Swipe (or nowadays, tap) your credit card, and earn points. A process that’s now commonplace has a lengthy history that can teach us more than a few things about customer loyalty — and its journey through technology. Let’s start at the beginning. 
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From paper to plastic 💳
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While the history of credit cards dates back thousands of years, things turned from stone to metal — and later paper and plastic — about halfway through the 20th century with the arrival of the modern credit card in 1950. Reportedly invented following a case of a forgotten wallet, The Diner’s Club Card (initially owned by Discover Financial Services before its acquisition by BMO in 2009) was the first multipurpose charge card credit card intended primarily for dining and travel expenses. 
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The Diner’s Club was also the first to pair the concept of charging credit with fueling consumer loyalty through the inception of points. Through partnering with dining, entertainment, and later, travel entities (i.e., airlines, rental cars, and hotels), Diners Club cardholders paid a tiered annual fee to gain special perks based on how much money they spent. The greater the yearly fee, the greater the perks. 
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About eight years following Diner’s Club in 1958, American Express entered the credit card industry with the world’s first international charge card, which initially had an annual fee of $6 (one dollar more than Diner’s Club). Shortly after, Bank of America and Mastercard followed suit. During this initial period, most credit cards focused on offering customers just that — credit — with loyalty and reward yet to take off. 

2023 was a year of building in web3 — and no shortage of brands got in on the action. 

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Across luxury fashion, institutions like Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Maison Margiela reimagined the roadmap for retaining customers through captivating yet accessible content that turned buying products into something more: an enduring digital connection. Others, like beauty platform KIKI World, pushed the limits of blockchain — and fingernails — via web3 communities focused on co-creation and customization. Across the sports field, Manchester United, Red Bull Racing, and the Tampa Bay Rays-owned Rowdies, won through fan programs and sticky experiences that incentivized fan engagement and boosted sales. The list goes on.  

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Below are 10 brands who did it right in 2023 — and, in the process, won web3.
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Your customer relationship management system is your business's beating heart. It’s how you nurture customers, track vital information, and make strategic decisions. 

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Now that web3 has entered the fold, traditional CRMs can be augmented. So the question is this: Is your brand prepared for it? And what does the future look like?

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Brands can expand upon their CRM data with wallets and token interactions to build loyalty in the changing digital economy. 

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If your CRM is the heart, what happens if it can't support your entire customer base along with their actions and interests? Consumers are adopting web3, and you want to be there from the start. 

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And with increasingly more limitations on what consumer data brands can collect, store, and use, along with apps and systems that don't talk to each other, brands miss out on data everywhere. 

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You need web3 CRM capability to connect wallets and token usage to your web2 data to accurately paint a picture of your customers. 

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Enhancing your CRM with web3, you can track and reward engagement across virtually any physical or digital touchpoint and connect it all in one place to analyze and manage.

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Onboarding customers to create web3 wallets is the first step to getting started. The good news is that, with Mojito, the process is seamless for new users. They can set it up and manage it with an email address. In many ways, wallets have become the new email address, offering more benefits for customers and providing brands with the holistic data and CRM capabilities they need.

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Mojito's web3 CRM collects and pulls all these moving pieces from different parts of the web together to create one remarkably effortless customer experience. 

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In this article, we’ll compare the differences between a web2 and web3 CRM, the benefits of using a web3 CRM, and how Mojito might be the right fit.

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What’s the difference between web2 and web3 CRM?

The CRMs most brands use do not facilitate the needs that web3 has—the biggest one being connecting offchain and onchain data and creating an integrated portrait of customers across all physical and online interactions. 

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Web2 CRMs provide essential data and communication tools to manage emails, SMS lists, social media followers, eCommerce buyers, event attendees, and more. 

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But it's difficult to connect every data source you'd like to trigger into your web2 CRM, let alone add new data sources in web3.

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Brands can instead use a web3 solution to augment their CRM by connecting data sources in a different way that brings everything together. Companies can create the most connected, data-rich CRM they've ever had. 

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Brands require CRM solutions to capture the entire customer data picture across both the internet and real-life experiences. In turn, they create a community-driven customer base, increase sales, and use their CRM for better connections, communication, and data.

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Wallets are the new email addresses

It's no secret that brands are losing data through their traditional channels. Big Tech companies are reigning in how much data you have access to, like Apple limiting cookies, and how brands now get an incomplete picture of their customers.

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Additionally, as customers interact with web3, your brand is in the dark until you establish web3 CRM capability. 

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Web3 wallet addresses are unique identifiers for users on the blockchain. Their address is recorded when they purchase an asset or trigger activity on the chain. With Mojito, onchain and real-life interactions join together in one familiar experience.

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As your customers interact with your brand and create or log in with their wallets, you can associate that with their customer profile. 

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When a customer logs in on your profile manager, they can add their web3 address, resulting in a holistic view of your customer. 

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This is a huge opportunity for first-party data. Your brand can get direct analytics from your activities through a verified, authentic process supported by onchain and offchain interactions. 

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Wallet addresses offer a more reliable and extensive way to gather data on customer behavior, help drive engagement, and make better growth decisions. 

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Cookies are the new NFTs

While traditional solutions suffer from increasingly limited access to cookies, web3 offers brands a bright and better future.

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NFTs are non-fungible tokens. A non-fungible token is a digital asset recorded on a public decentralized ledger called a blockchain. It can be verifiably owned and impossible to forge. 

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NFTs make it possible for someone to digitally own an asset, which has changed the future of technology. But it also provides a unique opportunity for web3 CRMs, engagement, and data. 

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"NFTs: your ticket into a brand's action." — Michael Litman

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Dynamic NFTs utilize live metadata to gather customer information and drive engagement. 

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Before solutions like Mojito's Dynamic NFT, non-fungible tokens didn't change. And why should they? People wanted a unique digital asset that would last forever and retain or grow in long-term value. 

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But as web3 matured, so did the perspective on NFTs. 

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What if the value of an NFT was change?

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For example, artists began to experiment as they created NFTs. They would explain that the NFT would change and evolve. This in itself made it valuable and rose in popularity. 

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Brands would learn how to use it for data and supercharge engagement only a short time later. Traditionally, metadata remained static, but now Dynamic NFTs update metadata based on consumer behavior. 

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Brands can leverage metadata in many use cases:

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Loyalty programs: Customers can join membership communities when they purchase a digital pass with Mojito's traditional, familiar checkout experience. Every time they interact with your brand across any first-party or third-party platform, like redeeming rewards or visiting an event, their token metadata is updated and fed back into your CRM.

Exclusive access: Brands can implement token gating, limiting access to your brand's NFT or memberships. Gate websites, apps, events, games, and more. When customers check in, their activity becomes trackable.

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Enhanced membership and subscriptions: Dynamic NFTs allow brands to sell time-access passes with expiration dates. While owners can always retain the NFT, their subscription must be maintained for full access to benefits. Brands use the metadata to identify subscription holders and analyze their activity (while adding a new revenue stream). 

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Customer interactions: Brands use NFC-enabled spaces to connect customers with their Dynamic NFTs and events, physical checkout experiences, and more, intertwining digital and physical customer engagement. When someone redeems a reward by scanning a code or object, your brand can track that activity. 

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Web3 solutions like Mojito use webhooks to send data from third parties back into your CRM. Every time a user takes an action, Mojito sends that data to your CRM and vital tools. Your data is collected, verified, and authenticated in one place, on or offchain. 

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Mojito offers a cohesive relationship management infrastructure. You can leverage a complete picture of your customers through thousands of interactions involving physical triggers, third-party apps, web2 tools, and web3 activity. Customer actions across the web or in real life can be configured to work with your CRM. 

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You’ll be able to understand your customers better than ever and reward them for their engagement at a level that was impossible before. 

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Benefits of using a web3 CRM

You don’t have to worry about a bumpy or complex ride when you adopt a true web3 CRM. 

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You’ll have all the tools, resources, and tech stack integrations needed to make an enterprise solution for your customers that meets the standards of your brand. 

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Below are several benefits you can expect when you connect your web2 CRM to a web3 solution.

1. Bring web2 and web3 data together

Mojito facilitates web2.5, meaning instead of "switching" web experiences, brands and customers can use web2 and web3 with no learning curve or friction at all. All is encompassed in one familiar internet experience.

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Users can pay with a credit card or crypto and interact with the online apps they've used all these years (as well as easily using web3 apps). 

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Mojito enables brands to collect and pull necessary data to understand their customers through all web iterations and experiences—all in one CRM solution.

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They can use the full power of this web2 and web3 data for events, NFT collections, token gating (exclusive access based on ownership), and other digital ownership experiences.

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2. Actionable data for better customer relationships 

Every brand wants to improve its customer relationships. Still, as the internet becomes more fragmented, especially with the introduction of web3, improving service and keeping up with expectations will be much more difficult. 

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Web2 CRMs are not capable of putting all these actions and platforms together.

