Nike is making a big splash in Web3 and the Metaverse.
In November 2021, the famous sports brand launched a virtual experience in the online gaming platform Roblox.
Since then, the space known as Nikeland has attracted 6.7 million global visitors, accumulating more than 21.6 million total visits.
While it fell short of Vans' 82 million visits, Nike CEO John Donahue felt the campaign was successful enough to extend "positive momentum and energy" as part of the company's digital strategy.
In December 2021, Swoosh (referring to Nike, Swoosh is Nike's trademark pattern-a small hook, symbolizing the feathers of the wings of the Greek goddess of victory, representing speed, but also representing dynamics and softness) went deep into the Web3 field and acquired NFT Studio RTFKT.
After completing the acquisition, Nike launched a series of NFT products in the next few months, starting with Cryptokicks-a project containing 20,000 sneaker NFTs, including one designed by artist Takashi Murakami, which sold for as much as 134,000 Dollar.
Since then, the company has also offered exclusive giveaways for NFT holders and other phygital (“Physical” + “Digital,” physical plus digital) items.
Nike NFT sales data is amazing
Nike's investment in Web3 has paid off enormously.
Data show that Swoosh’s NFT sales revenue is close to 185 million US dollars, surpassing brands such as Adidas, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Tiffany & Co.-these brands’ combined revenue is less than half of Nike’s.
However, Nike has yet to disclose the terms of the acquisition of RTFKT, and the company's latest earnings call did not provide any clarity on the operating costs of its Web3 joint venture.
So it's impossible to say for sure how financially successful or unsuccessful these campaigns were. For reference, Nike is projected to generate $46.7 billion in annual revenue in 2022.
One thing is for sure: Nike has quickly become one of the most popular brands in the emerging Web3 space.
RTFKT’s Discord server currently has nearly 232,000 members. In comparison, Adidas has a membership of nearly 57,000 as of this writing.
And Web3-native organizations like CryptoPunks and Bored Apes Yacht Club (both owned by Yuga Labs) also lag behind Nike, with 71,000 and 172,000 users, respectively.
Culture is at the heart of Nike's strategy
Crypto Twitter (a dedicated cryptocurrency team formed by Twitter) praised Nike's community-building capabilities.
But Nike's foray into Web3 isn't just a community-building success story, it's a perfect example of using an emerging culture to reach new audiences and stay ahead of the competition.
Culture has been at the heart of Nike's strategy for years. From an athletic performance standpoint, the brand has established itself as a cultural icon in sports, music, lifestyle and art. So it's not really surprising that it's taking the same approach in the nascent Web3 and Metaverse realms.
In an earnings call in 2019, Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings threw out a sentence: "Compared to HBO, our competition with Fortnite (online video game) ( and lose to them) more."
According to Red Hastings, this game is not the so-called streaming media war. Despite the strong output of Disney's production, he understands that the real battle is for attention -- and a lot of it goes to gaming giants like YouTube and Fortnite.
It seems like Nike has a similar awareness of Web3 and the Metaverse. The Swoosh isn't just in a sales race with Adidas, Under Armour, and other apparel giants. It’s also battling for cultural relevance with challenger esports brands and up-and-coming digital fashion companies, many of which have strong momentum in Gen Z and gaming circles.
While still far from Fortnite-level mainstream penetration, digital fashion brands and gaming organizations have carved out business opportunities for themselves in internet culture and the digital economy — peddling skins, wearables and collectibles.
Some companies are even taking advantage of their mainstream popularity to expand into physical goods. The same goes for Yuga Labs, the most popular in the Web3 space, which was recently valued at $4 billion.
By the time Netflix realized it was competing with Fortnite, things had gotten out of its hands. The Swoosh seems less willing to make the same mistake.
Instead, Nike embeds itself in the cultural fabric of Web3 long before the competition begins.
This is the essence of its Web3 strategy. Unlike other traditional brands that see Web3 as a new technology, Nike has realized that technology is only one aspect of something bigger: a new cultural movement.
Source: coindesk
By Jake Stott
Compilation: [email protected]
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