#109 | NIKE's Fortnite Collab Bringing NFTs To 240 Million Gamers???

Estimated Read Time: 7 minutes

Hey friends,

Wonderful to have you back, on today’s Morning NFTea we have a huge story from Nike & Fortnite, followed by another pioneering story of NFT loyalty programs from Santo Spirits, so let’s jump into it!

Starting off with a whopper of a story, the world's two biggest brands in footwear and gaming are joining forces to bring NFTs to the masses. The interesting thing here is that sentence wasn’t even an exaggeration, Nike is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, and then Fortnite has been the most popular game in the world for many years even ranking #1 in 2022. The prospect of pairing these two powerhouses together in the name of Web3 and NFTs is a huge story that deserves a bit more coverage, so let’s take a look!

As Nike hints at an upcoming “ultimate Sneakerhunt” called “Airphoria,” speculation grows about the integration of Web3 elements into Fortnite, and that's the key here because Nike and Fortnite have only been releasing teasers and hints with nothing guaranteed so far. So jumping into the speculation, on June 16 Nike unveiled that the “ultimate Sneakerhunt” would commence on June 20 which is slated to include a release of NFT sneakers for the game. A brief video accompanying the announcement featured the prominent logos of Fortnite and Nike’s Air Max against a backdrop of floating clouds.

Although the details are very far and few between, The Nike x Fortnite NFT collaboration bringing household name-brand NFT items to one of the most popular games of all time is a watershed moment for the NFT space, it shows that even the biggest brands in the world are taking NFTs seriously and just imagining what their support could do for the mainstream adoption of Web3 is truly mind-boggling.

If you're a veteran reader of Morning NFTea, this news may not come as a surprise considering 9 months ago we covered Fortnite parent company Epic Games launching its first NFT game. Epic has always had immense support for Web3 when everyone else was clowning on the emerging technology, to quote the CEO Tim Sweeny, he said “Epic Games Store will welcome games that make use of blockchain tech provided they follow the relevant laws, disclose their terms, and are age-rated by an appropriate group… we welcome innovation in the areas of technology and finance” which is some bullish words for Web3 from a company pushing over 230 million active users on its games store. The flip side of this overpowered tag team is Nike, which is the king of NFTs after becoming the highest-earning traditional brand in Web3 with $185 million in Web3 revenue, but even if Nike was brand new to NFTs its brand itself has an immense community following and identity that is priming Nike up for huge success in virtual goods no matter what they do.

So although this news in question is vague and we don't even know what NFTs will be available, the partnership of Nike and Epic Games is the real heavy-hitting news story here. With Nike’s global capabilities and their existing Web3 success that led to the launch of a Nike Virtual NFT Apparel Store, then pairing that with the global phenomenon of Fortnite which sees 242 million active players in the past 30 days, and once again pairing that with the perspective of in 2021 how only 28.6 million wallets owned NFTs, it shows how revolutionary this Nike X Epic games partnership could be for the future of Web3 mainstream adoption.

It’s hard to follow up a story like Nike X Epic games, but on the topic of NFTs entering the hands of everyday people let’s take a look at how a famous tequila brand is pushing the frontier on next-generation NFT loyalty programs. Santo Spirits, the tequila brand founded by spirits innovator and GRAMMY award-winning musician Sammy Hagar and iconic chef and Emmy award-winning television personality Guy Fieri, is launching a seamless, secure, and digitally-native experience for loyalists to earn exclusive rewards for their continued relationship with the spirits company.

The Santo Spirits Club loyalty program has chosen to be built on the NEAR Protocol which is focused on being a scalable and sustainable blockchain platform. Members of the program can expect normal loyalty program things from their NFTs such as earning points for purchases of Santo Spirits products, as well as points for participating in other activities, such as attending events or sharing social media content. However, these “points” which are now attached to a Web3 digital asset is opening up a new variety of unique rewards, such as access to virtual tastings with Sammy and/or Guy Fieri, autographed collectibles, VIP experiences, and discounts on Santo Spirits products.

NFT-based loyalty programs have continued to gain steam with the prospect of more intuitive “loyalty cards” that are actually owned by the consumer and open up a world of opportunities for exclusive rewards and benefits. The most noticeable example of this came from Starbucks’ “Odyssey” NFT program. However, as Web3 continues to grow, so does its adoption. Santo Spirits is a perfect example of how NFT infrastructure is becoming more and more accessible for brands who want it.

The Santo Spirits Club loyalty program is a bold and innovative move for the tequila brand. By using NFTs, Santo Spirits is able to create a more engaging and rewarding loyalty experience for its fans. The program has the potential to revolutionize the way that brands interact with their customers, and it is sure to be closely watched by other brands inside and outside of the spirits industry.

What a week!

Let’s start off with…

One of the biggest mints turned out to be stolen art. Here’s Elena’s side to the story…

Some people have traced this back up the ladder to her employers at The Citadal.

This led to the Azuki team officially cutting ties from Elena.

Meanwhile, at Azuki’s Las Vegas event, a new collection was announced…

While the collection looks fantastic, not everyone was happy with a 2 ETH mint in the middle of a bear market.

We’ll see what happens during the mint.

Thanks for popping in today, we hope you enjoyed this edition and can’t wait to be back with #110, take care!

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DISCLAIMER:

None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.