As brands continue to blur the lines between live and virtual to create experiential events with lasting impact, NFT’s have risen to the level of a main event trend we expect to see in 2022. But what exactly is an NFT & what does it even stand for? NFT stands for “nonfungible token”. It is inherently a piece of digital content or even data linked to some form of digital blockchain which provides proof of ownership. It can occur in a variety of content types. Everything from video, to PDF, or even an audio file or jpg can be an NFT as long as there is uniqueness and ownership.
As the pandemic has continued to stay on event producers and planners minds, NFTs can provide a safe and unique valuable for event attendees to collect virtually and even build future value with. There are a couple of examples as to how these nonfungible tokens are being used today. The first time we noticed NFTs entering the event space was at Miami Art Week, where Marriott & its Bonvoy brand created their own NFTs. During the event their international travel loyalty team became one of the first hospitality brands to create NFTs. They partnered with digital artists (some world-renowned) and developed digital interpretations of travel via the artists own experiences and illustrations. They developed an entire portfolio of digital travel based art of endless experiences that will continue to be added to by others and both purchased and traded.
Flying somewhat under the radar this December, Nike also purchased an RFT sneaker company called RTFTK. A product launch will be completed and shown to the world at a Nike event during the summer of 2022. Brands know that the metaverse is on the horizon and many are preparing now to monetize their space. These highly collectible NFTs have a role both in the metaverse and the physical space as individuals collect these tangible, yet digitized assets. In the short term these digitized NFTs provide a both live and virtual events with a safe experiential element that attendees can take with them, and brands can leverage to stay in front of their audience.
If you’d like to talk more about live & virtual event trends, or how you could use NFTs, contact us for a free discussion.
