There is hardly anyone who has never heard of NFT, unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few years. From the inception of the NFT in 2014 to the global appreciation of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, NFTs shook the whole world with its concept, significantly expanding the crypto world.
FOMO has become a driving force for so many people to create and release digital art. However, just launching something for the sake of profit is a lost cause. If you want to form a loyal community around your project and turn them from simple collectors to true adopters, you need NFT with utility. Usefulness — is what truly matters, and we are going to show you why.
In our article, we’re going to lead you step-by-step through the NFT utility, show you how NFTs create value and give you a few catching NFT utility ideas.
What is NFT utility?
So, as a creator, you want to stand among the NFT crowd and add exclusivity to your collection. The fair question arises: “What is utility in NFT?” In short, NFT utility is a special something you include in your collection that provides holders with additional perks and possibilities of NFT utilization. By adding utility to your digital art, you give its holders a real value they can experience instead of bragging about it on Twitter. There is a spectrum of ways you can add utility to your NFT: starting from the elite pass to various events to more material benefits.
Essentially, there are two types of NFT utility – tangible and intangible, which are determined by the disposal of this digital item. Tangible utility relates to some physical goods like clothes, merchandise, etc – basically, anything that has a physical form. To make collectors feel special and included, NFT creators offer intangible assets, like exclusive access to certain events or venues, that can take place in either the real world or the Metaverse.
Being an NFT creator, you are not bound to only one option, you can mix and match tangible and intangible assets when adding utility to NFT, so your community can get an authentic piece of art.
Why should projects add utility to NFT?
Can one market an NFT collection without any utilities? – Sure! But don’t be surprised if it won’t turn out to be a breakthrough since it’s getting harder and harder to impress people and make them crave your NFT so badly that they’re ready for anything.
When you add utility to NFT, it helps your collection stand out among thousands of others and form a loyal fan base around it. Holding an NFT transforms from simple proof of ownership to a more exclusive limited membership with its own perks and benefits.
Therefore NFT with good utilities can help expand its use cases, provide holders with real-world experience and attract more people to the project because, as has always been, people like to be a part of something bigger, especially if it looks like a private community of co-thinkers. And eventually, demand for something is generated by value, which directly depends on utility and use cases.
Best NFT utility ideas
How to add utility to an NFT may seem easy at first sight. But as a creator, you may have issues with how to generate creative and decent use cases for your non-fungible token. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Being in the blockchain industry for so many years gives an upper hand to crypto marketing agencies like ours, as the knowledge and expertise of the experienced team can not be overestimated. Here we gathered a list of the best NFT utility ideas that can fine-tune your art even more. Keep reading to find inspiration and explore the best-performing NFT utility examples!
VIP membership
Exclusivity breeds hype and the hype is the backbone of every blockchain-based product. The sense of belonging to a group of people is inherent for every human being and shouldn’t be underestimated by marketing experts. People strive to be a member of a group, especially a privileged one. As an NFT creator, you should not miss out on this opportunity and make people feel left out – instead, bring people the value they can only experience by purchasing your NFT! Discord channels with unique roles and live events are a great start to forming a bond and direct connection with your investors.
Let’s check out how the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club approached this NFT utility. Not so long ago, a Bored Apes’ team held a huge gathering for BAYC, and MAYC holders in New York called an ApeFest. It was a fascinating 4 days-long music festival that took place on one of the NYC piers. Attendees enjoyed the stand-up from Amy Schumer, had a wild time with the epic headliners such as LCD Soundsystem, Haim, The Roots, Snoop Dogg & Eminem, and hung out with crypto enthusiasts and co-thinkers. By the way, it was the second get-together, the previous one was hosted in Oct 2021 and turned out to be a huge success.
We realize it’s hard to keep up with such giants, but it’s a great example of how you can strengthen your community and make an enormous fuzz in social media. Showcasing how you care about your NFT holders can forge a deeper connection with them and attract more potential buyers -we consider this NFT utility idea a win-win!
Arts and fashion
Merchandise is a great way to make NFT with real-world utility! Scalefast statistics revealed that 25% of customers find the presence of any physical item coming along with NFT an important factor that could convince them to invest in digital art.
I think many of us can relate to this data – how cool it would be to have, for instance, a phone case with your favorite NFT collection on it! If you are thinking about releasing your own non-fungible token, you should definitely grab this chance! You can go crazy on this one and leave behind hoodies and mugs with the logo. Think about what people can use in everyday life and how it can be connected to the theme of your project.
Kings of Leon was the first music band to make an NFT album and offer a bonus – a limited edition vinyl record. Also, the band dropped 18 special golden tickets during the NFT campaign that will give lucky holders access to four front-row seats for any show of the band for a lifetime and lots of other exclusive benefits, like a chance to hang out with a band before the concert and a personal driver to the concert venue! It’s like the wildest dream come true to have this kind of opportunity with your dearest music band! As for us – that’s the best NFT utility you can think of!
Events
It’s pretty obvious that utility in NFT can replace physical tickets and can be a pass to various events, such as fashion shows, sports games, music festivals, various conferences, and educational projects.
For example, Coachella has launched NFT with the opportunity to get lifetime passes to the event! Or even better, make your own event!
Another successful case of using events as an NFT utility is Gary Vaynerchuk and his famous VeeCon. The event draws NFT adopters and leaders in web3 and blockchain industries to discuss and share their innovative ideas and cases and praised NFT technology. To enter the conference, one should hold an NFT called VeeFriends.