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However, web3 CRM platforms improve customer relationships by incorporating off and onchain activities through a centralized database.

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If brands adopt an enterprise web3 CRM, they can meet changing consumer needs and stand out in the market with better and improved relationships thanks to the tools and possibilities web3 offers.

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3. Improved sales and marketing strategies

Now, more than ever, your sales, marketing, and customer service teams will have access to the most accurate and transparent data within multiple channels and communities, all in one place. Your CRM can include customer history, preferences, community management details, and more data points within web3. 

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You can use accurate and more abundant data to analyze customer behavior for improved decision-making. A suitable CRM can also help sales and marketing teams provide personalized messages based on their data, increasing conversions and other KPIs. 

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4. Next-level customer service 

Not only does better, more current information help improve customer relationships but so does the level of service you can provide.

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Your team can proactively resolve issues with real-time data collection (for example, tracking customer engagement and pinpointing areas of opportunity), which increases customer satisfaction. 

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Brands can go beyond positive experiences and create the best problem-solving processes and community-building opportunities for your customers.

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5. Greater ROI potential

Web3 CRMs connect your stack, improving overall sales, marketing, and customer service and building long-term loyalty. 

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These critical benefits offer bigger ROI potential and future growth. By analyzing blockchain activity, brands can track the popularity of certain products, use blockchain-verified data to track inventory and invest in the areas customers are most interested in. 

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Web3 CRMs also open new revenue streams, like selling digital assets with NFTs. Brands can even test the reception of new physical products by selling limited sample releases with “NFT digital twins” (when a physical good comes with an NFT representation at purchase). 

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6. Strategic positioning 

You can better position your company for the economic shift to the decentralized web with a web3 CRM. 

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For example, Mojito's web3 CRM also includes "web2.5" features for the transition. 

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Some customers won’t know how to navigate web3—they’ll want simplicity. Others will want every tool available to them. Web2.5 serves everyone. New users can pay with a credit card and have a user-friendly experience. At the same time, web3 adopters can take full advantage of innovation and opportunities with cryptocurrency payments and more.

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Brands will serve web2 and web3 users for the internet's evolution, and they'll have a robust CRM foundation for the new economy. 

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Token gating equips brands with the power to connect with customers, increase engagement, and create a community that cements their leading place in the market.

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In this article, we’ll explore what token gating is, how it works, and its benefits. Then we’ll go over a few practical examples in the market. 

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You’ll also learn how Mojito can provide the resources to make token gating possible as an enterprise brand web3 solution provider.

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What is token gating?

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Token gating (also known as tokengating, NFT Gating) creates value for customers by offering limited-access benefits, like private communities, events, or additional assets on a decentralized network. 

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The catch? Only owners of the token can access these perks. 

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This creates exclusive ecosystems where consumers must hold a set amount or specific version of a given token in order to access certain privileges. Token ownership provides potential access to many perks and rewards this way. Tokens are usually distributed through a free mint or primary sale, and can typically be traded on the secondary market.

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Tokens can be purchased through a brand’s custom marketplace or places like OpenSea and bought with different types of cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum. 

Web3 and token gating: How it fits together

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Web3 refers to the third iteration of the internet: 

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• Web1 offered static informational pages.
• Web2 invited users to create their own corners on the internet with social media.
• Web3 gives everyone the power of digital ownership and sovereignty online. Web3 proposes a decentralized network and the ability for each user to control their own data.

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All stages are popularly summarized into three words: read, write, own.

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How tokengating works 

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A token proves digital ownership of an asset, which can be verified on the blockchain.

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"Token gating" limits access to exclusive offers for token owners only.

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For example, a luxury brand might sell limited-edition watches that come with a tokenized certificate of authenticity of the physical product as well as a digital representation, and then provide token-gated access to private offers, communities, and events.

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When someone earns or purchases a token with their digital wallet, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain, a public and decentralized ledger. 

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There are many ways to get a token from a brand. Customers could have purchased a product that included one, or they could have bought a meme, image, or art piece as part of an NFT project. The original owner can also resell tokens. 

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Once someone has a token, they can use it to enter your gate.

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For example, if they join a private chat community on Discord, they could connect their digital wallet containing the token to get access. 

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Or, they could scan a NFT QR code and get benefits directly from your brand --like how the Tampa Bay Rowdies operate their digital season pass, to increase season ticket holder engagement NFT holders scanned a QR Code in stadium at Food & Beverage locations. By scanning the QR Code the point-of-scale verified ownership of the NFT and passed on a discount, exciting season-pass-holders to spend more across the season of games. All powered by NFT QR Code based benefits or tokengated discounts.

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You can leverage many opportunities, especially if you partner with an enterprise solution provider that can create the right system and support for you and your customers.

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Token gating in a nutshell: A fan gets ownership of a token => they use it to access exclusive assets, experiences, and/or communities => they can hold the token and continue to receive benefits, or sell it on the secondary marketplace.

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Embracing web3 and consumer engagement

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The changing economy is teeming with possibility, and web3 innovations are transforming the landscape for everyone. Brands can embrace these innovations and create a remarkable experience for their most passionate customers.

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But besides excitement and long-term trends, brands can’t ignore web3. Here’s the bottom line: Consumers continue to adopt web3 principles.

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They no longer want to read information or solely interact online. They want a decentralized and intimate relationship with the brands they believe in. Consumers want to own their creations and assets and control their data. 

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Web3’s allure for customers is about digital ownership.

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We can see this shift with consumers’ changing sentiment on web2, especially as they face data privacy threats. 

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While consumers might not know everything about web3, their habits point to it. The Washington Post shared some revealing statistics regarding American internet users:

• 72% of users distrust Facebook with their personal data
• 63% of users distrust TikTok with their personal data
• 60% of users distrust Instagram with their personal data

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With the rising distrust of Big Tech, along with the growth of the community economy and web3 interest, companies would do well to prepare for the continued shift in consumer behavior. 

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Customers want to own their data and creations rather than large corporations. 

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Web3 ownership and transparency reinforce that goal. In turn, brands can win consumer trust, loyalty, and engagement. 

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Token gating is the best way for brands to get started. Patrons can unlock exclusive community features, loyalty programs, intimate access to brands for super fans, and customer buy-in with assets. 

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If you want to see first-hand how your brand can leverage token gating and community memberships—and keep up with web3 trends, analysis, and profiles—sign up for our newsletter.

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What are the benefits of token gating?

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In this new and sprawling landscape, there are plenty of ways brands can use token gating to increase their value and win loyal customers. NFT token gating has many creative uses and benefits, and many have yet to be discovered.

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Ten token gating benefits

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1. Viral growth opportunities

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Word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing, and web3 token gating helps fuel it. 

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Whether through a surprise “drop” or project release, fans get excited and spread the word about the opportunity. 

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They share value increases of the token or the cool art that comes with an NFT. All this buzz ignites online activity and grows your reach.

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Fan clubs are one example of this—as we’ve seen influencers and celebrities experiment with in the past—such as VeeFriends, Flyfish Club, Stoner Cats, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and more.

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2. Increased brand loyalty and engagement

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When customers collect and own a piece of your brand, they are more likely to become long-term buyers. Not only will they continue to purchase from you, but they will also serve as natural ambassadors of the brand. 

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Additionally, any private community or exclusive perk will continue to increase their loyalty and positive brand perception.

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3. More scarcity-linked value

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When something is perceived as scarce, customers see it as more valuable—especially in the luxury market. Token gating can offer limited access to products, events, and communities, adding an incentivized component in purchasing or investing in your brand. 

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Companies can also offer token-gated products with extreme exclusivity, adding a high collectible value to the brand.

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4. High-growth communities

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One of the most powerful benefits of token gating is its potential for powerful brand communities. 

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When super fans have a chance to buy into a private community, they help build and grow the brand. Not only do they generate buzz for the company, but they also help establish purpose and acceptance that can only be found in tight-knit communities. 

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5. Logistical and security advantages

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Token gating also provides a more efficient system for selling and reselling event tickets and other logistic-heavy customer experiences. 

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For example, if your brand holds an important event, it can be made available only to token holders. If they cannot attend, they can sell it to other token holders, keeping the event exclusive to the target audience. 

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Offering a secure transaction method also avoids many kinds of scams and other unfortunate realities of ticket-buying.

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6. Additional value to products

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Your overall value can increase as you create digital assets, communities, and other valuable components through tokens, especially if attached to your products.

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When a customer buys a product that comes with an NFT and token-gated advantages, they know they’re getting more bang for their buck.

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7. Token-gated commerce for exclusive sales

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Sell highly limited products to specific token holders to generate more value and interest in joining your web3 community.

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8. Valuable insights with traceability 

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When you use token gating, you can easily trace who uses your benefits and when, as well as who they sell to. You can use this information to improve your overall brand and find out what interests people.

