An almost century-old company in the NFTs? The association between the brand with the crocodile and the Web3 was not obvious, but the success of the collection imagined by the Lacoste teams shows that traditional and iconic companies have excellent prospects in this new digital world.

"After having led a collaboration in gaming with Minecraft, the overall development of initiatives in Web3 made us want to go further to explore the new relationship a brand could have with its community," explains Benjamin Cornut, director of social and Web3 experiences at Lacoste.

"We came in with a lot of humility in order to understand the ecosystem, learn how to use blockchain and deliver a great experience," he continues.

Simply put, the project is halfway between a loyalty program that gives access to all sorts of benefits... and a platform for co-creating products that are made in collaboration with NFTs holders.

One sale sold out in one hour

The "UNDW3" universe was launched in mid-June with the creation of 11,212 "Genesis Pass" NFTs. These were sold out in one hour, bringing in the equivalent of 900,000 euros to Lacoste at the time of the operation.

Important point to specify, Lacoste manages directly its cryptos. On the other hand, the company relied on specialized agencies (Enephtys and Atomic Digital Design) who brought their know-how, especially on "compliance" and "financial reasoning".

Each unit was offered at an initial price of 0.08 ethers (about 80 euros at the launch of the operation). "Today the price is around 0.05 ethers, which can be attributed to the market context, but the wave of utilities arriving in 2023 should be very attractive," says Benjamin Cornut.

So far, this "Genesis Pass" has made it possible to be eligible in October for a drop of new NFTs featuring a stylized illustration of a crocodile that can be used as a profile picture. This is directly inspired by famous collections like the Bored Ape Yacht Club or CryptoPunks.

Two special events for community members were also organized in Paris and New York, as well as access to the brand's loyalty program.

Finally, and most interestingly, some NFTs holders were able to receive limited edition Lacoste polo shirts from the UNDW3 line. "Everything took place through the Discord and members were able to vote to express their preferences," insists Benjamin Cornut.

The year 2023 should accelerate with the creation of the "UNDW3 Factory" where all Genesis Pass holders will be able to co-create their merchandising in collaboration with Lacoste designers. "We're going to go pretty far, it will be possible to choose the material of the clothes, the color, it promises to be really interesting at the community level." he continues.

On the digital side, it should be possible to display its avatars of crocodiles within a metaverse on the occasion of the 90 years of the brand...