The Subtle Rise of Brand Utility via NFTs

 

In 2021, NFTs were mostly headline fodder about digital art and multi-million dollar sales. The advertising trend nobody fully grasped yet was their potential for brand utility and loyalty.

• Not a Collectible, a Key: Forward-thinking brands began viewing NFTs not as a piece of digital art to sell, but as a digital membership card or key. Owning a brand’s NFT could grant the user perpetual discounts, early access to new products, or exclusive real-life events. This completely redefines the concept of a loyalty program, turning a passive card into a tradable, valuable digital asset.

• Decentralized Sponsorship: Instead of a traditional $1 million sponsorship deal, some brands quietly experimented with DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) governance. Imagine a community of a brand’s top customers voting on where the marketing budget should go—this is the ultimate form of customer involvement and transparency.

In short, the real story of 2021 advertising wasn’t just where money was spent, but how brands began fundamentally redefining their relationship with their customers’ privacy and their loyalty.