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9. Customer buy-in

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Not only would customers get exclusive value from tokens, but they could possibly turn a profit when they sell them. When they join a token-gated community and club, they invest in the brand with the potential for real return on investment.

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10. Recurring revenue

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If your token gating is linked to a card or art as an NFT, you make a percentage of that sale and further revenue when it’s resold.

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This is a substantial opportunity—considering that your project could increase in value as it becomes more popular. It can increase your revenue or help you re-invest as you build your brand’s future in web3.

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Examples + use cases of token gating

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1. Enriching brands through social clubs

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When Liverpool FC wanted a way to build its fanbase community, Mojito knew it could utilize token gating for the best solution.

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The club launched the LFC Heroes Club collection on Sotheby’s Metaverse. These NFTs not only provided great art and collectible assets but jump-started a digital membership club.

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This technology establishes ways for sports teams to connect with their fan base, rewarding them and even converting them into partial owners through distinct forms of on-chain digital collectibles. 

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These digital assets can be seamlessly claimed, purchased, sold, or held.

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With ownership of an LFC Heroes Club NFT, fans gained entry to a community with virtual hangouts, match day activations, generous giveaways, spirited competitions, real-world meetups, guest appearances, discounts on Liverpool Club merchandise, and other benefits.

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While the NFTs are original, authentic, and limited edition digital collectibles, the project goes beyond memorabilia. It delivers real-world utility and benefits to its owners.

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Brand-led membership programs are one of the next major things in web3. There is no better place to start than the global sports community, which has long united people worldwide around a common passion. 

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This pioneering launch by LFC pushes the frontiers of worldwide fan engagement, with a ripple effect anticipated across diverse industries as major brands embrace the practice.

2. Elite access 

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Lyrical Lemonade released an NFT project collection of different carton designs. The media and events company took full advantage of token gating when it limited the NFTs to 500 and required ownership to get exclusive access to rewards.

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Holders get merchandise only available to them and exclusive NFT ownership opportunities. Owners also get tickets to the Summer Smash event.

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Mojito facilitated the project by building out the token-gated website and platform to make the project successful.

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Toni Sudimac, Head of Partnerships at Lyrical Lemonade, stated in an interview with Boardroom:

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“Our thing was that we wanted to protect what Lyrical was and not make any abrupt changes because the last thing that we would want to do is alienate our supporters. So that’s where the idea for the Carton collection came in. We wanted to kind of test the waters and do it in a way that was true to us.”

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The test worked. Because of Lyrical Lemonade's success, the organization wants to invest more in web3 opportunities. 

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In the same article, Sudimac expressed his wishes to streamline the entire token-gated experience, mentioning that at future festivals he would like holders to scan their NFT for direct access at the entrance. 

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Token gating, web3, and brands

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As web3 provides more opportunities and consumers increasingly crave community, endless possibilities exist to create a growing and loyal customer base.

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Web3 applications and opportunities are new and developing, and the brands that take advantage now will position themselves for future growth opportunities unique to them. 

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As managers and leaders work to find ways to introduce their brand to web3, they can utilize token gating to get started and leverage its practical uses now.

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Choosing your partner to launch token-gated experiences

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When you’re developing your token-gated project, there are many factors to consider. 

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You want the process to be user-friendly and enjoyable for your customers. You also want it to be successful, secure, and able to position your brand for continued growth. 

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The right partner can deliver your infrastructure, UX, and go-to-market so that you can successfully launch your web3 initiative. 

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Mojito's consumer engagement platform makes using blockchain technology, NFTs, and token gating simple. 

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Our solutions combine the user-friendliness of web2 platforms with web3 benefits. You can create your own NFT platform marketplace, mint NFTs, launch NFT drops, nurture customers, generate reports, and more.

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Mojito’s winning API and enterprise SaaS solution provide you with the following (and more):

• Token gating setup and management 
• Dynamic NFT setup and management
• Simplified wallet setup and management (non-custodial and custodial options)
• Memberships, rewards, and loyalty program setup and management
• Fiat and crypto payments on primary and secondary sales
• Free mints, buy-now drops, Dutch auction, and standard auction
• Secondary marketplaces to list for sale and make offers
• Minting setup and smart contract deployment
• Smart contracts and automation 
• Insights and reports
• Multi-party royalty splitter 
• Product guides, FAQs, and technical support

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Web3 memberships are the future of brand loyalty, and token gating makes it possible to customize and build your club for passionate customers. Communities fuel brand growth, and it’s never been a better time to get started with web3.

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Once brands build a thriving membership online, there’s no telling where that momentum will lead. Devoted fans become ambassadors, launching a buzz campaign that doesn’t stop.

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But if companies want to maximize their success, they need to start now. This is the perfect time to build a community foundation so that you become the market leader when web3 adoption comes full circle. 

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Learn how to take advantage of token gating and web3 opportunities with Mojito. Get in touch with Mojito today to bring your web3 strategy to life and make your token-gating vision a reality.

NFTs have already revolutionized the way we think about digital ownership and creativity. But now, a new type of NFT is taking the world by storm: dynamic NFTs. Dynamic NFTs are digital assets that can change over time, so the artwork, music, or other asset associated with the NFT can be updated or modified after it's minted. This innovative technology opens a whole new world of possibility for the way an NFT can be utilized.

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In this blog post, we will explore the impact of dynamic NFTs on the NFT landscape, and discuss the benefits of dynamic NFTs for creators and collectors to explore the innovative ways that dynamic NFTs are being used today.

What Are Dynamic NFTs

Imagine having a digital asset that transforms over time, reacting to real-world happenings or interactions from users. Dynamic NFTs bring a whole new level of excitement by changing how they look, their traits, or even behavior to create immersive experiences that seamlessly blends art, technology, and interaction.

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This kind of flexibility and adaptability is especially valuable in industries like commerce and luxury, where customer engagement is key. Brands can easily refine tokenized assets or even completely transform their visual appeal, offering a service that caters to evolving demands.

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Capabilities of a Dynamic NFT

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Update Metadata

Brands are dynamic, and their messaging needs to evolve alongside them. Thanks to Mojito, the power to modify every aspect of an NFT is at your fingertips. Whether it's altering descriptions, attributes, or other particulars, this can now be done effortlessly. The days of being confined to the initial creation are over.

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Keep your blockchain assets up-to-date, perfectly aligned with your brand's growth and evolving message. What's remarkable is that you don't need any coding experience to make these updates, ensuring that the process remains accessible and user-friendly for everyone involved.

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Changing NFT Art

Visual aesthetics are a driving force behind an NFT's perceived value. The innovation of dynamic NFTs provides brands with the unique capacity to effortlessly modify or revamp the artwork of their tokenized assets.

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This capability proves highly advantageous for brands wanting to align NFT visuals with shifting seasons, limited-time collaborations, or a fresh visual identity. This feature is particularly useful for brands that want their NFTs to reflect seasonality, limited-time collaborations, or simply a revamped aesthetic.

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How can I get started with these tools?

For Developers: Our Dynamic NFT API offers a potent toolbox for developers familiar with programming. Backed by comprehensive documentation and robust support, seamlessly integrating and managing Dynamic NFTs becomes a breeze.

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No Code Users: The age of no-code solutions is here, and Mojito is at its forefront. With intuitive no-code tools, brands can mint and manage Dynamic NFTs with a few clicks. No programming knowledge? No problem. Mojito ensures that the world of NFTs is open to everyone, regardless of their tech proficiency.

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Jumpstart your journey with Mojito: In offering unparalleled flexibility in managing blockchain assets, Mojito seeks to give your brand the tools to tweak the specifics of your NFT, give it an entirely new look or do something creative that we haven’t considered.

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Recently, wallets-as-a-service startup Magic raised $52mm from PayPal and others. This post breaks down what 'wallets-as-a-service' means, introduces similar solutions in Paper, Crossmint, Sequence, and Coinbase, and how brand and agency leaders should think about this within their broader consumer engagement strategy.

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'Wallets-as-a-service' is not about hardware wallets like Ledger for self-sovereign diehards, or self-hosted web wallets like MetaMask that require safely storing a seed phrase offline and paying your own gas. It's not for web3 natives, in other words. It's for onboarding the mainstream!

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'Wallets-as-a-service' are one of several emerging technologies that make up the growing 'web2.5' trend in general, which is about making selective decentralization trade-offs in pursuit of a seamless user experience that still delivers on digital ownership and interoperability.

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How 'wallets-as-a-service' work, and how brands and consumers benefit

If you've ever tried to set up a web3 wallet, you know how much friction is involved.

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Instead of a simple email-password, you are given a 'seed phrase' of random words that you need to write down and store offline for maximum safekeeping. This is how web3 maintains full decentralization: no one but you is capable of gaining access to your account or acting on your behalf. This is great for certain use cases when users are ready to climb the learning curve, but for onboarding new consumers to the space with sometimes free-to-earn digital assets, it's just overkill.

