15 brands jumping into NFTs

From community engagement to creative expression, raising funds for not-for-profits, lead generation, campaign promotion and influencer marketing, brand uses cases of NFTs are wide and through the funnel. CMO investigates


Franc.World: Empowering audiences

A set of 36 NFTs based off 12 multimedia original artworks by 10-year-old Australian artist, Franc, are on their way into the metaverse to launch on 14 February 2022.

Aussie artist, FrancCredit: Franc
Aussie artist, Franc


The collection, known as ‘Heart Strings’, has been created to raise awareness for Franc.World, a platform co-created by the Australian artist to educate and empower other Australian tween girls aged between 9 and 14.

The artworks use TikTok tutorials and Pantone colours and explore both self-love as well as importance of a loving, supportive environment. The MP4 and sensory collection is set to debut on Valentine’s Day on the OpenSea marketplace. Ten per cent of each artwork sale goes towards supporting initiatives such as the Franc Award for Art, annual Franc Report and to support charities such as Share The Dignity and Indigenous Literary Foundation.

“We want to show girls that you really can do and be anything,” Franc said. “Want to be a pilot? We interview them. Want to be a writer? Listen to our podcast. Want to be an artist? Well let’s launch an NFT collection together.”

Moulis Legal: Lead generation

Moulis Legal has claimed a legal first for Australia by providing legal services in the form of NFTs.

Moulis Legal's free services offer as an NFTCredit: Moulis Legal
Moulis Legal's free services offer as an NFT


The legal firm launched a collection of NFTs which combine Blockchain technology with legal expertise and artwork. Each NFT was minted on the Polygon network and is redeemable for an hour’s consultation with one of Moulis Legal’s specialist lawyers. The NFTs are available via the OpenSea marketplace.

Special counsel, Graeme Fearon, said Blockchain is a really exciting space to be working in. “There is so much more to it than just bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. New use-cases are being developed all the time across a staggering range of industry sectors and this will only increase as the technology matures,” he said. “We are at the forefront of harnessing blockchain’s huge potential and we are delighted to have taken this small but significant step.”

Rolling Stone magazine: Cultural memorabilia

The Brag Media released a limited edition NFT of its first-ever Rolling Stone Australia featuring homegrown global superstar, Tones And I, as she released her debut album. This was the first NFT cover for the iconic masthead in its global 53-year history.

Tones And I with her Rolling Stone NFT coverCredit: Brag Media
Tones And I with her Rolling Stone NFT cover


Those who got hold of one of 350 NFT collectable bundles, priced at $250, also received a physical copy of Rolling Stone Australia’s debut issue signed and numbered by Tones And I and an exclusive cassette. In another first, all sales of the Tones And I x Rolling Stone Australia bundle via thebrag.com’s new NFT Store, built in partnership with Origin’s NFT platform using Ethereum Blockchain technology, were ARIA Charts accredited.

The Brag Media CEO, Luke Girgis, said the NFT release presented a ground-breaking opportunity to further support Australian artists. “By minting an exclusive NFT of this cover to celebrate the issue and create a one-of-a-kind collectable for the NFT community, we also have an opportunity to - hopefully - help Tones And I achieve the first-ever #1 ARIA album sold as a NFT on our new store.”

Reebok: Limited edition footwear

US$260,000. That’s reportedly how much Reebok’s 300 NFTs given away to customers for free in November last year and claimed in under five minutes are worth.

The sports shoe and apparel company has released a couple of swathes of NFTs, minted to promote the launch of new trainers created in partnership with musician, A$AP Nast, and positioned as the Blockchain meeting streetwear. Two hundred of the NFTs were initially available on the Wax Atomic Hub marketplace.

 A$AP NAST’s NST2 for ReebokCredit: Reebok
A$AP NAST’s NST2 for Reebok


The latest 300 NFTs of unisex Zig A$AP NAST Kinetica II Edge shoes came in three variants to illustrate the different elements in which the shoes can be worn. The NFTs were distributed through white-label platform, RFOX, which is exclusive technology provider for Reebok and rap-fashion icon A$AP NAST’s NST2 brand, on 1 December 2021.

NWay: Olympic souvenirs

Online gaming player, nWay, jumped onto the NFTs bandwagon to coincide with the 2021 Tokyo Olympic, releasing souvenir Olympic pins as well as cross-play multiplayer video games under licence with the IOC.

The digital NFT pins banked on nostalgia, as did the full range of collectibles which recycled the art of Olympics past and posters, emblems and mascots. The NFT Olympic Pins launched with an inaugural set that formed part of the Olympic Heritage Collection celebrating the art and design of past Olympic Games over the last 125 years and graphic legacy of the world’s largest sporting event by featuring posters, emblems, pictograms and mascots.

Tokyo Olympics 2021 NFT souvenir pinCredit: nWay
Tokyo Olympics 2021 NFT souvenir pin


Collectors of the intangibles could buy them from nWayPlay.com or from other collectors in its marketplace. They also had the opportunity to earn the NFTs by playing real-time Olympic-themed video games from nWay, whose parent company is games developer, Animoca Brands.

Related: 5 ways brands are engaging with the Olympics

PepsiCo: Social media marketing

A collage of smiles took centre stage in Lay’s Romania’s NFT effort in 2021. The PepsiCo brand made its first steps into the metaverse with Smiles, an ImpactNFT composed from more than 3000 grins from Lay’s chip lovers.

The Lay's smile collageCredit: Lay's
The Lay's smile collage


The ImpactNFT was born out of an ambition to connect social marketing with Blockchain technology to deliver both community and environmental impact to blockchain natives, conscious consumers and the public, the FMCG giant said. To offset the NFT’s environmental impact, the company worked with Project Ark to mint Lay's NFT on the Polygon network, a Layer 2 protocol aimed at offering more energy-efficient transactions backed by the security of Ethereum. The ImpactNFT was available on the official Lay's OpenSea Page.

The wider ‘Share smiles with Lay's’ campaign celebrated the power of community and smiles in Romania. All proceeds from the NFT sale went to four charities focused on improving social, environmental and education in the country: Let's Do It, Romania!, i'Velo by GreenRevolution, The Adi Hădean Association, and Teach For Romania.

MotoGP: Fan engagement

High-profile sporting tournaments and groups are also increasingly represented through NFTs. MotoGP Racing is one such group, with short video vignette ‘moments’ being sold by Animoca brands as NFTs under the branding, MotoGP Ignition Hot Shots. 

Hot Shots momentsCredit: Moto Sports
Hot Shots moments


The original NFTs stemmed from highlight reels of the best MotoGP racing moments. The first Hot Shots, for example, featured the most exciting moments from the MotoGP 2021 Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar. A total of 6000 Hot Shot packs were available for purchase at US$15 per pack, each containing three Hot Shots NFTs of varying rarity and bearing a serial/print number.

MotoGP Ignition is a competitive management and collectibles game built on the Flow Blockchain and a title in the REVV Motorsport ecosystem. It’s been delivering two forms of MotoGP branded experiences centred around NFTs: A digital collectibles platform; and a racing manager game. The racing management experience of the game offered the bikes, riders and champions of MotoGP as NFTs that players use to assemble their racing teams to compete against other players. The collectible NFTs also had utility in the racing manager game.

Read more about the NFT craze and what it means for marketers in CMO's special feature on NFTs, available in our free digital magazine edition here.

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