Voted word of the year by Collins Dictionary in 2021 – NFTs have taken the world by storm. 

A non-fungible token, or NFT for short, is a unique digital token that is stored on a blockchain. They can be used to certify the authenticity and ownership of physical assets and digital assets. 

The tech and video game industries aren’t the only ones making pixel-shaped waves with NFTs. In this post, we’ll explore some of the ways other industries are using NFTs.

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Fashion

The fashion industry was an early adopter of NFT and blockchain technology. And as time passes, the number of fashion brands looking to explore and expand into the metaverse continues to increase. NFTs provide a unique opportunity for the fashion industry to edge toward a digital fashion revolution.

High-end fashion brands are finally able to combat fraud and counterfeits in a unique and accessible way with NFTs. The global counterfeiting industry is expected to hit the $4.2 trillion mark in 2022. Pretty terrifying. Could NFTs have come at a better time?

Big names that have ventured into NFTs include Gucci, Prada, Coach, Karl Lagerfield, Burberry, Givenchy, Dolce & Gabbana, and the list goes on.

Gucci

For Gucci’s first venture into NFTs, they launched the Gucci Vault, “an experimental concept space where the past, present, and future meet”.

Created by Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, it offers exclusive capsule collections, rare vintage Gucci, and various other items – all carefully selected by Alessandro himself. 

In expansion to the Gucci Vault, Gucci announced their Gucci Vault Land. This metaverse allows fans to explore through the space hosted in The Sandbox – a decentralized community-driven platform where creators can monetize voxel assets that represent a value on a regular grid in a three-dimensional space. Through this, Gucci is able to evolve in the metaverse by creating alongside its community. 

In this metaverse, participants can complete quests, which earns them chances at winning the digital token $SAND and exclusive collectibles. Members who hold previous Gucci NFTs like SUPERGUCCI will receive an NFT collectible that their avatar can wear in the metaverse, showing off their commitment to the Gucci Vault. 

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Prada

Prada’s Timecapsule NFT gives exclusive access to online experiences, physical merch, and early access to future drops. While Burberry has partnered up with Mythical Games and launched a new collection called Blankos Block Party, plus a new virtual social space within the game for players to congregate.

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H&M

NFTs have not only attracted luxury logos but also fast fashion brands like H&M. H&M recently opened its first-ever virtual showroom. Digital fashion is a great way to get more people into fashion in a sustainable and inclusive way.

“The H&M virtual showroom is designed to be a space for brand activations such as fashion campaigns. They will be brought to life in a whole new and exciting way, by integrating innovation, digitalisation, and sustainability. We look forward to exploring its potential in the countries in Region Central Europe ... and beyond in the future."
– Thorsten Mindermann, Regional Manager H&M Central Europe.

With digital fashion, H&M believes the possibilities are endless as things impossible to wear before can now be worn. 

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Automotive

NFTs are also becoming increasingly popular in the automotive world. In an industry with such fierce competition, car manufacturers are using NFTs to differentiate themselves while giving their customers fresh, engaging experiences. 

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Holoride (with Audi & Hyundai)

Built on the Elrond Blockchain, Holoride is an NFT-powered content ecosystem. With the power of extended reality (XR) technology, they’re trying to revolutionize the way people enjoy traveling. Partnering with big car manufacturers like Audi and Hyundai, their goal is “to add thrill to every ride” by turning vehicles into moving theme parks.

By leveraging their token and NFTs, Holoride can entice developers and creators to create content for their ecosystem. Content creators and developers will be able to create their own NFTs which can be used in the Holoride Metaverse. Their software development kit can allow even non-developers to start building their worlds.  

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Lamborghini

Lamborghini is another car manufacturer using NFTs to showcase their relentless strive to push boundaries in emotion, design, and experience: "Through unique NFTs, you will experience different kinds of worlds that only Lamborghini can create."