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Of course, the opposite of a fully decentralized wallet is a fully custodial wallet: one in which the brand owns, controls, and is liable for the users' wallets and their contents. This approach may be right for some brands (though we at Mojito often question it), but for others looking for a middle ground: 'wallets-as-a-service' was born.

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Wallets-as-a-service use an underlying technology called multi-party computation.

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Instead of asking consumers to store their own private key with a seed phrase offline, the private key is 'sharded' into three fragments of data, two of which are needed in order to control the wallet. Each is encrypted and authenticated uniquely:‍

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1. Email/SMS -- One fragment is tied to the consumer's email or phone number, and requires proof of ownership through a one-time password like 2FA.

2. Local Device ID -- Another fragment is tied to the consumer's physical device or browser that was used to create the wallet.

3. Vendor Solution -- The third fragment is stored by the wallet-as-a-service provider with a range of security options, some better than others.  

The consumer can operate the wallet with two of the three shards, while the wallet-as-a-service company can never unilaterally gain control.

THIS IS ALL IN THE BACKGROUND.

The consumer is never aware or bothered by any of this. This makes for a seamless wallet experience where users don't pay gas, and brands don't take on unnecessary risk or liability because the wallet is also non-custodial.

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Our 0.02 ETH 🍃

Mojito has met with all of these teams, tried all of their tech, and used multiple in the wild with customers.

• Magic -- The most well-funded, largest headcount, and longest tenured team, however, also the priciest and most centralized in terms of security.
  
  
• Paper -- The fastest, most secure, and most white-labeled product we tested on the market with the most flexible team and approach to partnerships.
  
  
• Crossmint -- The most b2b2c focused in terms of creating a direct-to-consumer connection with their own brand and family of growing apps.
  
  
• Sequence -- The most gaming focused, and farthest ahead on smart contract wallets (ERC-4337).
  
  
• Coinbase -- Mobile-only 'wallet-as-a-service' right now, but already has one of the best self-hosted wallets with their exchange and on/off-ramps plugged in.

At Mojito, we believe the future of consumer engagement is onchain.

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‍This is important for you to know -- brand and agency leaders -- but consumers should not need to know or understand this any more than 'omnichannel'. That's what web2.5 is all about, and wallets-as-a-service are a helpful piece of that puzzle (dynamic NFTs, too!), which will continue to evolve.

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The key thing to solve for isn't your wallet provider. They're largely at parity and easily interchangeable / upgradeable. The key thing is your holistic product offering, which isn't influenced or constrained by your 'wallet-as-a-service' provider, but instead unlocked by use-case solutions like Mojito, which has wallet-as-a-service built right in.

Mojito enables brands to launch end-to-end web3 consumer engagement campaigns including wallets-as-a-service, fiat and crypto payments, free mint and paid drop mechanics, white-label secondary marketplaces, token-gating, and onchain rewards.

With Mojito, you can tailor your brand experiences for mainstream users only, web3-natives only, or both.

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As always, we love talking web3 consumer engagement with brand and agency leaders. Whether you're sourcing tech solutions with a clear scope, timeline and budget in mind, or you're just getting started, Mojito can help you every step of the way. Share your contact details and our team will reach out for an exploratory chat. Get in touch.

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NFT ‘metadata’ has mostly consisted of JPGs, GIFs, and MP4s, and the more advanced collections have traits and rarity. Critically, creators haven't changed the metadata, in some cases they even ‘froze’ it to prevent tampering or ‘rugs’ post-mint.

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But innovative brand and agency leaders are poking holes in this dogma, and starting to realize what is possible with ‘dynamic metadata’ – updating a consumer's NFT metadata over time. It’s not just about possible new artforms or content, it’s about the fundamentals of how brands and agencies leverage consumer data itself.

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“NFTs: your ticket into a brand’s action," wrote MediaMonks Web3 Director Michael Litman.
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‍‍"We’re entering an ownership era where everyone has a chance to own a piece of the action. This ownership partly lies in NFTs or digital collectibles, which can be many things—an artwork that evolves over time as users get involved, a digital object, and more.”

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How will brands and agencies personalize experiences and tailor ads in a future without cookies? How will developers create unified consumer experiences across disparate brand properties or different brands altogether? How can consumers achieve a more elevated digital experience without compromising on privacy?‍

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Dynamic NFTs may be part of the solution. It’s not a consumer-facing term by any means, but it may soon become a key piece of every brand and agency's consumer data and engagement strategy. Here’s an explainer, today’s most helpful use cases, and where we see Dynamic NFTs going at Mojito.

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What are Dynamic NFTs?

First it’s worth clarifying: What is an NFT?

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An NFT is an unique digital asset owned by a single individual or entity at any given time. This digital asset maintains its own records, too: NFT 'metadata' can reference a near-unlimited amount of content, code, and raw data. When consumers 'connect wallet' to websites or apps, the brand can 'see' what assets they own and 'read' the metadata.

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Traditionally, creators ‘froze’ or otherwise swore to never change their NFT metadata after minting. Imagine buying a physical product off the shelf, and by the time you brought it home, the manufacturer had somehow altered it completely, or even somehow ‘deleted’ it. This is why best practice was to never change the metadata: otherwise, consumers couldn't trust its lasting value.

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But then some people got creative, and wanted to play with the idea of dynamic onchain art where the work changes over time, and not only that, but changes based on signals it receives from the internet (!!). One of the earliest and most famous examples of this is the Bitcoin Volatility Art by Matt Kane that changes daily based on the past 24 hours of Bitcoin trading activity.

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Our 0.02 ETH 🍃

• Bitcoin Volatility Art dynamically updates its metadata based on recent market trends, but there's no reason it couldn't be driven by anything else. What offchain sources of engagement data would you wish to capture, reflect or incentivize onchain?
  
  
• Brands and agencies don't necessarily need to do anything other than 'update' the NFT metadata with these touchpoints, and possibly maintain an omnichannel 'consumer profile score'.
  
  
• This would then be 'readable' by any website or app to enable personalized experiences on first-party and third-party platforms. These insights have gotten people in our industry thinking….

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LaMelo Ball (NBA) - Dynamic Content

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‍In 2021, NBA star LaMelo Ball sold 10,000 digital collectibles in partnership with Chainlink, a company that specializes in bridging offchain and onchain data, with the premise that if Ball should win the Rookie of the Year award later that season, the collectibles would 'evolve in a more powerful version'. This means dynamically updating its visual appearance as well as its 'rarity', an important aspect of collectibles markets.

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Our 0.02 ETH 🍃

• Imagine fantasy sports, reality TV, or other 'live data' enhancements driving desirable outcomes in a consumer's chosen collectibles, say, during a prediction or even betting contest. What would be right for you?

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Australian Open (tennis) - Dynamic Content & Rewards

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‍In 2022, the Australian Open sold 6,776 digital collectibles called AO ArtBalls in partnership with Hawk-Eye, a company that linked each NFT to a specific area on the court and triggered dynamic updates to corresponding NFT for each match point.

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AO Artball 'lucky winners' each earned 'upgraded' NFT artwork, but also free redeemable tickets to the next tournament.

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Our 0.02 ETH 🍃

• Upgrade the artwork when relevant, sure, but add loyalty points or access to free redeemables dynamically within the same NFT metadata, and the reward is suddenly that much more real and valuable.

‍gmoney & 9dcc (fashion) - Dynamic Rewards & Community

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Crypto-native lifestyle brand 9dcc incentivizes weekend wear amongst its ambassadors through flash mini-games that generate loyalty points and is only playable if you have the NFC-chipped garment nearby (or preferably, on your person).

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Founder and CEO gmoney designed these 'network points' to be a dynamic element within the 9dcc ecosystem, stored offchain but tied to each consumer's onchain identity.

"How do you find and incentivize those fervent brand people to become bigger ambassadors? That’s what I’m trying to mess around with." @gmoney

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Our 0.02 ETH 🍃

• The future of consumer engagement is onchain. But that doesn't mean that literally all the data is onchain, public, transparent and immutable. Here we see gmoney decide to store his network points offchain for privacy but with an onchain reference (i.e. wallet, NFT pass) to leverage within his own platforms or others where he shares permission.
  
  
• This is indicative of a broader trend within web3 called web2.5 (coined by yours truly!). Rather than decentralizing everything, this term refers to applications that blend centralized and decentralized tech in order to achieve a necessary balance between desirable web3 features, a smooth and familiar user experience, and corporate risk management. This is our specialty at Mojito!

What are the brand benefits for Dynamic NFTs today?

You can’t sell consumers a better database. You need to sell applications and benefits instead. So what can brands and agencies offer with Dynamic NFTs today?

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• Onchain Loyalty Points – Distribute fan or membership passes, then increment/decrement their loyalty points ‘in the metadata’ every time they interact with your brand or redeem rewards. Omnichannel, omniplatform, cross-brand. No fungible tokens necessary. Lightest possible legal and operational lift for web3 rewards program.
  
