026: Brands Double-Down on Growth Strategies

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TL;DR

1. Coachella: Intros ‘Keepsake’ NFTs with 2024 Festival Access/Perks

2. Maison Margiela: Partners with The Fabricant on ‘MetaTABI’ Boots

3. Adidas: Launches First Dedicated Roblox Experience

4. Michael Kors: Brings Product to Hilfiger’s FashionVerse Game

Around the Block…

1. Coachella: Intros ‘Keepsake’ NFTs with 2024 Festival Access/Perks

• Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival announced a three-part series of NFT collections called ‘Keepsakes’

• The NFTs will be on the Avalanche blockchain & offer varying perks for owners - such as VIP access & exclusive holder-only merchandise

• The first of the three collections ‘The VIP Pass + Oasis Lounge Keepsake’ is available for ~$1,499 through OpenSea as of March 5th

  • At the time of publishing, 28 of the 1,024 NFTs available had been purchased

• The second collection drop, ‘Canvas Welcome Box Keepsake’ will be available starting March 25th - the NFTs will grant varying levels of access including merchandise & a VIP area at the festival

• Coachella entered the NFT space with FTX in February 2022, auctioning lifetime festival passes in the form of Solana NFTs that garnered over $1M in sales. There were issues with the collection when FTX collapsed, causing purchasers inability to access their NFTs. Coachella confirmed they are rectifying the issues & will continue to make good on holder benefits

• Sources: OpenSea / nft now / Decrypt

2. Maison Margiela: Partners with The Fabricant on ‘MetaTABI’ Boots

• The Parisian fashion house continues diving into Web3 technology with its latest activation. ‘MetaTABI’, a collaboration with premium digital fashion brand, The Fabricant

• The collection centers around the digital ‘MetaTABI’ boot - which acts as an access pass for exclusive items & experiences

• The boot comes in two rarities:

  • (1) White Version - 15 pieces, which will grant access to a physical version of the Tabi boot in black

  • (2) Black Version - 2,000 pieces, which will grant access to a physical leather wallet

  • Both versions unlock an AR experience, gaming wearables, access to community events, & early access to the brand’s Web3 roadmap

• ‘MetaTABI’ boot NFTs will be available through pre-sale to select Maison Margiela & The Fabricant community members starting March 26th, then become available for public sale March 27th

• Sources: The Fabricant 

3. Adidas: Launches First Dedicated Roblox Experience

• Adidas has been busy on Roblox these past few months - announcing the arrival of their first dedicated experience on the platform called ‘adidas Outfit Creator’ on March 1st

• Adidas had originally entered Roblox in December, creating pop-up shops in existing, established experiences as a means to sell digital goods to outfit avatars

• The new experience takes Adidas integration a step further, allowing them creative control, as well as a space to cultivate & update over time

• Visitors can try on & buy Adidas-branded items, with new items dropping each week

• Source: Roblox (Adidas)

4. Michael Kors: Brings Product to Hilfiger’s FashionVerse Game

• Michael Kors is partnering with Hilfiger Ventures to deliver the first branded experience within their FashionVerse mobile game that launched in January

• The integration will include real Kors ready-to-wear & accessory products, which players can select from to create a unique scene

• As players engage, they will be able to unlock an in-game Michael Kors digital handbag

• FashionVerse has seen strong engagement since launching - achieving over 1M downloads & average time spent of 27 minutes per day

• Sources: FashionVerse / Fashion Network

Chain Reactions!

• Coachella’s Return to NFTs: Most coverage surrounding Coachella has undertones of surprise that they are re-entering the NFT space after their debacle with the collapse of their prior NFT project partner, FTX, in 2022. I’m glad to see a brand stand by the potential of blockchain technology, especially in ticketing & exclusive access after a tough previous experience. Hopefully, this one goes smoother for them!

• Adidas Growth on Roblox: Things move quickly! Two weeks ago, I covered Adidas’ pop-up shop in Karlie Kloss’s Roblox experience, mentioning that they would likely roll out a dedicated Adidas space on the platform soon. I didn’t expect it to be so fast! Adidas remains bullish on digital apparel and accessory sales in Roblox. It is unclear how long it took to create and digitize product offerings for the platform, but the speed of their public-facing activities has been surprising.

• FashionVerse’s First Brand Integration: In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned the addictive FashionVerse mobile game app from Hilfiger Ventures. I was puzzled that no brands (including Tommy Hilfiger) were integrated yet, likely a growth strategy to avoid overwhelming and off-putting with strong brand integration at the start. A week later, the announcement of Michael Kors integration came. This is a great example of a brand’s creativity yielding a totally new revenue path. Excited to see how the app evolves & the huge potential the game has for monetization.

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.