March 18, 2022
By Anjali Kochhar
2021 was a golden year for NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as the global market generated over $23 billion in trading volume. Considering the growing adoption of NFTs in India, the big NFT trend is here to stay.
“India with a middle-class population which is larger than the population of many countries offers a lucrative platform for NFT based brand campaigns,” says Shivam Thakral, chief executive officer of crypto exchange BuyUcoin.
While the United States is leading the world in integrating NFTs in marketing campaigns and customer engagement, “NFTs are on their way to becoming a major marketing tool for domestic and global brands operating in India,” Thakral told Blockchain Asset Review.
The comments came after another big name in India entered the NFT culture. In a major development, online travel company MakeMyTrip has launched limited-edition non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The artwork for these NFTs, the company said, has been conceptualised and designed to commemorate some of the popular and unexplored travel gems of India giving travellers a chance to own digital collectables of their favourite destinations.
The NFT trend is picking up pace in India. Not just creators and collectors, celebrities including actors Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan, designer Manish Malhotra and cricketer Yuvraj Singh entered the metaverse. Brands like MG Motors and T-series have also shown a growing interest in the NFT space.
Globally, the craze is even bigger. Recently, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the social media platform Instagram will allow the integration of NFTs.
Speaking at the South by Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said, “I’m not ready to kind of announce exactly what that’s going to be today.”
“But over the next several months, the ability to bring some of your NFTs in, hopefully over time be able to mint things within that environment,” he added without mentioning the date of launch of NFTs on the image and video sharing platform.
Not only Instagram, but companies like Microsoft, Warner, Adidas, Nike, Marvel and DC Comics have recently also shown some sort of involvement in the NFT industry.
Raj Kapoor, the chief advisor at Acryptoverse, said, “What started as a quirky niche is quickly becoming mainstream and could very well become a part of every marketer’s arsenal. Billions of dollars of digital NFTs are being traded, generating brand engagement, unlocking new customer experiences, fostering new types of communities and adding new revenues.”
NFTs are radically transforming the advertising industry and helping turn large corporates’ customers into fans, he said. “They are changing the incentive structure in profound ways, as they bring the customer on an exciting and engaging journey. Instead of being forced to watch something consumers are being given something they can actually use,” Kapoor told Blockchain Asset Review.
Another interesting update in the NFT industry is that food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King are increasingly adopting the culture and have been vocal on social media around them. This makes it evident that soon their loyalty programs may have NFT integration too.
On this Kapoor said, “Loyalty programs will increasingly become NFT-based and unlock both digital and real-life awards. This trend is now picking up in India, as many brands are now working on this as now any company that want to attract young customers will have to think about clever ways of using NFTs.”
Anndy Lian, chairman, BigONE Exchange, said, “Food chains getting into the crypto scene is a natural progression. In fact, the NFT and crypto strategy is no different from their current rewards programs.”
Lian suggested that food chains can start giving NFTs to their young customers instead of giving away toys with meals.
“They can from there start to build more stickiness with their customers at a very young age, from NFT to games to “eat-to-earn” in their own metaverse,” he told Blockchain Asset Review.
With the growing adoption, we are eagerly waiting for food chains in India to enter the NFT game soon too, he said.
About the author
Anjali Kochhar covers cryptocurrency stories in India as well as globally. Having been in the field of media and journalism for over three years now, she has developed a sharp news sense and works hard to present information that goes beyond the obvious. She is an avid reader and loves writing on a wide range of subjects.