  
• Personalized Token-Gating – Deliver richer experiences and tailored rewards informed not just by token ownership alone, but all relevant engagement data including social, ecommerce, and IRL. Gate websites, apps, games, and events. Generate and distribute additional points at the point of ‘check-in’ for surprise and delight.
  
  
• Memberships/Subscriptions – Sell time-access passes with expiration dates in the metadata. Consumers may keep their passes after expiration for limited access to certain community spaces or re-entry discounts, but to retain access to members-only spaces, they would need to pay a subscription fee or simply ‘buy more time’ on their expiration date. Token-gates would read not just the presence of the pass but the expiration date within its metadata to determine whether to let the user through.
  
  
• Physical x Digital Enhancements – Pair NFC-enabled spaces, objects, and garments with digital rewards schemes to drive IRL engagement and a bridge from geo-constrained, time-limited physical experiences to boundless, timeless digital ecosystems. Making a bit of a comeback, the humble NFC chip delivers a more delightful user experience than QR codes, and is much more technically capable, too, meaning many clever ways to ‘read’ and ‘update’ a user’s NFT metadata through ‘proof of proximity’ engagement campaigns

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"Web3 wallets are the new cookies but the difference is that, this time, it belongs to the customer," said Salesforce SVP Marc Mathieu.
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‍"The big difference is that these people are no longer just consumers, they want to be co-creators co-innovators, collaborators, and co-beneficiaries.”‍

Here's how to get started with Dynamic NFTs for your brand:

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1. Identify 2-5 key engagements you want to track and reward digitally.
2. Define 1-2 valuable rewards and thresholds for engagement.
   
3. Contact Mojito to get it all done, on budget and on time.

As always, we love talking web3 consumer engagement with brand and agency leaders. Whether you're sourcing tech solutions with a clear scope, timeline and budget in mind, or you're just getting started, Mojito can help you every step of the way. Share your contact details and our team will reach out for an exploratory chat. Get in touch.

‍

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Image credit: Vanessa Bucceri

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At the start of 2023 Mojito made some bold predictions for web3 adoption this year. As June is around the corner, let’s see how we are doing...

🍃 The term ‘NFTs’ is replaced with ‘Digital Products’ 🟢 On track

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More loyalty-focused programs are gaining traction (e.g. Starbucks Odyssey, Nike .Swoosh), new giants have launched memberships (e.g. Adidas ALTs) and major sporting IP has delivered 1m+ claims (e.g. ‘Inside the NBA' on TNT watch-to-earn program). Almost none of these global initiatives are using the term ‘NFT’s’, but rather things like ‘digital collectible.’

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Every single loyalty program in the future will use digital tokens (NFTs) to capture, incentivize, and reward consumer interactions, and we will continue to see focus on loyalty points rather than the NFT tech and terminology behind it.

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🍃 The Rise of Physical Asset-Backed Tokens 🟢 On track

A number of brands launch digital twins, NFC chipped products and there's significant growth in builders within tokenization of physical assets. Asset-backed tokens are being 'redeemed' for physical items ('Redeemables') with increasing frequency, from KITH x Invisible Friends campaign, Nike’s Cryptokicks to Avenged Sevenfold ticket access.

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🍃‘Connect Wallet’ Across Major Websites  🟢 On track

There’s a shift towards brands offering token-gated accounts as secure user authentication, that's invisible to the customer. Instead of managing different accounts and password, with web3, customers are starting to connect a wallet to verify their membership status and gain access. Customers can get access to subscription-only content (e.g. TIMEPieces for TIME subscriptions) and potentially other future rewards (e.g. Mastercard Music Pass offering AI generated experiences).

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🍃 Web3 Goes Web2.5 🟢 On track

Web3-native projects are exploring the transmedia franchise landscape to attract new ‘non crypto’ fans into their universes. e.g. Pudgy Penguins launched Toys on Amazon, and World of Women launched WOWGs Monopoly Game. Metaverse Web2.5 has seen major brand activations to scale traffic and DAUs (e.g. Roblox x Gucci x Vans and Coachella in Fortnite)

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🍃EVM Chains Will Dominate Non-EVM Chains 🟠 Too early to call

Brands continue to choose Polygon and Ethereum for their web3 activations and loyalty programs as a clear winner. That being said, with the excitement of ordinals, Asprey Bugatti launched a few weeks ago with a Bitcoin NFT project. EVM chains have faired better in the bear

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🍃The End of the 10k PFP Projects And Money Grabs 🟠 Too early to call

It seems to be the end as we know them. Web3-native 10k PFP projects solely focused on floor price and speculation, but yet to deliver tangible utility at scale, have struggled. Large scale NFT launches have been reframed. Nike .Swoosh is a new "community experience" that sold 50,000 on May 24th. Doodles is a "media franchise." Boss Beauties is a "media + entertainment brand." Deadfellaz is a "collection + metaverse brand." 

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🍃Brand-Hosted Secondary Marketplaces 🟢 On track

Major brands (e.g. Sothebys, Amazon, Mattel) and bluechip NFT projects (e.g. Art Blocks, 9dcc) have launched Direct-to-Consumer marketplaces with enforceable royalties and an elevated user experience.

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🍃More NFTs for DAO Membership Management 🔴 Few use cases

DAOs have fallen back in their promise to be the governance model of choice. Notable exceptions include the mighty Nouns DAO that have been funding wide ranging CC0 projects to accelerate the Nouns brand.

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If you'd like to explore any of these use cases, contact us

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‍Image credit: RTFKT x Nike Cryptokicks

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Here’s an explainer on Redeemable NFTs, today’s most helpful use cases and build considerations based on a number of active projects and exciting conversations with brand leaders at Mojito.

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What are Redeemables?

Redeemable NFTs are a digital token that can be exchanged for a physical good or service in the future (e.g. physical items, pre-sales, tickets, merch, physical artwork, special offers, access). Along with RWAs (real-world assets) and asset-backed NFTs, these terms are all used interchangeably, so for the purposes of this explainer, we’ll call them Redeemables.

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Redeemables are gaining significant traction as a way for brands to seamlessly tie together physical goods and digital twins, giving the brand enhanced engagement/loyalty opportunities as well as net new revenue streams.

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What are the brand benefits of offering Redeemables?

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• 🛍️ Offers consumers tangible value | This makes a digital NFT more attractive to potential primary and secondary buyers because they can at least peg the value of the NFT to something tangible in the real world. 
• 🖼️ Better liquidity and optionality for consumers | Especially for traditionally illiquid and siloed markets like art, handbags, sneakers, watches, or wine & spirits, NFTs offer brands and buyers more transparency and optionality when buying and reselling. 
• 💹 Secondary market revenue for brands | Every time the Redeemable NFT (which represents the physical good or service onchain) trades hands, the brand can receive a piece of that sale through a royalty enforced on-platform and possibly beyond. 
• 💰New revenue streams for brands | Tap royalties from the secondary market. Generate incremental revenue from preorder trading. Incentivize stockpiling with future rewards and benefits.
• 🧐 Authentication to ensure a premium product experience on the secondary market | Redeemables can also offer authentication assurances to ensure an excellent Brand experience in the primary and secondary. Examples include a Certificate of Authenticity (e.g. Nike Air Force 1s or Ticketmaster tickets), or storage assurance (e.g. temperature, packaging, light for Wine) or insurance certificates (luxury products).  
• 👀 Open-source visibility of redemption events | When a redemption occurs onchain, one NFT is submitted to the brand and another NFT from a 'redeemed' collection' is received in its place. This method enables distinct clarity between Redeemed and Unredeemed NFTs onchain while retaining the ability to market to users based upon onchain data and assets.

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What are some notable use cases? 

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Retail 

Nike’s Cryptokicks are digital collectibles that can be redeemed for their physical counterpart sneakers in a process RTFKT calls ‘Forging.’ During Nike x RTFKT’s Forging events, "holders of eligible digital collectibles can redeem for limited made-to-order physical products. Forging events last for a limited time, so always check for dates and set reminders."

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Premium fashion

Cristóbal Balenciaga’s ‘To the Moon’ drop came with redeemables such as Balenciaga gear, gift cards to designer Brands and even the 70-year-old drawings by Cristóbal.

Sport

Every Australian Open tennis AO ArtBall NFT was redeemable for 2 tickets to the Australian Open tennis grand-slam in 2023.

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Premium beverages

Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky launched 200 limited-edition ‘Chinese Lunar New Year NFTs’. Each NFT is linked to a physical bottle of Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Gran Reserva single malt and serves as a digital receipt verifying ownership and authenticity. NFT collectors can hold it, resell on an NFT marketplace, or redeem it for the physical bottle.

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Considerations for creating Redeemables

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What happens to the NFT when someone redeems the real-world asset? In short, it depends on how the brand builds it.

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A number of options are possible with differing pros and cons, with one winning approach emerging. 

