The Business of NFTs: How Top Brands Are Using Them

From Hype to Strategy: Unpacking the Real Business of NFTs

Remember when NFTs were just about cartoon apes selling for millions? It feels like a lifetime ago. The initial crypto boom and bust cycle left a lot of people skeptical, dismissing non-fungible tokens as a fleeting fad. But while the speculative frenzy has cooled, something far more interesting has taken its place. Big brands—the kind you see every day—didn’t just walk away. They watched, they learned, and now they’re quietly building the future of customer engagement. The business of NFTs is no longer a wild west experiment; it’s a calculated strategic move into the next era of digital interaction, and it’s happening right now.

Forget get-rich-quick schemes. Today’s brand-led NFTs are about loyalty, community, and creating unique experiences you can’t get anywhere else. It’s about turning a customer into a member, a fan into an advocate. We’re talking about a digital key that unlocks a new tier of brand relationship. So, how are they doing it? And what does it mean for the future of marketing? Let’s break it down.

Key Takeaways

• NFTs have evolved from speculative digital art to sophisticated tools for brand marketing, community building, and customer loyalty.
• Major brands like Nike, Starbucks, and Adidas are using NFTs to offer exclusive access, rewards, and ‘phygital’ (physical + digital) experiences.
• The core value for brands isn’t the initial sale price, but the long-term engagement and direct line of communication with their most dedicated fans.
• Successful strategies focus on utility and community over hype, creating a reason for customers to hold and interact with the digital asset.
• While challenges like user experience and market volatility remain, the underlying technology offers a powerful new playbook for digital-first branding.

Why Are Brands Even Bothering with NFTs?

It’s a fair question. With all the negative headlines and the steep learning curve, why would a multi-billion dollar corporation dive into this space? The answer lies in a fundamental shift in how we interact online. The internet is moving from a centralized model (Web2), where a few big companies own the platforms and the data, to a decentralized one (Web3), where users have more ownership.

NFTs are a cornerstone of this shift. They’re not just JPEGs; they are verifiable, ownable digital assets on a blockchain. For brands, this opens up a world of possibilities that old-school marketing channels just can’t touch.

Beyond the Cookie: A New Kind of Customer Relationship

For years, marketers have relied on cookies and third-party data to understand their customers. With privacy regulations tightening and consumers growing wary of being tracked, that model is crumbling. NFTs offer a new, direct-to-consumer channel. When a customer owns a brand’s NFT in their digital wallet, the brand has a direct line to them. They can ‘airdrop’ rewards, offer exclusive content, or invite them to special events, all without going through a social media algorithm or an email service provider. It’s a direct, verifiable, and deeply engaged connection.

Turning Customers into Community Members

Think of your favorite loyalty program. You get points, maybe a free coffee on your birthday. It’s nice, but it’s transactional. NFT-based programs can transform this. Owning a brand’s NFT is like holding a membership card to an exclusive club. Suddenly, you’re not just a consumer; you’re a stakeholder. You have a voice. This sense of shared ownership fosters a powerful community. People who hold a Nike ‘.Swoosh’ NFT aren’t just people who buy Nike shoes; they are part of a digital collective with a shared identity, and that’s marketing gold.

The Quest for New Revenue Streams

Let’s not forget the bottom line. While community is key, NFTs also represent a new frontier for revenue. This isn’t just about the initial sale. Brands can earn a small percentage from every secondary sale of their NFT on the open market. Imagine a limited-edition digital collectible that becomes more valuable over time. The brand that created it can continue to benefit long after the first drop. Furthermore, it allows them to sell virtual goods for virtual worlds (the metaverse), a market that’s projected to be enormous.

Core Strategies: How Brands Are Winning with NFTs

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. The most successful brands are tailoring their NFT strategies to fit their unique identity and customer base. Here are the most common and effective models we’re seeing.

Strategy 1: Digital Collectibles and Brand Storytelling

This is the most straightforward entry point. It’s about creating limited-edition digital items that resonate with the brand’s history and ethos. Think of them as the 21st-century version of trading cards or commemorative plates. But instead of collecting dust on a shelf, they live in a digital wallet and can be showcased online.

• Example: Coca-Cola. For International Friendship Day, Coca-Cola launched a collection of NFTs celebrating connection. The proceeds went to the Special Olympics, tying the digital initiative directly to their real-world values. It wasn’t about making a quick buck; it was about reinforcing their brand message in a new medium.
• Why it works: It taps into the human desire to collect and belong. For superfans, owning a piece of a brand’s digital history is a powerful status symbol.

Strategy 2: Token-Gated Access and Next-Gen Loyalty Programs

This is where things get really interesting. ‘Token-gating’ simply means using an NFT as a key to unlock exclusive content, experiences, or products. It’s the evolution of the members-only club.

Starbucks Odyssey is arguably the poster child for this model. It’s not just an NFT collection; it’s an extension of their existing, wildly successful Starbucks Rewards program. Here’s how it works:

1. Members complete interactive ‘Journeys,’ like learning about coffee origins or playing trivia.
2. Completing Journeys earns them digital ‘Journey Stamps’ (the NFTs).
3. These Stamps accumulate points and unlock access to unique benefits, from virtual espresso martini-making classes to exclusive merchandise, and even trips to the Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia coffee farm in Costa Rica.

