Part 1 of this series can be viewed in full through this link
By Sarson Funds, Inc.
The client experience is critical in today’s marketplace and the growth of “phygital,” the union of physical and digital experiences, has seen explosive growth. There are apps for meal pickup and delivery services, banking, news sources, and much more. Websites and customer portals for insurance and healthcare have become the rule and no longer the expectation.
Now, with the growth of blockchain technology, digital experiences take on a whole new dimension. Will Knecht, chief strategy officer at Wendell August Forge has seen this incredible opportunity for his customers and has found a way to provide a first of its kind opportunity for them by introducing their annual Christmas ornament launch as an NFT.
“Every one of our initial 5,000 NFT buyers will receive in addition to their ownership of the NFT a physical coin that we will mint in the physical world—on one side of the coin will be the artwork for the annual ornament, while on the other will be some kind of nod to the new digital world using digitally-inspired art.”
Adding Value
“The other thing would be the unique traits we’re building into our project,” he said. “These are three-dimensional and serial-numbers with a number of traits that make each one of the 5,000 NFTs different and unique. We are also building the NFT with the metaverse in mind, with the ability to display it in unique metaverses and multiple metaverses simultaneously as
metaverse technology continues to roll out. This won’t be something that just
sits on your wall.”
The NFT will also be able to be displayed in the physical world in a variety of mediums, including within a digital picture frame and potentially on jewelry.
Knecht said that Wendell August is continuing to work with Sarson Funds on additional ideas to add value to its NFT projects.
“We’ve hired a community manager who will be in charge of building our community out, whose charge is to create a community and dialogue and an ongoing proposition for our collector in this world,” he said. “Back in the days when I was 30, Wendell August had a physical collectors club, and we had what would be called today a community manager for that club—for us it’s kind of an easy transition because we’ve lived this in the collectible world
generally.”
And the Christmas ornaments may be just a start, said Knecht. For Wendell August, NFTs are a long-term strategy.
“This is not a one-and-done project and we’re not betting the farm on one project, I believe this is just a first,” he said. “I believe in tis not only in the consumer world, where build off the existing brand equity we have, but also in the b2b space. We believe that we could have a bigger opportunity for our NFTs there to create digital promotional pieces for the distributors and the end-users we work with.”