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1. 🔥 ‘Burn it’

The NFT is burned when the consumer redeems the physical good or experience. The NFT is no longer functional or ‘owned’ by anyone.

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Pros: simplest to execute. campaign is over.

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Cons: ‘Burning NFTs’ removes people from your token-holding community, which brands very typically shouldn't want to do.

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2. 🛍️ ‘Trade it in’‍

Consumer sends the NFT to the brand’s treasury wallet, and once received, the brand ships them the physical item. The NFT is now owned by the brand.

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Pros: the brand owns the NFT supply and could choose to resell to other holders at a later date.

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Cons: the brand loses a valuable customer, the consumer is no-longer invested in the success of the NFT project, only enjoying the lifetime value of the physical item. It signals that the brand sees more value from owning it than the customer does.

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3. 📭 'Stamp it’

When the consumer redeems the physical good, the NFT metadata is updated to distinguish [REDEEMED] v [UNREDEEMED].

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Pros: Consumers are still invested in the success of the NFT project. Maintaining ongoing onchain continuity is a priority for both the brand and holders.

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Brands get access to a secondary market, authentication assurances, new revenue streams and opportunities to create imaginative loyalty tiers that build LTV.

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Consumers get to choose whether they claim the physical item. Secondary buyers get access to a liquid open marketplace with assurances the NFT will come with the right to claim the physical item.

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Cons: Depending on the secondary marketplace experience, consumers may not be able to decipher between the REDEEMED and UNREDEEMED markets and offerings with this technical method, which can result in buyer regret and negative sentiment from purchases of NFTs where the physical item was already redeemed. This is easily managed by issuing a second token. How? Read on:

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Serving up a ‘Stamp it’ example from tennis

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To crystallize the ‘Stamp it' concept, we’ll unpack a live brand case study where physical items were linked to the NFT, in this example as ‘tickets’ to a live event.

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For any brand leader in another vertical, the ‘tickets’ could easily be interchanged with any physical POS item like premium handbags, sneakers etc. 

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NFT Collection 1 

The tennis grand slam event Australian Open launched an NFT project with 6776 NFTs in Collection 1 uniquely numbered #0001 - #6776. The artwork from Collection 1 are tennis balls wrapped with art hence AO ArtBall.

The Redeemables

Every Australian Open NFT from Collection 1 gets to claim 2 tickets to the Australian Open 2023 finals week starting 20th January 2023, for free, redeemed via a simple token-gated experience.

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NFT Metadata on Collection 1 was updated

When consumers redeemed their tickets, the NFT metadata was updated to show REDEEMED. The metadata makes up the NFT and is traceable on the blockchain.

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Additional NFTs from Collection 2 are issued to holders 

At the same time, for consumers who redeemed the tickets, the Australian Open issued them a new NFT from Collection 2 [CLAIMED], directly to their wallet. Collection 2 NFTsfor example could have different artwork, a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) that provides extra validation that the Ticketmaster tickets are genuine.

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Why? This is two-fold

1. The Brand, Australian Open can isolate which NFTs are associated with [CLAIMED] tickets, distribute tickets to holders via Ticketmaster, track trading data, the floor price of Collection 1 [UNCLAIMED] vs Collection 2 [CLAIMED], reward this new tier of engaged customer i.e. the first claimers of Redeemable tickets, proof of attendance etc; and
2. Potential secondary NFT buyers on the secondary market can see which NFTs have tickets [UNCLAIMED] from collection 1, make a bid with confidence they have the right to receive the 2 tickets. The COA can travel with the tickets.

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Pre-order visibility

Australian Open can forecast token holder attendance at the stadium gates and revenue holders may spend in the precinct; and has enriched data as to which NFT holders are most likely to attend their live experience. 

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Our 0.02 ETH 🍃

We recommend Brands considering adding Redeemables to their loyalty stack issue a second NFT when the physical item is claimed so potential customers can easily distinguish between which NFTs on the secondary have had their physical item claimed. Brands get to track trading data between claimed and unclaimed redeemables and reward a new tier of engaged customers to grow LTV.

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The future of Redeemables with Mojito

We’re weeks away from launching a live example of Redeemables, we can’t wait to share with you. If you’re interested in building Redeemables into your loyalty stack? Get in touch

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Cutting-edge brands are discovering that NFTs can be used in many ways to identify, analyze, track and re-engage high-intent consumers. The most popular method is also the easiest to understand and easiest to implement: Attendance NFTs.

The consumer premise is that event attendees may claim a free NFT in order to prove they were actually there. Brands can offer a simple digital memento, or lay the groundwork for a web3 membership community, rewards program, and more. The good news is that brand leaders don’t have to decide all that upfront. You can enter the market with a simple memento and then add utility later.

The brand value is in list-building, audience insights, and collaboration opportunities. That’s because when a user claims a free NFT, the brand collects their wallet address and can analyze all their onchain data historically and moving forward, including other brand or community associations.

Attendance NFTs are one of the best low-effort, high-reward ways to seed and engage audiences. Human behavior is already there – it’s common to keep a memento to remember an important event, be it concert ticket stubs, a fridge magnet from a souvenir shop, a badge from a conference etc. Attendance NFTs are a digital version of these mementos – proof you were there but with much more exciting functionality for future benefits than just physical keepsakes.

What brands should use Attendance NFTs?

Any brand can create these NFTs with a custom image and information about the event to denote attendance of any type, be it real-world or virtual. The token can easily be distributed to attendees via QR codes, a download link, or via email. With Mojito, consumers don’t even need a wallet to get started.

Unlike other NFTs, attendance tokens don’t tend to trade on secondary markets, but rather are used to denote status or achievement within a community. That said, some Attendance NFTs for major events or special moments sometimes do trade on the secondary market for people looking to collect these mementos – even if they weren’t there themselves to mint them (like this XCOPY POAP for those that participated in his art sale, and this DevCon POAP from the first-ever DevCon conference in 2019).

What do Attendance NFTs look like today?

The web3-native company POAP (Proof-of-Attendance Protocol) pioneered Attendance NFTs over the last 5 years with 27,000 users and more than 6 million NFTs. That said, their service does not mint to Ethereum or Polygon, and the creative is limited to a low-res static image. Others including Mojito have since started offering brands ways to mint Attendance NFTs on more popular blockchains with capacity for high-res imagery, motion graphics, etc. to ensure audiences receive the best digital mementos possible.

Attendance NFTs - Use Cases:

• Group Participation: Online communities give Attendance NFTs to members who attend weekly or monthly meetings, rewarding engagement and participation, like Gmoney did for his The Cutting Edge Twitter spaces.
  

• Event Attendance: Crypto conferences often give out Attendance NFTs to attendees, and collectors can demonstrate how long they’ve been in the industry or showcase repeat attendance to events. Attendance NFTs have been given out at over 100 Ethereum community events so far, many through POAP.
  

• Gamified Engagement: Web3 events sometimes use Attendance NFTs for a scavenger hunt type campaign – encouraging attendees to collect all of the tokens at different locations throughout the event and incentivize participation (like at NFT.NYC 2021).
  

• Capturing Moments: Some web3 games, like Decentraland, use Attendance NFTs to commemorate special milestones or in-game achievements, like the 10 million user milestone party hosted by MetaMask in 2021.
  

• Rewarding Loyalty: Gmoney’s web3 fashion label 9dcc includes a chip in all of his T-Shirts, that allows someone to mint unique Attendance NFTs upon scanning the shirt. Tokens are collected every time someone wears his clothing, so he can see who is representing the brand in public, and at which events.

Attendance NFTs - By Vertical:

• Musicians can issue Attendance NFTs for fans who attend their concerts (concert attendees is often information bands don’t have access to today), and reward superfans with exclusive content or early ticket access in the future.
• Fashion brands can issue Attendance NFTs for fans who attend fashion shows (either in-personal or virtually) to get a better understanding of their audience.
• Sports teams can issue Attendance NFTs for game attendance (in-person or virtually), and even issue special mid-game Attendance NFTs for major moments or victories.
• Entertainers can offer a POA to all fans they meet IRL as a way to start building out their own membership platform/fan club.

Attendance NFTs: What Comes Next?

Attendance NFTs badges allow consumers to show off their community status, but brands can also build on these tokens as a foundation for further consumer engagement:

• Reward consumer loyalty: reward engaged and loyal consumers with a free “thing” – even outside future utility, collecting these badges is a great way for deepening gamified brand loyalty.
  

• Continue the conversation: these NFTs can unlock access to group chats, discounts, future event invitations, more.
  

• Custom benefits: those benefits can be further customized based on things like the dates/times of the Attendance NFTs that were minted.
  

• Message consumers directly: these tokens allow you to have a direct line with attendees: organizers can message all Attendance NFT holders directly, or allow holders to chat with each other.

How do brands use Mojito for Attendance NFTs?

