Economy of the Metaverse – why NFTs are a big chance for branding

While the recent trend of acquiring NFTs of pictures of bored apes may be viewed with cynicism by some, the reason people are paying sometimes huge sums for virtual goods, is the same reason as they pay real money for any consumer commodity, namely status, identity, membership, class, and performance. However, it is the ability of NFTs to verify ownership of any digital item that makes them so interesting – and valuable – to brand and IP owners. The fact they can be used for any digital item opens up a range of new opportunities and cool things. Not just considering product and merchandising, but also from a marketing and engagement perspective. NFTs are a new product category in branding. As they can represent anything, they enable a new understanding of ownership and extend the presence of real world brands. This is opening up entirely new opportunities for brand owners and IP creators to build different types of engagement with users and extend that brand affiliation into entirely new digital worlds. NFTs are the economy for the metaverse, offering interconnectivity and force between different communities and worlds. Their interoperability, transferability and permanence are extremely important – and potentially crucial to the evolution from web 2.0 to web3, as well as the future of licensing itself.