Minting on the Palm blockchain, a sidechain of Ethereum, they have recently released their second drop called “The Epic Road Trip”. Four new Lamborghini NFTs will be released every month from August 2022 to March 2023 – three silver and one gold. Members will be able to collect pieces to assemble a puzzle that will reveal a singular unique hidden Lamborghini after eight months. 

Lamborghini has created tiered rewards for its NFT community. There is a range of utility rewards like digital wallpapers and allowlist access to rare gold drops. The allow list access and wallpaper rewards are easier to obtain and are more common for collectors. Collectors who complete the drop series have the opportunity to receive rarer rewards like a VIP special tour of the Lamborghini headquarters for you and a guest. The most exclusive reward is a Lamborghini GLB file allowing you to have your one-of-one Lambo in the Metaverse. 

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Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo’s Tonale SUV is the first car in the world that distinctively uses NFTs to verify the car’s maintenance status. With the NFT, the owner can easily track useful data like their car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), vehicle version, mileage, as well as battery status in hybrid versions. Being stored on the blockchain it acts as a tamper-proof certificate of their vehicle.  

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Porsche & Mercedes-Benz

Some other car brands that are driving NFTs forward include: 

• Porsche auctioned off a digital one-of-one artwork with proceeds going to the charity Viva con Agua.‍
• Mercedes-Benz released its own NFT collection consisting of five G-Class NFTs created by five different artists.

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Sports

Sports brands have been using NFTs to give fans true ownership of, and rewards for, their favorite moments.

Community is at the heart of sports. And NFTs have expanded the way sports teams connect with their fans – and each other – through digital memorabilia and community.

‍Research into the sports trading card market has indicated a growth of 13.36% a year from 2021 to 2026, with a projected growth of $6.71 billion. A major factor in this projected growth is the move to make these trading cards digitally accessible. Previously collectors had to worry about a myriad of issues such as misplacing their cards, theft, and damage. 

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NBA & WNBA

NBA Topshot is the home for NBA and WNBA fans to collect their favorite moments from their favorite players and teams. Fans can mint their own NFTs from moments like Lebron James' dunk from the 2020 NBA Finals, which is currently the most expensive moment sold for $230,000 on their marketplace. 

Their Moment™ NFTs are for more than just collecting. NBA Topshot has a range of challenges, which fans can compete in to win access to NBA games, VIP events, and many more. NBA Topshot has done well for itself, attracting over 569,000 traders and amassing just under $1 billion in volume all time. It was such a success that Dapper Labs have now moved on to releasing NFTs and marketplaces for other sports such as American football, football, and mixed martial arts. 

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FIFA

Recently Algorand, a carbon-neutral blockchain, partnered with FIFA to release a digital collection for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. With the aim of being inclusive and accessible to all football fans. The innovative FIFA + Collect NFTs collection allows fans to own and collect moments from both the Women’s and Men’s World Cup. 

Fans who start collecting these assets can play football on, or off, the court. Through certain challenges and games, users can earn exclusive rewards and utility. FIFA + Collect aims to launch a curator challenge, where people can showcase their collection in themed challenges. Giving users a chance for even more rewards than before. 

Anyone opening the digital packs during a specific period will have a chance to win a fully paid trip to World Cup quarter-final and semi-final games with flights and accommodation included. 

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Tennis

Earlier this year the Australian Open became the first Grand Slam to offer its fans a piece of the Australian Open through an NFT which links to live match data. The Australian Open Art ball will have 6,776 unique pieces of generative art. Each ball will be linked to a small area of each tennis court. If any match-winning shot lands on your piece of land then your NFT will update its metadata to highlight the match information in real time. This type of NFT using real-world data is the first of its kind. These NFTs will have their own utility for holders like merchandise, limited edition wearables, and for those lucky enough to own the plot where one of eleven championship points land – the actual tennis ball used for the championship point in a hand-crafted case. 