Brands like the Milwaukee Bucks, Liverpool FC, Sotheby’s and CAA have used Mojito to mint free NFTs as rewards for event attendance and brand loyalty with great success. Our team has guided 100s of web3 launches, and can solve problems for clients ranging from technical to user experience to commercial and finally to legal and security. There is no greater way to boost your brands chances of web3 success than partnering with Mojito.

Want to set up Attendance NFTs for your brand’s next physical event, digital live stream, product launch, store opening, conference, brand anniversary, or special moment? Get in touch

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Direct-to-consumer brands eschew selling through intermediaries (e.g. department stores) in order to ‘own’ their customer relationships wherever they can. This means owning their contact information for future marketing, as well as their first-party data such as preferences or shopping habits for personalized offers or experiences. Brands have shown that direct-to-consumer business improves retention, lifetime value, and profitability, so it’s no surprise this has been a dominant trend among B2C companies for the past 20 years.

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In DTC it’s all about ‘who owns the customer;’ in web3, the customer owns the brand as much as the brand owns the customer, and we believe this symbiotic evolution is transformatively positive for both parties.

This co-ownership model is achieved through brand NFTs, fungible currencies (eg. $FWB), or both, but it essentially means ‘tokenizing’ brand IP and allowing consumers to acquire, use and sell brand tokens at any time – frictionlessly, instantly and globally. Consumers get to own the unique asset itself, with all its possible benefits, but also own a share in the brand’s overall equity. This direct incentive alignment drives consumers to take it upon themselves to grow the brand as co-beneficiaries in its success. This is any marketer’s dream: an army of brand evangelists with a built-in affiliate model. Meanwhile, consumers passionate about their favorite brands get rewarded more directly for their evangelism. Win-win!

Consumers are already buying digital products. Last year consumers spent $2 billion on Roblox and $5 billion on Fortnite alone… and billions of hours on these platforms interacting with brands. But these assets are landlocked and can only be used within their native platforms. Web3 enables different digital products. Instead of being landlocked and ruggable, NFTs are interoperable and fully owned.

Brands are creating their own web3 platforms, not just products. Consumer giants like Nike understand the potential of a digital product line, generating over $186mm so far from NFTs. Late last year, they announced the launch of .SWOOSH, a community-based platform for digital shoes and jerseys that also unlock access to events, physical products, and co-creation opportunities. They are selling these digital products direct-to-consumer with creative ways to upsell and cross sell.

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Secondary markets offer new ongoing revenue streams. Consumer brands today rarely capture any value when their items are resold. Unlike physical products, NFTs can be encoded with a ‘royalty’ such that every time it trades hands on the secondary market, a fraction of the payment is sent to the brand automatically. Web3 native brand Bored Ape Yacht Club has generated tens of millions in primary sale revenue, and more than $100mm in secondary royalties. That’s a new business model, and major traditional brands have noticed. Adidas and TIME have generated $5mm and $4mm, respectively, and Nike has earned more than $90mm in secondary royalties alone. The leading brands are adding custom secondary markets to their sites to retain traffic, stickiness and margins through a complete buying experience for consumers.

NFTs are powering supercharged loyalty programs. NFTs don’t have to be pricey to be effective. Starbucks is moving their 50-million-person loyalty program, which generated $15 billion in revenue last year, over to web3 platform 'Starbucks Odyssey'. They see NFTs improving that program by making loyalty ‘stamps’ ownable, and gamifying engagement in exchange for tradeable benefits like discounts and offers. As all marketers know, it’s always more cost effective to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one. The incentivized nature of web3 adds a new dimension to loyalty and evangelism that big brands are starting to leverage.

NFT communities are dynamic peer-to-peer brand engagement groups. NFTs not only offer a new kind of DTC relationship for brands, but also for consumer to consumer. Token-based brand communities represent ‘fellow owners’ who are actively and organically interacting with each other about the brand in places like Discord and Telegram. This is also a low-effort way for brands to sustain a lively and engaged community: peer-to-peer brand discussions rather than more unidirectional engagements on Instagram and Twitter posts.

There are rich new consumer data insights in web3. Direct-to-consumer brands obsess about ‘first-party data’, essentially proprietary insights they glean about customers through their browsing and buying habits within their own ecosystem. Otherwise, brands have virtually no idea what customers are doing outside their four walls. This means rich customer data is splintered into silos across each brand’s incomplete picture, with no brand able to deliver an optimal experience for lack of full visibility.

Web3 data is much more interesting and powerful because it’s ‘open’ and tied to a consumer’s wallet address on-chain. Take a look at what other digital products they own, from which brands, and how they’re spending their money across all of crypto. All of this information is available and actionable on the blockchain.

The vision for DTC was always for brands to create and sustain lasting relationships directly with their consumer. Instead of a consumption-based relationship with the consumer, in web3 brands and consumers “win” together in a more participatory model. In the traditional sense of DTC, the financial relationship comes down to a “buy now” moment. With web3 and NFTs, it is a ‘buy into now,’ with a value exchange loop that doesn’t end; brand and consumer are intertwined by shared incentives to create value for each other. Consumers benefit from utility and perks, or from resell potential from a liquid ‘always-on’ market. The brand or creator benefits from transaction volume via embedded royalties… in the words of Charlie Munger, “show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome."

It’s certainly not a straightforward to simple step for a global brand to integrate blockchain technology into its existing framework. Those that have succeeded in making the web3 leap like Starbucks, Nike, adidas and Sotheby’s have all done so in different ways – sometimes it’s through membership, sometimes it's through loyalty and rewards, sometimes it's simply through a new digital product line. Brands that will be the winners of this DTC revolution are the ones who see its potential to not only supplement their existing business, but offer entirely new kinds of value to their consumers.

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‍What's the trend?

Why are global brand giants like Nike and Starbucks getting into web3?

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Sure, it might be because younger consumers show an appetite to buy digital products, but the true answer is more fundamental. Global brands are building in web3 for one major reason: data.

Interacting with consumers in web3 introduces a whole new kind of CRM with a richness of data not available to brands in web2. Marketers can see a connected wallet’s complete web3 activity, including interactions with other brands, interactions with other consumers, spending levels, and more.

As a result, the latest trend among global brands in web3 is not to sell NFTs, but to give them away for free – with a focus on building a large tokenized community rather than immediate revenue. When you sell NFTs, naturally you’ll convert fewer than if they are free. The more NFTs you distribute, the more wallets you connect. The most wallets, the bigger your addressable audience and the more you know about them.

Building your web3 audience with free NFTs is a low-cost, low-risk way to develop an engaged and incentivized community. You do not need to deliver as much value on Day One as you would with a high-price NFTs, but instead build up the value proposition over time as you learn more about your consumer.

The most common way to do this is with a free ‘membership’ token distributed to existing users, allowlisted communities, or even the general public. Nike is minting free .SWOOSH ID (~300k so far in beta) for users to co-create and engage in its emerging web3 ecosystem, while Starbucks minted free ‘earnable’ Stamps to users who complete brand engagement ‘journeys’. In both cases, these global brands are onboarding their existing users to web3 and/or attracting web3 native users into their ecosystems, and enriching their consumer datasets at the same time.

This is the next evolution of consumer web3. No more quick and dirty cashgrabs. Instead, brands will focus on building their web3 dataset, seeding their web3 community, and growing consumer value over time in order to increase lifetime value and evangelism.

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‍Build your web3 audience with free NFTs

Here are proven ways you can capitalize on this growing trend:

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So what questions can you ask the data?

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🤔 What percentage of existing customers converted to our free NFT? How many of those wallets have any prior web3 activity? How many are brand new to crypto? What’s different about these customers compared to those who did not convert?

🤔 Of the new users to your brand, what’s their prior web3 activity? How do these users differ from your existing customers who converted?

🤔 Of those with prior web3 activity, what third-party collections and platforms have they interacted with, how often, how recently, and how much was spent? What are the other most popular NFTs your community owns?

What happens next? Ok, your free NFT strategy worked, and you now have a large and active web3 community clamoring for more. This is when it gets exciting:

🎁 Token-gated experiences: Brands can offer value to web3 audiences by gating content, merchandise, events, and more behind ‘token-gates’. These are webpages or mobile apps that require a user to prove ownership of a specific NFT in order to access or interact. This is an immediate way to make a free NFT valuable to the owner.

🎁 Token-based personalization: More than just an access token, where all NFTs within a collection carry effectively the same value, brands can also detect that someone owns a certain trait, number, or set of tokens, and then deliver a personalized experience around that.

🎁 Token-based collaborations: Web3 interoperability makes brand collaborations and community cross-pollinating extremely easy and effective. Brands can offer token-gated value not only to their own NFT audience, but others as well. This is an effective way to reward holders, create buzz and grow community.

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How can Mojito help?

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Web3 is moving past its experimental phase into its early adopter phase, and innovative brands are already staking out their territory and setting the bar high. This means the time to start building your own web3 community was yesterday.

