NFTs: why some major brands fail

The Big Whale: Several companies have just launched their collections of NFTs. Porsche's has been the talk of the town, and not necessarily in a good way... Why is that?

Stéphane Baudin: We could even talk about a big flop. To launch a collection successfully, you need several things: a price that corresponds to the market, an attractive design and an active community. Porsche didn't have any of these things.

They issued 7,500 NFTs at a unit price of 0.911 ethers (1,330 euros at the current rate), which is really expensive, especially for a brand with no Web3 experience.

On the design, the community was disappointed because the NFTs were all identical, not to mention the Discord where almost nothing happens. There are only channels reserved for announcements and frequently asked questions, which isn't enough.

More generally, the project's roadmap remains very vague. You wonder what they want to do and they certainly don't know themselves... As a result, the collection hasn't taken off. They sold just over 1,300 in a fortnight, and have decided to reduce the offer to 2,400 units to limit the damage.

How do you explain such a failure?

Like many people, they thought that having a brand image was enough to launch a collection of NFTs, but that's not how it works.

Web3 is very communal, you need to have a real community for a collection to work. This project was announced only 2 months ago. It doesn't have a history yet...

Has there been a Bear Market effect?

Probably, but I don't think it would have been crazy during a period of rising markets. There are still fundamentals to NFTs, and in this case, people aren't prepared to pay that much for NFTs that don't add much value.

What you're describing seems pretty obvious. Why is Porsche, and indeed other companies, missing out?

I think many misunderstand the Web3 ecosystem, how communities are organised, what they expect. There's often a glaring gap between the idea that brands have of Web3 communities and the reality of these communities...

Just because we're talking about Web3 doesn't mean it's not serious, that there aren't people out there with very real expectations. We need to understand these expectations and develop NFTs that meet them in terms of services and benefits.

What exactly do you think Web3 communities expect?

It all depends on the community, because the profiles are quite different.

There are the "flippers" who are there to make a killing by quickly reselling the NFTs after the mint (creation of the NFT, editor's note), the "holders" who will collect them for a long time because they believe in the project and love the brand, and finally the "normies" who are the newcomers to the ecosystem.

Many brands turn to agencies to launch their projects. What are your recommendations for making the right choice?

That's a good question! Working with agencies and studios is not a problem, especially in such a recent universe with such complicated codes to master (we talk about it in The Big Whale Discord, reserved for Premium subscribers).

You shouldn't work with just one partner, though. The best thing to do is to have several: one for technical development, another for community management, and the company retains control of the vision and the project.

Which NFTs projects do you think have worked well?

I think Lacoste was successful with the launch of its collection.

They created quite a lively Discord, with channels depending on the country, and quite a strong commitment. Where they weren't very good was on the design of the NFTs. Some of the community didn't understand the crocodile graphics. But overall it's a success, and there's a lot of activity around these NFTs.

Why should the big brands get involved in NFTs?

To continue to develop their business! In addition to the money they can earn directly, NFT collections allow them to reach a new audience. Porsche is a very good example: you will rarely find owners under the age of 50, but with NFTs you will reach a younger public who, after the NFTs, may fall in love with the car. It's a winning bet.

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