Top 11 Cases of Big Brands Successfully Going Web3

Despite its novelty, Web3 has already proven itself as a great solution for community building. Web3 is an option to expand the market, using it both to attract an audience and for more specific tasks. More than one major brand has already figured out how to get money from Web3 and use it to their advantage. Here are examples of the TOP 11 brands that were able to enter Web3 and profit from it.

How Do Big Brands Tend to Use Web3

There are endless ways you can use web3. These are the most common examples based on successful cases:

• Creating a bigger community. The opportunity to participate in some way in an activity, and in theory, to also receive certain benefits from it, attracts many people. In this way, brands can expand their audience and attract even those customers who would have previously passed by their product.
• Using it for Loyalty Programs. Brands can make Web3 part of their loyalty program. For example, Lufthansa uses Web3 to turn flights into NFT-based loyalty rewards. And Starbucks offered NFTs as prizes to its customers, which they could collect or resell to other program participants.
• Brand co-creation. Some brands use Web3 to engage their communities in product development, allowing fans to co-create content or designs in a decentralized way. A good example here would be Nike, which invited its community to participate in apparel design.
• Marketing purposes. There are a huge number of examples. But a very interesting one is the Gucci company, aimed at retaining customers and bringing them back for the next purchase. The company offered exclusive products to NFT owners.

Of course, the list is not final. Web3 is developing, as are the possibilities of its use. Therefore, we have selected the TOP 11 successful cases of how large brands were able to do this.

Puma

The world-famous brand Puma has used Web3 in several of its projects, the most notable examples being Black Station and NFT Sneakers. Black Station is Puma's dedicated Web3 platform, which serves as a hub for Puma’s digital experiences. Puma introduced exclusive digital sneakers as NFTs. If you become the owner of such NFTs, you get their digital version and can claim a physical version of the sneakers. Users can not only explore but customize digital sneaker designs in virtual showrooms.

Apart from NFT collections, Puma partnered with The Sandbox to create immersive virtual spaces where users can explore branded environments, play games, and interact with Puma's digital products. You can outfit your avatars with Puma gear and participate in virtual events. 

Puma also often does collaborations with other brands, which is a great way to enter Web3. For example, there was a case of brand collaboration with Melo when they made the GutterMelo collection. All this helped the brand not only to interest the audience and increase sales, but also to connect its clients to co-creation.

BMW

This popular car brand has found a way to implement Web3 abilities in its marketing strategy as well. Like other brands, BMW is also experimenting with NFTs to represent ownership of unique digital assets. The brand is also no stranger to collaborations with well-known blockchain brands, such as BAYC. Together, they worked on creating a branded car for the Bored Ape Yacht Club. BMW also uses Web3 in its Loyalty program, ensuring that loyalty points are tokenized, meaning customers can easily track their points, transfer them, or redeem them.

In addition, the brand began to test the possibilities of Web3 not only in marketing, but also by implementing it into its work processes. For example, blockchain is being used to track parts from manufacturing to the final assembly of cars. This ensures that every component of a BMW vehicle is verified and authenticated.

Cola

Coca-Cola has used NFTs to create brand engagement, releasing unique digital collectables. One of their notable campaigns was the launch of NFT "loot boxes" for International Friendship Day. The brand has also hosted virtual events and experiences in metaverses like Decentraland which made it quite engaging for a big audience.

But the brand has gone even further, using Web3 for a noble cause. Aware of the risks of illegitimate or unpaid labor, the brand has collaborated to create DiginexLUMEN, a tool that helps with the verification of suppliers in the brand’s supply chain and warns of potential human rights risks.

Starbucks

Starbucks has ventured into Web3 with the introduction of Starbucks Odyssey, an NFT-based extension of their existing rewards program. Customers can earn and purchase digital collectables (NFTs) that provide exclusive rewards. It's very similar to those stamps in a coffee shop card that you collect and get a free cup of coffee if you gather 10 of them. Only it uses web3 technologies.