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Mojito has powered free NFT drops for the Milwaukee Bucks, Liverpool FC, Sotheby’s, CAA, Lyrical Lemonade and more. Get caught up quick and build a foundation for future campaigns with low-risk, low-cost free NFT activations powered by Mojito.

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Image credit: Lexus

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‍What launched?

While the cost and first-time friction of some luxury brand NFTs can be barriers for mass audiences, luxury car maker Lexus chose to giveaway their beautifully-designed premium Hoverboard NFTs for successful runs of its fun Black Mirror: Bandersnatch-esque game, ‘Crack the Case’.

In celebration of its all-new RX 5th generation SUV, Lexus launched with an interactive ‘choose your own adventure’ game where players can win all five pieces of the one-of-a-kind collection Hoverboard NFT series. Accessible online and from dealerships, anyone can play ‘Crack the Case’ as one of two specialists – Hacker or Locksmith – in a simple interactive, game-of-skill.

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This execution is an elegant, yet accessible, version of Dookey Dash, the BAYC skill-based mint by Yuga Labs. Where the higher players scored, the greater their rewards. Dookey Dash’s grand prize NFT was sold in Feb’23 on the secondary market for $1.6m, following offers reaching $3.6 m. 

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Our 0.02ETH 🍃

Earned NFTs aren’t just for mass market use cases: they can be premium, prestigious grand prizes. Sometimes the value may be derived from 1/1 artwork rarity (e.g. a cult sci-fi collectible), status from human effort attached, or even a redeemable benefit for physical product or experience – all of which can drive crazy secondary sales. Building an elegant game for iconic art is also on-point for engaging the new luxurian demographic for their first mint.

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Covered by Mojito, the web3 consumer engagement platform. Empowering brand leaders with powerful tools to drive consumer engagement, sales, and loyalty for all levels of web3 maturity.

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Image credit: Starbucks

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Odyssey demo

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Starbucks knows loyalty better than most. The Starbucks Rewards program boasts 50 million customers and $15 billion in annual revenue, and the new Starbucks Odyssey NFT experience is the company’s first effort to use web3 to reward loyalty. We got a demo, and let us tell you: this is not your standard NFT drop.

“The experience allows members to participate in a series of entertaining, interactive activities called ‘Journeys'. Once a Journey is complete, members will earn collectible ‘Journey Stamps’ (NFTs) and Odyssey Points that will open access to new benefits and immersive coffee experiences that they cannot get anywhere else.”

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We got a demo, and let us tell you: this is not your standard NFT drop.

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Key features:

• Friendly terminology: As we said in our 2023 web3 predictions post, Starbucks avoids the term ‘NFT’ and uses ‘digital collectibles’ instead. They believe this is more descriptive, and won’t alienate people turned off by NFTs and crypto.
• Non-speculative: NFTs are tradeable assets, even if they also carry other utilities. Starbucks says the NFTs are ownable perks for their gamified loyalty program, and not meant to be high-value speculative assets. But already there have been unexpected multiple 5-figure sales from this collection.
• Web 2.5 for crypto newbies: Starbucks Odyssey users can purchase Stamps directly with a credit card, no crypto or self-custody wallet required. While the NFTs are onchain, Starbucks is using Nifty Gateway’s custodial wallet to ease UX friction.

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Our 0.02ETH 🍃

We're excited to see how this will play out. Starbucks may generate some unexpected cash from the Stamps secondary market, but Stamps therefore may not have the kind of impact on loyalty they had intended.It will be interesting to see whether their userbase will always be okay with custodial wallets especially in low-risk situations like Starbucks NFTs, and if so, how web3 interoperability will be unlocked for brands and users alike.

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Covered by Mojito, the web3 consumer engagement platform. Empowering brand leaders with powerful tools to drive consumer engagement, sales, and loyalty for all levels of web3 maturity.

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Image credit: Starbucks

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‍What launched?

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Starbucks launched its second NFT drop ‘The Starbucks First Store Collection’, a 5k collection of ‘Stamps’ priced at $99 with 1,500 bonus points to redeem against a range of benefits via their web3 loyalty program Odyssey.  

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Catch up quick: The Starbucks Odyssey web3 loyalty program that gamifies engagement with the company’s newest content. Consumers win NFTs for correctly answering trivia, and collecting enough NFTs can unlock exclusive Starbucks products and experiences.

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‍How it works: Starbucks Odyssey prompts members to complete real-world and interactive mini-games called ‘Journeys’ and how to earn more NFTs in return for in-store purchases. This is how consumers accrue loyalty points in the form of NFTs, which can then be redeemed for their benefits of choice (or sold on the secondary market).

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‍What’s new? Starbucks revealed the details of its 3 tiers of benefits, receiving much love from its dedicated brand advocates. Members can engage-to-earn their way up the reward tiers by completing more mini-games, or simply buy their way in. {adjust when send} At the time of send, the floor for Starbucks Stamp NFTs is currently $114 with $206k in trading volume so far

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Our 0.02ETH 🍃

From the early response on crypto twitter, offering members choice across an array of Starbucks perks was a great strategy to entice the range of coffee lovers it serves while driving the triple-bottom line: monetization,, brand education and doing good. Nudging high-value customers to learn the latest product talking points in exchange for discounts on their favorite drinks is the cherry on the top for their brand team.

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Covered by Mojito, the web3 consumer engagement platform. Empowering brand leaders with powerful tools to drive consumer engagement, sales, and loyalty for all levels of web3 maturity.

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Signup for news, trends and analysis on tap. Join 2,000+ brand leaders going deeper into web3

Image credit: Nike

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‍What launched?

Nike is betting on building its own web3 ecosystem based on a.Swoosh, social identity system. The .SWOOSH ID is a soulbound NFT, which means it can never be traded. Instead, it operates like an ID badge within the Nike web3 world and beyond.

This from the company that has generated $186 million in total revenue from NFTs, more than the 10 next best brands combined (see our market report below). Nike says:

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“The new digital community and experience is a home for Nike virtual creations and uses blockchain-powered technology — or what many call “web3” — to offer an inclusive, equitable place for athletes, creators, collectors and consumers to design and own the future of sport.”

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Nike’s platform is a few years in the making. Nike will release its first-ever collection of digital wearables in 2023, which will be informed by .SWOOSH holders and include royalties to the winners who help to co-create virtual products. 

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Our 0.02ETH 🍃

• Nike is building an immersive community, not just an NFT drop.
• Built on Polygon; perfect for large-scale projects with low-cost transactions. Nike has previously only built on Ethereum, so it makes sense they’d want to maintain EVM compatibility while leveraging Polygon’s speed and affordability.
• Nike is ‘seeding’ its web3 community through the free .SWOOSH NFTs -- and so far over 275k unique users have minted! It's a great way to develop an addressable audience of wallet holders, and learn about their users onchain web3 activity. (More on free NFT tactics here.)
• Collaborating with creatives in their community using .SWOOSH NFTs as their identifier is a cool way to reward active fans with revenue-share opportunities for co-creations. Is this the future of remix and collab culture? Leave it to the DTC kings at Nike to shape the way.

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Covered by Mojito, the web3 consumer engagement platform. Empowering brand leaders with powerful tools to drive consumer engagement, sales, and loyalty for all levels of web3 maturity.

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Signup for news, trends and analysis on tap. Join 2,000+ brand leaders going deeper into web3

Image credit: Nike

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‍What launched?

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Five months after launching .Swoosh, Nike’s Web3 community-focused platform, footwear giant launches its first NFT drop, Our Force 1 (OF1). Paying homage to the iconic Air Force 1 sneakers, these will unlock additional benefits for holders in the form of exclusive physical products and experiences. LeBron James was seen wearing the Nike Air Force 1 Genesis sneakers.

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.Swoosh community members co-designed the virtual sneakers

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Four virtual shoe designs envisioned by .Swoosh members were selected to feature in the OF1 drop. According to Ron Faris, general manager of Nike Virtual Studios, “with more members choosing to express themselves across physical and digital worlds, .Swoosh is the marketplace of the future.”

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Catch up quick:

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‍.SWOOSH is a social identity system. The first drop, .SWOOSH ID was a soulbound NFT, which means it can never be traded. Instead, it operates like an ID badge within the Nike web3 world and beyond. Nike says‍:

‍“The new digital community and experience is a home for Nike virtual creations and uses blockchain-powered technology — or what many call “web3” — to offer an inclusive, equitable place for athletes, creators, collectors and consumers to design and own the future of sport.”

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Our 0.02ETH 🍃

Nike is building an immersive collaboration platform, not just an NFT drop. Nike adopted an accessible approach with OF1s offered at a low fixed price point, and SWOOSH NFTs given away for free. In this way Nike has prioritized community participation over quick revenue returns.

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Covered by Mojito, the web3 consumer engagement platform. Empowering brand leaders with powerful tools to drive consumer engagement, sales, and loyalty for all levels of web3 maturity.

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Signup for news, trends and analysis on tap. Join 2,000+ brand leaders going deeper into web3