What Starbucks did brilliantly was de-emphasize the crypto jargon. They talk about ‘stamps’ and ‘journeys,’ making it accessible to their everyday customer. They connected the digital activity to real-world, tangible rewards, providing clear utility.

Strategy 3: Phygital – Bridging the Digital and Physical Worlds

The term ‘phygital’ might sound clunky, but the concept is powerful. It involves linking a physical product to a unique digital twin in the form of an NFT. This proves authenticity, tells a story, and adds a layer of digital experience to a tangible item.

Nike and RTFKT are masters of this. They acquired the digital fashion startup RTFKT (pronounced ‘artifact’) and went all-in. Their CryptoKicks project released virtual sneakers as NFTs. Holders could then ‘forge’ these digital assets to claim a pair of exclusive, physical sneakers that matched. It created incredible hype and a seamless link between their customers’ physical and digital identities. You don’t just own the shoes; you own the certified digital proof of ownership.

• Other examples: Luxury watchmakers are linking NFTs to their timepieces to serve as a certificate of authenticity, and wineries are selling NFTs that can be redeemed for a rare bottle of wine, with the NFT acting as a ‘cellar key’.

Strategy 4: Virtual Goods for the Metaverse

As people spend more time in virtual worlds like Roblox, Decentraland, and Fortnite, their digital avatars need things to wear and use. Fashion and luxury brands were the first to jump on this.

Gucci has been a pioneer here. They created a virtual ‘Gucci Garden’ experience on Roblox where users could explore and buy exclusive, limited-edition digital items for their avatars. One virtual Gucci Dionysus bag famously sold for over $4,000 on the secondary market—more than its physical counterpart! This shows that people are willing to pay for digital status and self-expression, creating a completely new market for brands to tap into.

The Challenges and Risks: It’s Not All Smooth Sailing

While the potential is huge, the business of NFTs is still in its infancy, and brands face real hurdles. It would be irresponsible not to mention them.

The User Experience (UX) Hurdle

Let’s be honest: setting up a crypto wallet, managing seed phrases, and navigating ‘gas fees’ is not a user-friendly experience for the average person. It’s a huge barrier to mass adoption. Brands like Starbucks are working hard to abstract this complexity away, but the industry as a whole has a long way to go to make the process as easy as signing up for an email list.

Market Volatility and Reputation Risk

The crypto markets are notoriously volatile. A brand launching an NFT project needs to be prepared for the value of those assets to fluctuate wildly. If a collection’s value plummets, it can lead to a disappointed and vocal community, which can damage the brand’s reputation. This is why the focus must be on long-term utility rather than short-term financial gain.

Environmental Concerns

The early days of NFTs were dominated by blockchains like Ethereum that used an energy-intensive ‘Proof-of-Work’ system. This led to valid criticism about the environmental impact. Thankfully, the landscape is changing. Ethereum has since transitioned to a much more energy-efficient ‘Proof-of-Stake’ model (a move called ‘The Merge’), and many new NFT projects are being built on other eco-friendly blockchains like Polygon and Solana. Brands entering the space now must choose their technology partners wisely to align with their corporate sustainability goals.

Conclusion: The Start of a New Chapter

The initial, chaotic gold rush of NFTs is over. What’s emerging is a more mature, strategic approach where NFTs serve as a foundational technology for the next generation of marketing. They are not a replacement for traditional methods, but a powerful new tool in the toolkit.

For brands, this is a chance to build deeper, more authentic relationships with their most passionate customers. It’s about moving beyond passive advertising and creating active, participatory experiences. The companies that succeed won’t be the ones that simply launch a collectible for a quick cash grab. They will be the ones that use this technology to provide genuine value, foster real community, and seamlessly integrate the digital and physical lives of their customers. The business of NFTs isn’t just about selling JPEGs; it’s about building the future of brand loyalty.

FAQ

What is ‘NFT utility’?

NFT utility refers to the real-world or digital benefits that come with owning a particular NFT, beyond its value as a collectible. This can include access to exclusive events, special discounts, token-gated content, voting rights in a community, or the ability to redeem it for a physical item. Brands are focusing on utility to provide long-term value to their holders and move away from purely speculative assets.

Do I need to understand cryptocurrency to participate in a brand’s NFT program?

It depends on the program. Increasingly, brands are trying to simplify the user experience. Some, like Starbucks, allow you to purchase their NFTs with a regular credit card and handle the complex blockchain transactions behind the scenes. However, for many projects, you will still need a self-custody digital wallet (like MetaMask or Phantom) and some cryptocurrency to pay for the NFT and any associated transaction fees (gas fees).

Is it too late for a brand to get into the NFT space?

Not at all. In fact, now might be the best time. The initial hype has faded, leaving a more discerning audience that values well-thought-out projects with clear utility. The technology has matured, and there are more case studies to learn from. Brands entering now can do so with a clear strategy focused on long-term community building rather than trying to catch a fleeting wave of speculative mania.