Web3 and NFT in brand strategy

Why Almost All Failed: A Comparison of Launch Strategies

The average lifespan of a brand NFT project is 1,14 years. 84% of tokens never rose above their mint price. This is not market randomness, but a direct consequence of how brands made decisions at the start. Starbucks spent 18 months developing Odyssey and launched in December 2022 year — when the hype around NFT had already peaked and the market was turning downward. The idea was sound: a loyalty program through collectible 'journeys,' but timing killed the project before it could gain momentum.

Nike RTFKT — a contrasting case with a different type of failure: the secondary market exceeded $1 billion, but after the project was shut down, NFTs stopped correctly displaying images, and owners lost access to the art. Technical debt and lack of a long-term support plan for the infrastructure led to a lawsuit over securities.

Porsche’s $1420 mint price excluded nine out of ten potential buyers in the Web3 audience and triggered criticism for being out of touch — the mint was ultimately halted. With its collection featuring BAYC, Punks Comics and GMoney, Adidas sold 30 thousand NFTs at 0.2 ETH each and earned $22 million precisely because entry was affordable, not because it was the bigger brand.

Real benefit of NFT for brands is not from the crypto world

Here lies the main gap in most materials on this topic: almost all analyses revolve around collectible images and metaverses, while the practical side of Web3 remains off-screen. For a brand that does not live in the crypto community, NFT rarely makes sense as an end in itself. But the technology has three applications that do not require a community of avatar holders:

• Authentication certification. The token is linked to a physical product — an item of clothing, wine, electronics — and confirms origin without a centralized database that can be forged or hacked.
• Supply chain management. Each stage of product movement is recorded in an immutable registry — from production to retail sale, which is especially valuable in pharma, luxury, and food products, where batch traceability is important.
• B2B-contracts and licensing. Tokenization of rights to use intellectual property simplifies automatic royalty distribution among partners without intermediaries.

These are not "sexy" cases that agencies do not write about, but precisely here NFT solves the task, not creating an illusion of innovation. If a brand has no problem with counterfeits, supply chain transparency, or complex licensing — there are simply no specialized tasks for Web3, and launching it will become a marketing campaign with an expiration date, as shown by the Yota (VK NFT) case: 1,2 million sticker installations, 31 million reach, brand awareness growth by 30% — excellent figures, but a short campaign, not a long-term asset.

Mint price and monetization moment: where is the boundary

The mistake of almost all failed projects — trying to monetize the community before it has formed. Successful collections followed the reverse sequence: first — access and engagement, then — price.

1. Set the mint at a level that does not exclude the brand's core audience — not crypto enthusiasts, but real customers.
2. Give token holders tangible utility in the first few months — access to the product, events, early releases, not just the right to boast in Discord.
3. Postpone secondary monetization (royalties from resales, paid upgrades) for 12-18 months, until the community becomes a self-sufficient source of organic growth.
4. Introduce premium tiers and raise the entry threshold for new participants only after securing a loyal base.

BAYC, Azuki, and Pudgy Penguins took this approach — they built their communities for years before deeper monetization. Porsche skipped the first step and received market rejection even before launch.

Legal risks that case studies ignore

Analyzing others' successes rarely mentions the legal side, yet for branded NFTs, it's a minefield:

• Copyrights on art. If an NFT is created based on characters or images that belong to third parties (as in the case of using other IP in collaborations), the brand risks receiving a claim even years after launch.
• Trademarks. Using a brand's logo or name in a digital product may fall under a separate class of registration — courts (including the Hermès vs. MetaBirkins case) have shown that brand protection in the physical world does not automatically extend to NFTs.
• Regulation as securities. If an NFT promises yield, staking, or a share of future project profits — regulators may classify it as a security, which became the basis for a lawsuit against Nike RTFKT.
• Obligations for support. Shutting down a platform without a plan to preserve access to content (as in the case of RTFKT) creates legal and reputational responsibility toward token holders.

When an NFT makes no sense at all

The most honest question rarely asked before launch: does the brand's audience have a reason to hold a crypto wallet? If the answer is no, the NFT will solve an image-related problem, not a business one — and cost more than it will deliver. It's worth abandoning the idea if:

• the brand has no issue with authenticity verification, licensing, or supply chain transparency;
• the target audience is older than 45 and does not intersect with the crypto community even indirectly;
• there is no internal company resource to support the platform for more than two years — otherwise, the project's fate will mirror RTFKT's;
• the only goal is to 'be in the trend,' without any metrics other than media mentions.

Nike approached the technical side of the task differently: the .SWOOSH platform is built on Polygon, not Ethereum, which reduced environmental risks and gas costs — and this is a conscious architectural decision, not a checkbox detail. The 'Our Force 1' collection brought in over $1 million in two days precisely on such infrastructure. The conclusion is simple: NFTs in a brand strategy do not work as a trendy accessory, but as a tool for a specific business task — certification, loyalty with real utility, or licensing. Everything else is an expensive imitation of innovation with a shelf life of just over a year.