Web3 goes Mainstream

KPMG Canada has been very active in the Web3 space, not only advising clients but also on its own behalf, buying NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Most notably, the partnership bought Bitcoin and Ether to hold on the KPMG balance sheet as part of corporate treasury diversification strategy. They followed this up by paying almost $50,000 to buy an NFT, Woman #2681 to be exact. 

We speak to the Managing Partner to find out why an organisation like KPMG would be buying digital assets to hold on its own balance sheet. The answers may surprise you but it is certainly an impressive vision from this leading professional services firm. In fact it may lead you to think differently about digital assets and your own balance sheet. 

Links:

KPMG website

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Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) allow ownership of digital assets like never before. This market grew from US$13M to US$25 Billion in the last 12 months. Companies like Walmart, Selfridges, Macys, Samsung, The Gap, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Taco Bell, Burger King and Coca-Cola have all minted NFTs – with more projects being announced almost daily. Just reading about millions of dollars being paid for NFT rocks, it is easy to assume this is a ridiculous bubble but there are genuine uses for NFTs. Big brands are using NFTs as a way to supercharge loyalty programs and as a powerful adjunct to CRM (customer relationship management) systems. For others there is real money at stake. The US National Basketball Association’s TOPSHOTS NFT program has notched up over US$700 Million in sales. While Penfolds has made 300 bottles of premium wine available by NFTs which has made it easy to gift (and trade) premium wine – something that to-date has been fraught with issues due to the fragility of wine.

NFTs are part of a broader megatrend known as Web3. Web3 is the coming together of augmented reality, the metaverse, cryptocurrencies, decentralised finance and NFTs. Web3 will impact all organisations and it is important to know about it. At Norton Rose Fulbright we are working with many organisations embracing the opportunities of Web3.

This session is perfect for people who are interested in how technology will impact the future of all industries, including their own. We will focus on NFTs and interview a leading NFT expert, Tim Lea. Tim is the CEO of the indigenous art NFT project, Walking between worlds. Key take always will include:

• Overview of how organisations are using NFTs
• A simple explanation of the key technologies involved. Not enough to build your own smart contract but enough to sound smart at a dinner party
• How NFTs can supercharge your CRM, your loyalty program and your “gifting market”
• Simple strategies for how organisations can benefit from NFTs
• The future of NFTs

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The NFT market went from US$13 Million in 2020 to US$41 Billion in 2021. It is truly exploding and, while there are some more extreme activities around pricey rock JPEGs and eye-wateringly expensive digital art, there are many examples of normal companies successfully embracing NFT technology to enhance the customer relationship. Innovative winemaker Penfolds has had two very successful NFT “drops” of premium wines. Gifting and trading premium wine is difficult due to the fragility of the physical object. NFT tech is an ideal solution. Buyers of the Penfolds’ wine NFTs have a right to redeem that NFT for the bottle but can also gift it (as simply as sending an email) or trade it.

Kristy Kyte, Penfolds Chief Marketing Officer and Sam Falic, Co-founder and President of the Web3 tech company, Blockbar who partnered with Penfolds on this project.

In the words of Kristy:

"If you are in Marketing and you are not looking at NFTs then you should".

 

Links:

Penfolds website

Blockbar website

Norton Rose Fullbright website

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Lisa Teh has had a most unusual career trajectory from tax lawyer to successful marketing entrepreneur and a listing in the 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians. Her most recent venture is Mooning, a marketing agency designed to help companies move from Web2 to Web3. Lisa gives her insights into what makes a successful NFT or metaverse project and which companies are doing it well. Lisa is an expert in the new world of Phygital (where the digital and physical experience merges) and how NFT technology means we are moving from “buying things online” to “buying online things”. If you are looking for practical advice for your Web3 journey please join this webinar. 

 

Links:

Mooning Website

Norton Rose Fullbright Website

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The 2022 Australian Open ran one of the country’s most successful metaverse and NFT projects to date. The AO created a full user experience in the metaverse platform, Decentraland and minted 6776 designer NFT "art balls". The project is regarded as a great success both by the Web3 community as well as the AO itself. The Decentraland experience welcomed over 170,000 unique visitors during the two week event and the NFT art balls sold out in 33 minutes.We talk to Ridley Plummer, the Metaverse & NFT Project Manager at Tennis Australia about this audacious project. Ridley tells us some of the key components of a successful foray into Web3, including: an openness to innovation and a clear vision. For the AO, they wanted to use Web3 to make tennis accessible to as many people as possible. Also, spoiler alert, we talk about the importance of Discord and Web3. If you do not know what Discord is, you may need to look it up as, in Ridley’s words, “it is a Marketer’s dream."

 

Links:

Norton Rose Fullbright Website

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The Metaverse has moved beyond science fiction movies like Ready Player One to become an important reality. Fortune magazine recently said that the Metaverse might just be the most important tech trend since the iPhone. It is so important that Facebook changed the name of its parent company to Meta and spent more than $10 billion on its Metaverse projects in 2021. Our interview with Sebastien Borget, Co-Founder & COO of The Sandbox, one of the world’s leading Metaverse platforms. According to a recent report, The Sandbox accounted for 62% of the more than $500 million of virtual real estate sales in 2021. Sebastien was recently named as one of the Top 30 Most Influential People in the Metaverse. Many big brands are moving to the Metaverse, including Samsung, Nike, Zara, Ralph Lauren, Walmart, Disney, Adidas, Warner Music and, most interestingly, global professional services firm, PWC.

 

Links:

https://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/en

 

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