How Are Major Brands Doing NFT Advertising?

Phaedra Solutions
Phaedra Tech Blog
Published in
5 min readDec 30, 2021

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NFT is the hottest trend in the market right now. Investors, artists, and celebrities are actively becoming a part of this trend.

And now brands are looking to create their own digital collectibles as well.

You might have a Facebook account. Did you see how they changed their name to metaverse?

It’s because they want to be a part of the future digital world known as the metaverse.

But Facebook is not the only one that wants to use blockchain technology for marketing.

Other big brands and corporations want to capitalize on NFT marketplaces too, and they are searching for different ways for NFT advertising.

If you are a business owner, investor, marketer, or just an NFT enthusiast, then you will like to know how major brands are investing in NFT marketing.

All you need to know about NFTs

Top 5 Brands Investing in NFT advertising

1. NBA Top Shot

If you are a die-hard NBA fan, then you might not be able to stop yourself from buying an NBA NFT.

National Basketball League has created its own marketplace: nbatopshot.com

It includes top shot moments of famous players around the world, like Deandre Ayton, Reggie Jackson, Kevin Durant, Trae Young, and many others.

NBA fans can even choose their favorite teams to buy NBA NFTs particular to that team’s players and their logos.

They include a wide range of NFT collectibles divided into various tiers. The tiers are Common, Fandom, Rare, and Legendary.

The NBA is not just winning the hearts of their current fans but also getting attention from people who want to invest in NFTs. Truly a splendid way to capitalize on NFT marketing.

2. Nike acquires the RTFKT Studios

When every big brand is investing in NFT advertising, how Nike can hold itself back from flexing.

RTFKT Studios is the most known virtual shoe company in the virtual world. When people are buying their own clones via Clone X for metaverse, collecting some nice pairs of shoes will be a thing too.

According to RTFKT, they collaborated with a young artist, FEWOCiOUS, in February 2021. They sold 600 pairs of shoe NFTs in just 6 minutes, worth $3.1 million!

And Nike has declared the acquisition of RTFKT so they could be a vital part of the metaverse. The aim is to combine augmented reality, blockchain, and in-game engines to provide digital assets combined with real-life products.

Nike sure has its own way to cash in on NFT trends.

Now you will see the lightning bolt logo of RTFKT Studio with other Nike brands, Converse, Jumpman, and its own “The Swoosh” logo.

Also Read: Top NFTs to buy and sell in 2022

3. Pepsi Mic Drop

Pepsi has come up with its own NFT collection, “Pepsi Mic Drop”, for long-haul fans of their brand.

Pepsi Mic Drop features 1893 free digital assets, excluding the gas charges. The number 1893 shows the year when the company was founded.

The gas charges are only for using the Ethereum blockchain. So people can show their Non-fungible tokens in third-party NFT marketplaces like OpenSea.

The mic collection represents the long-term brand resonance of Pepsi with the music and pop culture over the years.

The company provided the opportunity to its fans to get enrolled in the waiting list for 1843 Pepsi Mic Drop NFTs. The result was announced on Dec 14, 2021.

But Coca-Cola, Pepsi’s arch-rival, sold its first NFT for over $500,000 in August.

Then why did Pepsi come up with free NFTs?

Pepsi wanted to create a buzz in the world of NFTs by engaging their fans with the latest crypto trends. They have upcoming 50 Non-Fungible Tokens that might be worth a fortune.

Their goal seems to be long-term brand awareness rather than short-term publicity.

4. Burger King’s “Keep It Real Meals”

The fast-food giant, Burger King, has created a partnership with one of the top NFT marketplaces, Sweet.

Burger King’s Non-Fungible Token campaign features three celebrities, Anitta, Nelly, and LILHUDDY.

They have over six million NFTs for their customers to collect based on scanning the QR code of their meal.

Once a QR code is scanned, a customer will get one of the three variations among the collectible sets of celebrities.

If a set of celebrities is completed, a 4th NFT will be rewarded to the collector. And, they can make a phone call to their favorite celebrity to talk to them or even meet them in person.

Keep It Real Meals is a unique way of NFT advertising to generate more sales by Burger King.

5. Marriott Bonvoy NFTs

Hospitality brands have hopped on to the NFT advertising as well. Recently, Marriott International’s travel program, Marriott Bonvoy, has partnered with three digital artists — TXREK, JVY, and Erick Nicolay to create three NFT collectibles.

Marriott Bonvoy is one of the first hospitality brands to reveal the digital arts in its “Power of Travel” campaign this year. Each digital asset portrays unique emotions, experiences, and scenes related to traveling.

The three Marriott Bonvoy NFTs are:

i) MEMORIED — created by TXREK (Tarek Mustapha)

ii) The Emotional Journey — created by JVY

iii) THE EXPERIENTIAL IN BETWEEN — created by Erick Nicolay

All of these are collectible at the OpenSea marketplace.

Concluding Thoughts

Most large brands are using NFT advertising to generate sales, brand awareness, or even profitability.

These NFTs represent a huge potential for brands to market their offerings, and some NFT enthusiasts go as far as to say they are the “key” to the upcoming metaverse.

Any business that wants to stay relevant to the virtual world will have to invest in blockchain and NFTs.

That’s why you see large companies like Pepsi, NBA, Burger King, and Marriott Bonvoy spending a lot of money on NFT marketing.

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Phaedra Solutions
Phaedra Tech Blog

Software development is the core strength of Phaedra Solutions. The company has been providing the innovative web and app development solutions since 2013.