Real estate
Are you already imagining a spacious house with an ocean view? Let us stop you right there. There is something even better, and it is called the Metaverse!
Nowadays, it’s incredibly difficult to make physical real estate as NFT, because of regulators. So this is where Metaverse comes into play. It’s a digital land where ownership is confirmed by NFT. Like in real life, there is a finite number of plots. That’s why it’s so precious (say hi to the long arm of the FOMO). People are eager to own virtual land, create avatars, conduct virtual events and spaces, and live their ordinary but virtual lives (or not, maybe someone would like to go crazy and open a strip bar?) Everything is possible in the Metaverse – the platforms like The Sandbox, Decentraland, Roblox allow anyone to buy a designated parcel of virtual land and construct anything they want. In the universe of digital real estate, the sky is the limit!
Fine dining
Everybody loves to go to nice restaurants and enjoy delicious food. But how on earth is NFT with best utility connected to gastronomy? Here comes the brilliance of NFT utilities – they can be whatever you desire!
Think about this special menu, seat reservations in restaurants that are hard to get in, individual discounts or surprises from the chef, and all this and more is only accessible to NFT holders! Give your community an unforgettable dining experience by partnering with already existing restaurants. If you feel like this is too ordinary for your liking, there is another option. You can try opening your own place only for specific NFT collectors as the team of FlyingFish Club did.
FlyingFish Club is the world’s first NFT restaurant, where reservations can only be made by holders of FlyingFish Club NFTs. People buy memberships “to gain access to our restaurant and various culinary, cultural and social experiences,” as stated on the restaurant’s website. Do you feel inspired already?
E-gaming
The gaming industry is not losing ground, on the contrary, crypto and NFT games are gaining traction. Blockchain revitalized the familiar video games and made play-to-earn and NFT games incredibly popular among web3 enthusiasts. So why not make a contribution to it? Why not make one-of-a-kind avatars and skins and redeem NFT to pay for different stuff within the game? This is a cool NFT utility idea you would not want to miss out on.
Well, these were great NFT utility examples! But it isn’t an exhaustive list of NFT utility. They also include subscriptions, voting rights, staking, charity, personalized AMA sessions, etc. It’s apparent that it has no limitations – you just have to come up with interesting and useful things for the collectors, and the results won’t take long. Select something from our list or come up with some new and astonishing idea of NFT with utility. One more thing worth pointing out is a rarity. Everybody likes to have something unique and one-of-a-kind. People are ready to spend serious money to stand out from the crowd. So use this opportunity to make your utility NFT outstanding!
Most popular NFT projects with utility
If you still think that NFT is only for crypto adopters, it’s not exactly true. Even the world’s giants can’t deny the impact of NFT – Coca-Cola, Adidas, Puma, Nike, Givenchy, Christian Lacroix – they all try to be at the center of events. So let’s look at more cool NFT utility projects.
- Well-known brand Adidas cooperated with Bored Apes Yacht Club, Punk Comics, and GMoney. They made phygital NFT collection, so people can get physical items such as hoodies, tracksuits, and orange beanies alongside digital ones.
- Sportswear company Puma also launched phygital NFT. They made utility NFT in the following way: anybody who purchased a Nitropass received two NFTs: one related to a tangible pair of sneakers and another that unlocks a personalized experience tied to their chosen footwear.
- Coca-Cola has also entered the Metaverse! They sold their NFT collection to benefit Special Olympics International. It consisted of four unique pieces – a red jacket, Coke’s classic soda machine, trading cards, and a “sound visualizer” with a famous sound opening the Coke bottle. But the most interesting part is that the legendary SMEG fridge was a real reward for the maximum bid. Unexpected but well delivered, keep up Coca-Cola!
- Do you think fashion stays aside from NFT? Wrong! Givenchy has released phygital NFT collection too. The company decided to make digital twins for the apparel. Before that, Givenchy Parfums made the creation of an NFT in support of LGBTQIA+.
- Do you care about the environment? Want to pitch in but don’t have a clue how? Then, support saving the planet even with NFT! Switzerland-based firm GainForest aims to protect tropical forests and employ blockchain technology to prevent deforestation. For the donation, a person receives NFTree, which is tied to the specific region, gives data about its condition from satellite and drone data, and keeps track of your impact over time! In such an excellent way, a crypto green company can get utility of NFT for saving the forests.
Wrapping up
So, as you see with your own eyes, opportunities to add utility to your NFT are endless! When creating NFT with utility, the key moment is that you should embrace the unique features of your digital art and think of the way people can enjoy them even more.
We’re not saying that every NFT without the additional use cases is doomed. Maybe your project doesn’t need it at all. But why miss out on the chance to create additional buzz around NFT, and make it more recognizable and desirable? Besides, the best utility NFT projects create a loyal and trustworthy community, which is worth its weight in gold. NFT utility can become your stepping stone to success!
Add utility to your NFT collection with RGray
As a crypto marketing agency, we understand how challenging and overwhelming launching an NFT project can be. You need to manage your business first and let a professional handle marketing activities. Lucky for you, RGray is a professional in NFT and the crypto sphere, and we’ll lead your NFT collection to success, avoiding all pitfalls on the way. The combination of creative ideas tailored marketing strategy, and attention to detail is what distinguishes RGray from the rest of the agencies and is exactly what will help you excel in your goals.
When it comes to making sure your startup reaches its goals, RGray is a perfect choice. Contact us for a free consultation, or check out our services first!