The Key to a Successful NFT launch

With the recent craze around non-fungible tokens (NFTs), it's no surprise that more and more businesses are looking to launch their own NFT campaigns. In fact, NFT trading volume reached more than $23 billion in 2021, increasing more than 20,000% in a year. This clearly shows a huge demand for such digital assets, leading many brands and companies to speculate on how to enter the market.

NFTs may be used by brands within marketing campaigns to generate and distribute valuable digital content, which can help them foster more loyalty and support (link to article 1).
Furthermore, due to their scarcity and uniqueness, utilizing NFTs might provide a sense of exclusivity to marketing initiatives that allow businesses to interact with their user bases more personally by delivering new and exciting experiences to consumers. But with a vast amount of NFT launches failing to meet expectations, how can a brand ensure that its NFT campaign will be a success? Let's discuss.

Tell a Good Story that is Relevant to your Brand.

NFTs are all about telling a good story. Whether it's through the artwork, the metadata, or the way you market your NFT, you need to be able to communicate your story in a way that resonates with your audience. After all, people are more likely to invest in an NFT if they believe in the story behind it.

Some of the most successful NFTs have been those that were able to tap into popular culture and trends while keeping the designs relevant to their brand identity. For example, Time Magazine, the American news magazine and website launched its first-ever NFT of the cover of the March 8, 2021 issue, which featured a portrait of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. Since then, they have gone on to launch a whole series of NFTs called Timepieces, some of which are inspired by previous Time covers and others which are works by digital artists that are in line with topics like current affairs, culture, and news. By utilizing imagery very close to the brand and its activities, Time's web3 initiatives have made more than $10 million in revenue and established a community of over 25,000 artists, collectors, and NFT enthusiasts.

The Use Case Must be Strong

Successful NFTs have a use case that is either immediately apparent or can be seen as valuable in the long term. In other words, people need to see a reason to buy your NFTs other than just for speculation. Some brands, such as Coca Cola, Acura, Hotwheels, and Burberry (to name a few) (add a link to article 2), have streamlined their own NFTs to be used as items within Metaverse platforms, creating digitized use case scenarios that are very much in line with blockchain systems - the same technology that NFTs are grounded on.

Others have demonstrated a different kind of use case by leveraging NFT technology to provide their communities with exclusive access to a whole range of events and activities. NFTs have proven to be a great tool for this if leveraged effectively and there have been some great examples already to demonstrate this. Two notable ones include where holders of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs get access to private meetups and parties worldwide and also from the world-famous electronic music festival, "Tomorrowland," who launched a futuristic campaign called "A Letter from the Universe" to award NFT holders with access to secret showcases and a range of additional benefits at future events.

Ensuring Long Term Commitment and Value around the NFT

When a business is looking to launch an NFT, it's essential to try and ensure that there is value around the NFT not only at the time of launch but also long into the future. A great example of this is the campaign led by Clinique, the American manufacturer of high-end skincare, cosmetics, toiletries, and fragrances, who held a competition for its Smart Rewards members, which allowed three members to win a unique NFT and early access to a new physical product on the market. In addition, the NFT holders were given unrestricted access to get various Clinique items every year for the next decade, creating a long-lasting use case and utility for the NFTs produced in this campaign.

Another way to ensure long-term commitment to the value of an NFT is by having a well-thought-out tokenomics model which outlines how the NFT will appreciate or depreciate over time. Some NFTs might have a limited supply which will ensure that there is always demand for them. Others might be minted on a regular basis which can help create a sense of urgency around collecting all the different versions of the NFT.
In addition, to create more value around an NFT campaign, businesses can also try to make sure that the NFTs they are launching are interoperable with other platforms and applications. This way, even if the company decides to stop supporting the NFT, people will still be able to use it in different ways.

Finally, it's also essential to think about how you will store and manage your NFTs. For example, some businesses have decided to launch their NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain due to its high degree of security. However, this might not be the best option for every business as it can be expensive to store data on Ethereum instead of Binance Smart Chain. In addition, there are now many different blockchains that offer a variety of features, so it's essential to find one that best suits your needs.

At MintKnight, we have the knowledge and expertise to advise your brand on the best possible way to launch your NFT campaign. Think of us as an all-in-one service that can help develop your campaign from scratch, distribute the NFTs on platforms like OpenSea and Rarible, manage your social airdrop competitions, social media campaigns, whitelisting, and also plan and execute your pre-sales. So to get started, do not hesitate to contact us for more information about how we can help you launch a highly effective NFT campaign for your brand.