016: Artist Collaborations & The Rise of Games

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TLDR:

1. Shiseido: Generative NFT Collection Debuts at Art Basel Showcase

2. Balmain: Partners with Artist Ant Kai on Latest Innovative Sneaker

3. FIFA: Dropping Two NFT Collections for 2023 Club World Cup

4. Disney: Partners with Funko on Digital Pop! Mickey & Friends NFTs

5. Adidas: Makes First Entry to Roblox with Digital Apparel

6. Balenciaga: Creates Ski Game to Celebrate First Skiwear Collection

7. Nike: Launches Game for Air Jordan 11 Shoe Drop

Around the Block…

• Shiseido: Generative NFT Collection Debuts at Art Basel Showcase

  • The beauty brand unveiled the ‘Future Reflections’ project in collaboration with Art Blocks Engine & digital artists who created a 1,872-piece collection of code-based generative art

  • Artists included Hannah Yan, Jen Stark, Kaoru Tanaka, & Robert Hodgin

  • NFTs were minted to the Ethereum blockchain & available both at their Art Basel event & online. They were gifted for free to lucky recipients (including gas fees)

  • Twenty collectors will be chosen at random to receive IRL product that corresponds to their NFT’s artwork

  • Sources: Shiseido

• Balmain: Partners with Artist Ant Kai on Latest Innovative Sneaker

  • Balmain partnered with sneaker customization artist Ant Kai, to enhance their Unicorn shoe model with his artwork

  • The collection is limited to 150 pairs that were available for $1,195 through the Balmain site, which included a crypto payment option, on December 5th

  • Each of the pairs comes with a Polygon NFT facilitated by metaverse fashion-tech company Space Runners that is customizable using a Generative-AI

  • The latest activation comes as a follow-up to a similar NFT-paired Unicorn sneaker launch earlier in 2023

  • Sources: Balmain / HighSnobiety

• FIFA: Dropping Two NFT Collections for 2023 Club World Cup

  • Partnering with tech company Modex, FIFA will drop two sets of NFTs in December during its club tournament

  • The first 100 ‘membership card’ NFTs will be available on the FIFA Connect+ platform on December 15th - promising access to ‘VIP experiences & privileges within the FIFA ecosystem’ including a chance to secure 2026 World Cup Finals tickets

  • An additional 900 Polygon NFTs will be available on OpenSea on December 19th, showcasing key moments & memorabilia from the club tournament

  • Sources: FIFA / Modex

• Disney: Partners with Funko on Digital Pop! Mickey & Friends NFTs

  • The entertainment brand partnered with Funko, who is known for their IRL ‘Pop!’ collectible figurines featuring various licensed IP & who has a sizeable volume of digital collections

  • The collaboration centers on NFT card packs that are available through the Droppp.io marketplace

  • NFT card packs include pieces of varying rarities - the digital cards can be collected as sets & redeemed for IRL figurines

  • Sources: Droppp.io 

• Adidas: Makes First Entry to Roblox with Digital Apparel

  • Adidas has entered Roblox for the first time, setting its foundation for digital apparel sales & platform growth

  • Its entry includes pop-up stores within seven existing Roblox experiences - visitors can purchase item packs or browse Adidas items on the Roblox marketplace as of December 7th

  • Their announcement states that items will be ‘updated on a regular basis’ with new items coming each week

  • In addition to Adidas’ branded products, they have partnered with top Roblox creator Rush X to give away & sell collaborative items

  • Sources: Adidas

• Balenciaga: Creates Ski Game to Celebrate First Skiwear Collection

  • The experience is hosted on their site & requires sign-up to play - a means for the brand to collect emails

  • Players can navigate down a slalom course with the goal of staying upright as long as possible

  • Those who have the highest ranking will be awarded an IRL item from the skiwear collection

  • Sources: Balenciaga

• Nike:  Launches Game for Air Jordan 11 Shoe Drop

  • Nike’s Jordan Brand created a coin collection game to support their latest shoe drop the AJ11 ‘Gratitude’

  • Game players could navigate through the game on a dirtbike, collecting items as they passed to earn a high score

  • Sources: LinkedIn

What is…?

• Art Blocks: A platform where artists can publish digital, code-based, generative artwork. Unique artwork is created based on coded attributes & minted into an NFT. Art Blocks Engine is the company’s latest software offering that transforms the generative artwork model into a customizable product for brands (Art Blocks / Art Blocks Engine).

• Gas Fees: The cost of posting a transaction -or minting an NFT- on a blockchain. The fee fluctuates based on network demand & helps compensate for the computing power needed to verify & secure transactions (US News).

• Modex: Tech company helping brands use blockchain technologies to drive engagement & develop new revenue streams. Their initial offering started in 2017 as a smart contract marketplace (Modex).

• OpenSea: The first & largest marketplace for digital collectibles - a platform where people can buy & sell NFTs. OpenSea been used as a primary & secondary selling platform for many brand & artist collections. As brands begin to develop their own closed marketplace, the open platform offers access to a large audience of NFT collectors (OpenSea).

Chain Reactions!

Artist Collabs, Roblox, & Games!

Lots of projects continue to roll out as year-end approaches. A few things that caught my eye this week:

• Artist Collaborations: Not new to branded NFT projects, but both Shiseido & Balmain collaborated with independent artists for their drops, similar to Red Bull Racing’s Velocity project partnering with digital art A-listers, as highlighted in last week’s newsletter. As many branded NFT projects continue to find & establish utility, the inclusion & promotion of artists (& the followings they bring) continue to be a source of value that drives demand.

• Adidas in Roblox: Adidas has been an early mover in the web3 & digital innovation space over the past few years; it is exciting to see them broaden offerings into Roblox, which has a massive audience & is already a proven revenue generator for digital items. Although there are already tons of brands in Roblox, I expect to see a flood of brands tap into the platform, given its audience & maturity relative to flashier metaverses & more advanced tech, which have struggled to gain traction.

• Game Creation: A noticeable number of brands have been creating their own games as a marketing & engagement tactic (ex: Jordan Brand & Balenciaga above, Macy’s recently). Beyond inclusion within established gaming platforms like Roblox & Fortnite, brands are developing their own standalone games as fun ways to engage digital audiences & highlight key brand messaging. It's definitely a stunt tactic, but an awesome way to drive up time spent with the brand & bring in new audiences with their potential virality.

DISCLAIMER: This content does not contain investment, tax, legal, financial or other advice & is not intended to be used in this way. It includes the opinions of the author & is strictly for informational purposes. Please do your own research.