The Australian Open is also providing “unprecedented access” to tennis fans letting them explore the AO virtually through their own metaverse in Decentraland, a 3D virtual reality platform. For the duration of the tournament fans across the world will be able to explore, compete in challenges, and interact with other tennis fans all from their devices at home. 

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Honorable mentions 

Social media: Reddit

The social media industry has slowly integrating NFTs a part of their platforms. NFTs are a great way of providing social power to users within their communities. Whilst giving creators the opportunity to showcase their skills and artwork, with them being rewarded fairly.

Earlier this year Reddit announced its blockchain-backed collectible avatars. They’re limited edition avatars created by independent artists. Owners of these avatars can set them as their profile image on Reddit and can receive unique benefits such as their profile image having a glow-like effect in the comment section, making them stand out.

They also have the ability to customize their avatar by mixing and matching different clothing gear. Since collectors own their avatars they have the option to keep, trade, or sell them on secondary markets.

Artists were selected from highly creative subreddit communities like r/comics. One of Reddit's main goals was to ensure these creators felt empowered to both create and sell their artwork. Artists get paid for every collectible avatar that gets sold on Reddit, as well as being entitled to receive royalties from any secondary market sales happening on open marketplaces.

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Retail: Starbucks Odyssey

A key player in the retail coffee and snacks store industry, Starbucks, is planning on using NFTs to enhance and update its current loyalty program.

Dubbed "Starbucks Odyssey" it’s offering new ways for its customers and employees to interact with the brand. With the NFTs, members will be able to participate in challenges, which consist of varying activities. After completion, they’ll earn NFT stamps which have a point value assigned to them. With those points, customers can redeem rewards and benefits both physical and digital. Being on the blockchain, participants will have ownership of their rewards, points, and NFTs. 

The use of NFTs opens up interesting ways for industries to amplify their customer loyalty. (To learn more about this, check out this post: How to Amplify Customer Loyalty with NFTs.)

Beverage companies have been releasing their own NFTs with utility which gives customers access to exclusive beverages, events, and future collectibles. Some brands have even found this is a brilliant way to sell and give out physical bottles without risks of fraud and counterfeiting which can be common in industries with items that are valuable. 

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Food & drink: Hennessy

Hennessy, with the help of BlockBar, released an alcohol bottle that you were only able to redeem if you owned the same digital version. The NFT acted as proof of ownership and authenticity.

Once the NFT is redeemed, it is burned, meaning it no longer exists and the bottle cannot be reclaimed. With increased security, transparency, and ease, NFTs have allowed the top-tier alcoholic beverage industry to expand. By elevating the experience of their premium products with the use of NFTs. No longer do collectors have to worry about security, importing, or verifying.

This isn’t the only drinks brand BlockBar has partnered up with. Among some other famous brands they’ve partnered with are Glenfiddich, OFC, and Rémy Martin. Their unique process allows certified authenticity with big brands whilst offering consumers asset-backed NFTs.  

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Technology: The Toucan Protocol

Environmental sustainability across many sectors has a lot to gain from using NFTs. As the world becomes more carbon-conscious, blockchain technology arrives just in time to help combat climate change. 

The Toucan Protocol has allowed carbon to be programmable and tracked on the blockchain, allowing for what they call a "regenerative economy" The Toucan Bridge was built so anyone can bring classical carbon registries onto the Toucan registry, in a tokenized form.  When you offset your carbon, you get the credential as an NFT, called a ‘proof-of-retirement’. Visible for everyone to see, with the date, the project you supported, and the tons of carbon you have offset. Providing users with a unique NFT that provides utility to the whole world by sequestering carbon dioxide. 

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Conclusion

The NFT industry is in its infancy, and some say the technology needs to mature before it will be suitable for business. However, this hasn’t stopped major brands across multiple industries from experimenting with NFTs. With NFT adoption increasing, we will see more industries and brands using NFTs to enhance the value of their products, services, and customer experience. 

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