The call…
I got a call from Medium Rare (an agency that partners with global icons to build entertainment brands) asking if I wanted to help them build out the visual campaign promoting their NFT cards for Rob Gronkowski, and If I understood the NFT world. Not knowing anything about NFT’s, I told them absolutely and that I would love to. 😂
The Research begins…
Now that I had committed myself to branding an NFT campaign for the best tightened in NFL history (don’t @ me those are facts) I had to learn what NFT’s were. So I jumped on google and youtube and started learning. Here is what I found out NFTs are and how they work.
NFTs are pieces or non-tangible digital artwork which means you can’t touch them and only live in the digital world.
Anyone can create an NFT and sell it on a website like OpenSea… there are so many out there.
Once you upload it and get past the tech cryptocurrency set up aka minting you can promote it to your fans.
If someone buys it, the artwork becomes a kind of stock and the owner can now resell it.
NFTs are basically like when people spend money in video games for special outfits and dances, the only difference is you can resell this and make cash! 💵 Well… cryptocash!
Once I kind of understood the world of NFTs it was time for me to make my own because I am just that kind of learner. Came up with my own, minted them, and uploaded them… No sales yet but definitely helped me better understand the process so that was a win. Check them out below.
Getting started + The Process…
So now that I kinda understood the world of NFTs and I had gone through the process it was time to pour myself some coffee and get to work. Since this was a super quick turnaround we had to get to work fast. The amazing team at Medium Rare provided me the content to build out the web campaign and I got to work. In order to successfully promote GRONKS NFT launch, we would focus on a single page site, social media, PR, and a whole lot of luck. Once we completed the site we translated all of the visuals to skin our social media campaign and we were off to the races in the NFT auction.
The Results…
After 15 years as a designer, I still love the process of seeing an idea go from concept to completion. Once the campaign launched, the story spread like wildfire across a ton of media channels and social media went bonkers! Overall, GRONKS cards sold for over $1.75 million dollars with an average of $5000 per card. The special edition card ended up selling for a crazy $433,701.
What I learned…
While I didn’t become a millionaire with this project, I did learn a few lessons along the way. here are my takeaways:
Say yes even if you don’t know what you are doing. Fear will push you to learn something new.
Always have an open mind. Though I still don’t fully understand the psychology of why NFTs are a hot ticket item, I do know that this is what the future looks like and I better embrace it or move out of the way.
Surround yourself with like-minded folks. The team at Medium Rare are go-getters and we all had the same goal from the start of the project.
Nike-Just Do It!