NFTs are marketing tools, not a products Monetize or build loyalty: two different strategies with different goals and horizons

NFT, a term that is heard almost everywhere, but to which few know how to attribute a precise meaning, first and foremost brands. Precisely those who should use digital tokens to colonize the virtual market of the Metaverse that will come, after Zuckenberg's presentation of the new Meta, feel more than ever the risk of becoming obsolete in the eyes of the generation of digital natives and use them in a hurry to get on the chariot of the winner, sometimes inappropriately. Dolce & Gabbana celebrated the sale of the nft Alta Gioielleria collection for about 5.6 million and a half dollars, or 1169.399 in Ethereum, using the tokens more as a monetization tool and imagining the Metaverse as a continuation without waste of real life, without stopping to think that NFTs as a speculative tool are indeed profitable, but volatile. At the same time, Clinique in an effort to "modernize loyalty", rather than selling NFT, decided to offer buyers who joined the rewards program the chance to win by sharing "stories of optimism" on social, free products for the next 10 years. along with an NFT artwork called Meta Optimist, a conceptual molecule that changes color.

Two different objective with different results: on the one hand D&G has aimed at monetization and the wow effect from the front page in the newspaper, on the other Clinique which instead focuses on the loyalty and retention of its consumers. If only the future will tell which is the best strategy, surely the first has a shorter horizon than the second, which instead looks to NFTs as instruments rather than single products, whose value evolution is difficult to predict.

The Cryptopunks and the Autoglyphs of Larva Labs, the digital products par excellence whose prices in etherium are mind-boggling, as well as the skins and assets for videogames signed by the big luxury brands, such as Balenciaga for Fortnight or Gucci for Tennis Clash, are the real trend of the digital age, but fashions aside, how much will the costumers of the Metaverse be willing to spend on virtual clothing? Does the fashion world really believe that Gen Z would spend incredible amounts of money on virtual sneakers to watch with viewers or instagram filters, regardless of the concreteness and collectability characteristics that have made fashion one of the main consumer sectors over the years? While we wonder about the direction that NFTs will take once the Metaverse is complete and Nike has registered the trademark for digital use, all that remains is to take NFTs for what they are: a great way, if not the best possible way to "modernize the fidelity” of the customers, deluding the buyer of being the protagonist of a tailor-made narrative for him and only then, finally, cash out.