NFTs and Marketing: Super Bowl Sunday Preview

AdAge has been maintaining a useful resource tracking how brands are intregrating NFTs into marketing strategy. Expect to see some new approaches on Super Bowl Sunday:

The NFL is giving each spectator at this year’s Super Bowl a free NFT that is unique to their respective section, row and seat. It will also release seven NFTs for purchase to commemorate the game’s seven previous appearances in Los Angeles. A new token will be dropped daily from Feb. 6 to game day on Feb. 13, when a final NFT will be released that features the artwork for this year’s ticket, as designed by a local southern California artist.

Expect to see NFTs cropping up throughout the NFL broadcast.

Beyond the hype, a major reason for corporate interest in NFTs is due to the rapid proliferation and development of metaverse projects. Companies are looking at the numerous ways digital assets can be used for marketing and brand enhancement. Creative sectors will be finding new and innovative uses for NFTs, whether in play-to-earn games, for virtual and real-life fashion, of for brand collectibles.

Ownership and identity play a large role when it comes to NFT utility for brands - digital assets can be used by companies to forge a closer connnection with customers, whether by delivering extra value, or by creating a sense of exclusiveness or inclusiveness, depending on the objective. Watch also as companies learn and adopt the community-building focus that has worked so well for NFT projects.

A challenge, for now, is the learning curve required for the average person to engage with NFTs. As that problem gets resolved over the next year, opportunities will open up for small businesses to leverage digital assets to reward their customers and enhance brand identity.

On a related note, in addition to the Super Bowl, we have UFC 271 happening this weekend, featuring Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. Meanwhile, in crypto-land, during the past week a new meme coin, Marshall Rogan Inu ($MRI), was born and quickly rallied over 15000%. How did it do it?

The Joe Rogan / Neil Young / Spotify controversy has been a hot topic on Crypto Twitter, generating a lot of complaints about "cancel culture". The topic got extra heated when a crypto influencer lost his job with Ethereum Name Service due to some past bigoted comments directed against the LGBT community. 

So with Crypto Twitter arguing amongst itself about "cancel culture", Marshall Rogan Inu token was created to capitalize on the controversy. It quickly caught fire, and then pivoted to focus on the plight of underpaid MMA fighters. The project is now well-capitalized, and is sponsoring or simply writing checks to fighters competing in this weekend's event.

$MRI's market cap has surged over $40 million, and we'll be watching this weekend's events to see how crypto and NFTs are presented to a wider audience. In any event, it's been fascinating to watch the drama go viral, followed by the pivot. Now we'll see whether $MRI can transition to become a legitimate revenue-generating project.