Dior

Dior also decided to enter the web3 footwear arena, presenting to the public Dior B33 sneakers. The company was thought out to the smallest detail. When purchasing these shoes in a store, you could get a similar NFT by simply placing your smartphone on the sneakers. The shoes had an NFC chip built into them. Such an NFT not only served as a digital certificate of authenticity but granted early access to the Spring 2024 collection. 

Lufthansa

Lufthansa has decided to use the power of Web3 to create a more modern loyalty program. The Uptrip program allows passengers to convert their flights into NFT collectible cards by scanning their boarding passes via an app. These NFTs, categorized into themes like cities, aircraft, and specials, can be combined into collections. 

Of course, these are not just beautiful, unique pictures. By collecting a complete collection, users can discover many rewards, such as airport lounge access or bonus miles and much more.

Lacoste

Lacoste has ventured into Web3 with its UNDW3 NFT program, focusing on co-creation, co-ownership, and rewarding participation. The brand has tried several projects related to the implementation of Web3, and is currently actively using it in the Loyalty program.

Of course, the main theme of the first NFT collection was crocodiles. The initial collection, "The Emerge," comprises 1,212 unique Crocodiles, each based on the Ethereum blockchain. All program participants can show their creativity and earn rewards this way.

Tiffany

It turns out that in the world of NFT there is also a concept of luxury, which the Tiffany & Co. brand was pushing for. It entered the NFT space by launching a project called NFTiff, a collection of 250 limited-edition NFTs that can be redeemed for custom jewellery. The NFTiffs were designed specifically for CryptoPunk NFT holders, allowing them to turn their digital avatars into custom jewellery pieces.

Budweiser

NFT and DAO Engagement: Budweiser has embraced Web3 with NFT drops, such as the release of Budweiser Heritage Cans, which feature unique beer can designs as NFTs. Budweiser also purchased the domain name "beer.eth" and has partnered with Zed Run, a blockchain-based horse racing game, to create branded digital assets.

Community Engagement: Budweiser’s initiatives in Web3 are aimed at building a new level of brand engagement, offering fans unique digital collectibles and exclusive experiences.

Louis Vuitton

Another famous luxury fashion brand launched a mobile game called "Louis: The Game" where players can collect 30 embedded NFTs as they explore a virtual world. The NFTs are part of a celebration of the brand’s 200th anniversary and represent its entry into the world of digital collectibles. Louis Vuitton has also collaborated with digital artists and NFT creators on numerous occasions. 

Ubisoft 

And then there is Ubisoft. It has truly been a pioneer in incorporating Web3 technologies into the gaming industry. Here’s how Ubisoft is utilizing Web3:

• Ubisoft Quartz Platform. It integrates NFTs into their games, marking one of the first major gaming companies to do so. This initiative introduces “Digits,” which are NFTs that represent in-game items such as weapons, gear, or skins. These items are unique, can be owned by players, and have traceable histories on the blockchain. These were available, for example, in Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
• Player ownership of in-game assets. And it means the true ownership of a player's in-game assets. Unlike traditional games where in-game items are only usable within the game’s ecosystem, NFTs enable players to own, sell, or trade these assets outside of the Ubisoft platform.
• Experimenting with new business models. Ubisoft is experimenting with the concept of play-to-earn by allowing players to earn NFTs by participating in gameplay. These NFTs can potentially be sold for cryptocurrency, thus creating opportunities for players to monetize their gameplay.

Conclusion 

As you can see from these examples, the possibilities of Web3 are unlimited, and it depends only on the creativity of the brand and its openness to new trends whether it will be able to turn this tool to its advantage.

Our team also has successful cases with our clients on using the advantages of Web3. Of course, for each brand such a solution will be individual. But knowing how exactly Web3 can be used, we not only offer our ideas on how it can work for the brand, but also accompany the entire process. UX/UI design phase, launch support and project support - all these things will be on us. 

So, if you want to replicate and surpass the success of these big brands, contact us!