NFTs in Action: How Brands Implement NFTs for Points and Loyalty Programs

According to current trends, NFT is a technology that can offer many new opportunities not only within artists or collectors but in various B2B and B2C industries. Among its strategic uses, NFTs are changing the meaning of brand loyalty. In fact brands are launching loyalty programs and using NFTs to create and distribute digital loyalty points, coupons, vouchers, and other promotional content. 

These NFTs can be used as rewards for customers who make purchases, participate in promotions or complete other actions that the brand wants to incentivize. Once customers receive these NFTs, they can hold onto them as a form of digital currency or collectible, and potentially trade or resell them on digital marketplaces. This gives these tokens a significant value and helps create a strong acquisition and build brand loyalty. In this way, businesses can increase customer engagement, develop a strong loyalty community and offer a unique and innovative experience. 

Here are some examples of brands offering loyalty programs based on blockchain and NFT technology.

1. Wellness brand Cymbiotika has launched its customer loyalty program with a 4-tier blockchain-based system that unlocks different rewards, with gifts, discounts and offers, based on how long customers stay in the program. Its Co-Founder Chervin Jafarieh said: “We are committed to the belief that health is wealth and deserves rewards. I always tell my inner circle that we are not a one-stop shop for fixing your health; you must stay committed to your health. And what better way to stay committed than by getting rewarded for it.” 

2. Bennet, a leading Italian company in the hypermarket and shopping mall market since 1960, launched the first loyalty project created by a company in the large retail sector based on blockchain technology and NFT. The Bennet NFT Club is an open initiative for everyone, both members and non-members. The user who subscribes can choose between three NFTs collections, which have three different price ranges and therefore offer three different packages of benefits, all of which include the possibility to enter a competition with exclusive prizes up for grabs: NFTs listed on the stock exchange, minted on the blockchain by important brands such as Gucci, Adidas, Nike and The Sandbox. 

Bennet’s purpose is to guarantee its customers new services and exclusive benefits through the use of the metaverse and by a different interaction between the physical and virtual worlds, which will bring added value to users and the whole community. As the company confirms, the initiative has become immediately successful: “We are very proud of our loyalty project based on a community token created thanks to blockchain and NFT technology, which is already enjoying considerable success. The Bennet NFT Club was announced in December 2022… and in just a few weeks, the number of registrants exceeds the NFTs available for this first launch phase (2,700 in total).”

3. Animoca Brands, a company that promotes digital property rights for gaming and the open metaverse, announced in December Mocaverse, its official collection of PFP NFTs designed to boost the company’s ecosystem of Web3 and metaverse projects. The Mocaverse collection includes 8,888 NFTs of characters called Mocas (belonging to one of five tribes: Dreamers, Builders, Angels, Connectors, and Neocapitalists). The Mocaverse consists of four main utility categories: learn, play, build, and do good. In each category, members can interact, meet with other users, and grow the community. 

Moreover, it offers many benefits: opportunities to learn together (such as AMA and expert masterclasses), to play together (through game passes and exclusive game resources), to build together (accelerator program), and to do good together (by organizing and contributing to social causes). Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, commented, “The Animoca Brands community extends around the world and throughout the open metaverse… Mocaverse is an opportunity to create a closer and more synergistic community as we strengthen connections between our teams and our portfolio and create new ways to build the next big projects and platforms.”

4. The renowned German car company BMW plans to integrate decentralized technology in two phases: the first is to facilitate different day-to-day operations. The second phase will involve the development of a blockchain loyalty program for its customers in Thailand. This phase will see Coinweb develop a customized Web3 application for the BMW customer loyalty program. Moreover the program will use a blockchain-based rewards scheme to incentivize BMW Group customers. A customer’s level and status in the ecosystem will be determined by loyalty rewards acquired through various actions. 

Owners will be able to use their rewards to purchase goods and services from BMW and a connected ecosystem in the future. Coinweb CEO Toby Gilbert, talked about the upcoming loyalty program: “Customers will be rewarded with loyalty points and will be able to spend within the ecosystem. Our hope is that there will be a future global rollout, but right now, our partnership is about Thailand.”

5. Magic Eden, the leading Solana-based NFT marketplace, announced the launch of its new loyalty rewards program called “Magic Eden Rewards” in mid-December. The program offers a range of benefits (partner and creator discounts or access to NFT giveaways) to Magic Eden Marketplace users who interact with the platform. 

There are five loyalty bands and a ranking system that rewards users with various benefits based on points earned. In addition, Magic Eden offers buyers dynamic rates to its tiered structure. The goal of these initiatives is to incentivize engagement and encourage NFT merchants to use the innovative cross-chain marketplace.

Magic Eden CEO Jack Lu and head of marketing Tiffany Huang stated: “We want Magic Eden to be a place where collectors and creators connect beyond the transactional level and, instead, a hub where users can more deeply engage with the community.”

Bottomline

FInally NFTs are proving to be a valuable asset for businesses and brands looking to innovate their loyalty programs and create unique experiences for their customers. In fact the examples in this article demonstrate the wide range of ways NFTs can be used to drive customer engagement, increase brand loyalty, and create a sense of exclusivity. From gaming and retail to education or automotive, we have seen how NFTs can be used to reward customers, incentivize purchases and create a sense of community. 

It’s clear that NFTs have the potential to change the way businesses and brands think about loyalty programs. Therefore as the market for NFTs continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how businesses and brands will continue to use this technology to create new and exciting opportunities for their customers.