A couple of years back if someone told you that ‘selling a tweet’ was possible, you’d probably laugh at them but times have changed and in 2021 Jack Dorsey sold the first tweet ever for a little over $2.9mn. If that wasn’t enough, Beeple’s digital art ‘Everydays- The First 5000 Days’ was sold for around $69mn. 

Blockchain technology is taking the world by storm. People want to be a part of a decentralized system that supports absolute transparency of transactions and blockchain technology is exactly that! But blockchain technology is not all about cryptocurrency, NFT- a unique digital asset has exploded in popularity in 2021 and following the lines of cryptocurrency, it is the next big thing in the digital revolution. 

So before we move further, let's first understand what NFTs are and why they are gaining popularity. 

Non-fungible Token (NFT) is a digital asset that is considered to be ‘one-of-a-kind’ in the digital world. It is simply a unit of data stored on a digital ledger that certifies the digital asset to be unique, therefore non-interchangeable. This means an NFT cannot be exchanged at equivalency for any amount of goods or services. 

NFTs are based on blockchain technology, which is a decentralized structure of carrying out transactions; it is speedy, transparent and highly secure. NFTs also make digital collectibles possible, without the threat of any copies. Anything can be duplicated over the internet but an NFT defies that. For these and many other reasons, NFTs are gaining popularity in today’s time. 

But they are not only relevant for people who can buy them or the ones interested in digital art, marketers too can make the most out of this NFT boom and create a special place for their brand amongst the audience. Incorporating NFTs into your marketing strategy can give your consumers a unique and modernized brand experience. Highly market-relevant trends like NFT make consumers more involved in your brand and increase brand loyalty and affinity. This encourages more interaction between your brand and audience and facilitates brand awareness and engagement. 

We are all aware of the digital revolution and how the recent turn of events has taken businesses completely online. All such factors have also added to NFTs being a great addition to your marketing strategy. 

Brands can collaborate with digital artists and create NFTs or participate in the auction of an NFT. As CSR, brands can also auction NFTs and donate to charity. Personalised gifts and vouchers can be created through NFTs for loyal customers. Digital ads can be monetized into NFTs for greater returns and the list goes on. Anything that's a piece of art, a creative, an idea, a copy, can be turned into an NFT and fetch various advantages for your brand. 

Taco-Bell, Coca-Cola, Campbell’s, Microsoft & Nike are amongst some of the big brands that have already started extracting the most out of this new-in-market trend and as NFTs continue to garner attention, more and more brands are going to jump the bandwagon.