NFTs for Retail Brands - Episode 226

INTERVIEW WITH MICHELLE GRANT FROM SALESFORCE

DESCRIPTION

In today’s podcast, we are talking with Michelle Grant about NFTs. We discuss the ways in which brands are currently using them as well as potential uses for large and medium-sized brands in the future.

Make sure you tune in to find out more!

Michelle is a seasoned researcher who helps global organizations build the future of their business. At Salesforce, Michelle is a Senior Manager, Strategy and Insights Retail and Consumer Goods, where she blends data and analysis to create thought-provoking content around the impact of digital transformation in retail and consumer goods.

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“We see a lot of brands and retailers taking some of their brand heritage to just launch a straightforward NFT project where people can buy them as a collectible and then the proceeds are donated to a charity.”

— Michelle Grant

KEY TAKEAWAYS

NFTs are new and fresh, so nobody’s an expert in that field yet.
Michelle’s always had an eye on what’s going on in the gaming space because she tracked how much was spent inside gaming apps in her former role at Euromonitor. Consumer behavior around buying digital assets has been on her radar for awhile.
NFTs caught her attention early in 2021 when there was a boom in NBA Top Shot’s sports NFTs and the $69 million sale of an NFT by the digital artist Beeple.
CPG brands took notice as well and started experimenting with NFTs that spring. Lots of CPG and retail analysts started talking about it on Twitter in the fall. Michelle was honored to be invited to the Crypto Packaged Goods community in October 2021.
Among multi-brand retailers there hasn’t been much leveraging of NFTs. Walmart filed several trademarks that hints it will be going into this space. Macy’s launched an NFT collection based on the most iconic balloons from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, auctioned them off and donated the money.
Two brands are leading the forefront in this space: Nike and Adidas.
Adidas created NFTs called “Into the Metaverse” in partnership with brands with experience in NFTs: Bored Ape Yacht Club, Punk Comics and GMoney. The NFTs combined the digital artwork with physical products that will be released this year (apparel, footwear). Only people who own the NFT can purchase the products, and the art will change in the redemption process.
Adidas recently announced an NFT project with Prada. People can submit digital images to be used in a digital artwork created by digital artist Zach Lieberman, which will be used in an adidas for Prada campaign image and it will be auctioned on the NFT marketplace. The proceeds will be split between Zach, the Slow Factory (a nonprofit organization that helps people gain employment) and the individual contributors whose digital images were chosen and used in the final NFT.
If you hold the Into the Metaverse NFT, you get priority to contribute to this initiative. Adidas also launched a Discord server with this announcement.
The Prada collection is a great example of how brands can co-create with their fans in the digital world and allow them to profit from that effort.
Adidas is also linking the best information to its CONFIRMED app, which it launched in August 2020 for its exclusive product drops and content. This is a great way to drive downloads. It also is using its Adidas Originals Twitter handle to share information on its NFTs publicly. The company is thinking holistically about how to work with its fans through new and old mediums.
Future use-case for NFTs:
- a customer loyalty program, a way to engage your fans.
- creating your own digital currency, tokens for a specific brand.
A word of caution - NFTs may not be a good fit for every brand. You probably need to have a highly engaged community that’s into technology or willing to experiment with new technology.
People should spend time researching the NFT space – it’s a different world with its own language and its own audience. You want to familiarize yourself with it all to see how it could apply to your brand.
Once you have a better understanding of the space and feel that it can add value to your brand, you can start experimenting. And the easiest way is to create an NFT to sell. If possible, you’ll want to work with an established digital artist in the NFT space to add value to the NFT, but also establish credibility.
You'll need to think about where the funds will go because your community will want to know.
The long term opportunity for these brands is to have a closer relationship with their customers. You can create NFTs that give holders access to exclusive products, private Discord communities and special events.
Michelle is passionate about how the QR code evolves in the retail space.
Michelle changed her mind about having a mobile app as a brand. We see more brands creating apps with exclusive features to convince people to download them. These range from a loyalty program first mentality, to special in-store features to app exclusive products and promotions. Plus, the push notification is becoming an important part of the marketing mix.
Michelle led the research on Salesforce’s 4th edition of Connected Shoppers report that gives an all-encompassing view of consumer shopping habits, and you can find it linked below.