Have you already tried your hands at them? If not, now is a good time! It’s alright if you have no idea about where to start and what to design. We have a list of some of the best examples of NFTs from popular brands. See if you can find an idea that resonates with your brand from this list.
What is an NFT?
NFT stands for non-fungible token and it has been the talk of the town!
The popularity of collectibles is not new to us. Collectibles range from stamps to currency coins, art, and more. And now a new kind of collectible to join the league is NFT. In the age of digital gold and digital trade, NFTs are digital collectibles that give the owner the privilege of ownership of a digital asset. And the transactions happen in cryptocurrency.
Want to learn about the nitty-gritty of NFTs and how to design them? Check out Kimp’s blog on NFT design.
What is an NFT Airdrop?
The mention of an airdrop is sure to excite any NFT enthusiast. But what exactly is an airdrop? In the early stage of introducing an NFT, some of them are given away and this is called an airdrop.
Sometimes these tokens are given away when the user completes a particular task (like sharing a post or opting for a subscription or providing contact details and signing up). And other times these are given away as loyalty rewards or VIP rewards to holders of particular tokens or members of a particular community. These are called standard airdrop and exclusive airdrop respectively.
Brands use this idea to give away tokens particularly when they are entering the world of NFTs for the first time. And people are eager about airdrops from big brands because many of them are likely to transact for a good value in the secondary market. You never know, some of them might even turn out to be blue-chip tokens that later gain so much traction that your profits increase manyfold.
The best part is that in most cases you only pay the gas money (for the transaction) and in return, you get a token that is likely to appreciate in value over time.
Benefits of NFTs in brand marketing
When customers transact with your business they are choosing your brand over your competitors. They are buying your product despite having so many other options. Naturally, rewarding your customers for choosing your brand and for sticking with you even in a competitive space is a good way to retain customers and build loyalty. And NFTs can be unique rewards for these loyal customers.
The NFT market is projected to reach $13.6 billion by the end of 2027. This means that more and more people are likely to enter the world of NFTs. Naturally, rewarding your customers with NFTs is a great way to boost engagement.
If your NFT gains traction in the market, it also strengthens your brand reputation. What’s more? When you announce an airdrop, your customers are likely to share the information in their network. And thus more visibility for your brand!
Most brands conduct online contests to give away NFTs. This calls for following the brand page or sharing the post or any other specific action. Customers who complete these actions stand a chance to win the NFTs on the day of the airdrop. These are great ways to increase your brand’s social media performance.
When you provide exclusive privileges to customers who have your NFTs, you can upsell intuitively and increase the popularity of particular products. In short, there are many creative ways to make NFTs work in favor of your marketing efforts. That’s why many global brands have now ventured into the world of NFTs. So, if you plan to launch yours soon, let’s look at some examples of NFTs from popular brands for ideas on how to design NFTs and how to use them in your marketing strategy.
Examples of NFTs From Big Brands & What Brands and Marketers Can Learn From Them
Having heard about the benefits of using NFTs in marketing, are you ready to jump on the NFT bandwagon? Then here are some examples of NFTs from big brands to inspire you.
Coca-Cola
Valued at US$ 83.8 Billion in 2022, Coca-Cola is one of the most recognized brands in the world. The fact that Coca-Cola stepped into the world of NFTs in 2021 is proof enough that this is a trend worth your time.
The first ever NFTs from the brand came in the form of a single loot box with four different designs. These NFTs were introduced for Friendship Day and they all carried the common theme of friendship. And they also featured the signature red color of Coca-Cola branding.
As a brand known to create magic in its marketing designs, Coca-Cola didn’t stop there. The bubble jacket was available as an accessory on the VR platform Decentraland. The winning bid for the auction was $575,883.61. These NFTs captured the holistic experiential campaigns that Coca-Cola creates. That’s what made them work in favor of the brand.
Kimp Tip: From the Bored Ape collection to Coca-Cola’s loot box you will notice one common trait in all of them. The designs all look connected. And there is strong branding in them.
When there is a bunch of NFTs released as a collection, have a common visual theme and a recognizable connection between the designs. Also, try and include some kind of visual connection between your NFTs and the rest of your marketing designs. This way your NFTs will work more effectively in strengthening your brand.
But this is sometimes difficult to achieve when you work with a different designer for each NFT design. So, a design subscription that lets you work with a designated designer or design team, like Kimp will simplify the process of creating NFT designs for specific collections.
McDonald’s
McRib is one of the iconic items on McDonald’s menu. On McRib’s 40th anniversary the brand introduced an NFT in honor of it.
The brand gave away the NFTs through a simple online contest. All that fans had to do was to follow the brand’s official Twitter page and retweet the post. Online contest posts like these help increase your engagement on social media. Combine this with the perks of NFT in marketing you have a winning marketing strategy.
McDonald’s idea of marking a milestone with its entry into the world of NFTs makes sense. When you add more meaning to a new approach you have for your brand, customers are more willing to embrace the change. And by using NFTs and other popular trends to reminisce iconic products you are bridging the gap between old and new.
Pepsi
Coca-cola introduced its NFT in July 2021 and within a few months, its close competitor Pepsi also followed the trend. Pepsi’s NFTs were called the Mic Drop collection and
There were 1893 NFTs in the collection each with a different set of features and accessories. And music was the central theme of this collection. This is to represent the brand’s connection with music just like Coca-Cola’s connection with friendship and relationships. Another trivia here is that 1893 was the year Pepsi was launched and so 1893 NFTs.
To spice things up a bit the brand also added trading-card-style rarity aspects for these NFTs and segregated them into six different categories. Ideas like these are a treat for fans. And since these are free giveaways, such strategies make the activity more interesting and also drive more engagement.
Kimp Tip: Pepsi uses a simple idea and builds on it. Most NFTs in the collection are customized characterizations of inanimated objects like microphones. In fact, the concept of using custom characters in NFTs has been quite popular. Here are a few character NFTs designed by Kimp.
So, if you think that you can capture the essence of your brand with a custom character and if you want to have this character designed as an NFT, reach out to the Kimp team today.
So, if you think that you can capture the essence of your brand with a custom character and if you want to have this character designed as an NFT, reach out to the Kimp team today.
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is another big name that made heads turn when it introduced its NFT last year. Do you know what the theme of these NFTs was? Tacos, of course! No points for guessing.
Taco Bell is known for its visually appealing marketing collateral and the NFTs it released are like new feathers to its cap. These NFTs were sold out within half an hour post the launch. Only in the world of NFTs will a taco sell for $180K after all!
The brand had announced that the original owner of the NFT would receive a $500 Taco Bell gift card. Additional perks with your NFTs always make the game more interesting for your customers. And it gives them one more convincing reason to take part in the airdrop or the first sale.
Kimp Tip: When we talk about NFT designs most people stick with stationery images. In the case of Taco Bell, 4 out of the 5 designs were animated GIFs. So, if you want to come up with unique ideas for your NFT design, create a catchy GIF in a theme that is related to your brand or the products you offer.
Another cue to take from the Taco Bell NFTs is to use symbols and imagery to stay on-brand while creating NFT designs. The use of taco symbols everywhere has helped the brand gain strong brand recognition. If you think of Taco Bell the next time you see a taco, all credit to the brand’s brilliant and consistent marketing efforts.
Static designs or GIFs, the Kimp team can help you create NFTs that speak the language of your brand.
Clinique
Clinique introduced its first-ever NFT in November 2021. The popular skincare brand’s entry into the metaverse is a good example of combining online and offline marketing NFT being a core part of it. Why? Because of the way the brand planned its campaign.
The above NFT campaign is brilliant marketing because of the following reasons.
- One of the requisites to enter the contest was to be a member of Clinique’s loyalty program, Clinique Smart Rewards. And rewarding your loyal customers is a great idea.
- The contest required users to share their stories on social media tagging the brand and using the hashtag. This means plenty of user-generated content to use in marketing and increased visibility for the brand.
- Finally, the theme – sharing stories of hope is a good way to connect with customers at an emotional level. And is a strong indicator of good marketing.
Brands can use one or all of these ideas while introducing their NFTs so as to keep the campaign relevant to the brand.
One other unique aspect of the Clinique NFT was that the winner received access to an annual reward – an assortment of products from the company for the next ten years. Such long-term rewards make a huge impact. This means that the customer will continue receiving products and thus remember the brand in the years to come. Tying your NFT to customer loyalty is definitely an idea worth trying.
Kimp Can Help You Create NFTs for Your Brand Inspired by These Examples of NFTs From Top Brands
If you look at all the above examples, you will notice a lot of things that make each one of them unique. From designs that connect with the brand identity to themes that align with the brand message, there are many traits that helped these brand NFTs work. From these examples of NFTs if you have gathered your ideas for your brand NFT, then a Kimp Graphic subscription can take care of it. Since the subscription covers all types of promotional and branding graphics both for digital and print channels, you can also come up with a catchy campaign to promote your NFT and help it gain momentum before the big event.
Sign up for Kimp’s free trial today.