Collectively, NFT avatar / PFP projects possess the greatest market cap of any NFT category. The companies behind some of the top PFP brands like Yuga, Doodles, Tally Labs, Forgotten Rune Wizards, MoonBirds and others have collectively raised billions of dollars to build their PFP project into mainstream media franchises.

The significant valuations often beg the question, how will these companies monetize their PFP collections?

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Type your email… Subscribe The Strongest Media Monetization Strategy: Sell Merch To date, PFP projects mostly monetize from either new drops (e.g. Mutant Ape Yacht Club) or through secondary sales. Both can be effective revenue streams, but the vast majority of PFP projects will likely end up monetizing through a much more traditional avenue – selling physical and digital merchandise.

The most successful media franchises in the world – Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, Pokemon, Batman, Disney Princesses – make a majority of their revenue from merchandise.

Most brands monetize heavily through merchandise sales “No doubt of it. Mickey Mouse is the greatest thing in the history of merchandising.” - Kay Kamen, Walt Disney’s first licensing agent

That quote is from 1947 – decades before Mickey’s true merchandising prowess would be realized. The point is, while boring, merchandise as a revenue stream is incredibly powerful, and even more effective than even Disney’s first licensing agent would have ever predicted.

Some PFP projects have started to issue physical merchandise and goods like Cool Cats clothing, Doodles collectibles, Pudgy Penguins, and Nouns Coffee.

PFPs are leveraging their brands for physical merch and goods Existing brands like The Hundred’s Adam Bomb Squad (ABS) initially sold their PFPs that came with a physical shirt. More importantly, ABS NFT owners are able to receive royalties if their individual Adam Bomb Squad NFTs are used in streetwear lines. Recently, The Hundreds launched the first iteration of this program providing a 10% royalty (in gift card form) to NFT owners who’s PFPs were used in the new fashion line.

There’s also clear potential for PFP projects and web3 brands to adopt more digitally native merchandising – opting for NFT skins in Fortnite versus physical Mickey Mouse ears. Still, physical merchandise will be a key revenue stream for web3 brands, but with the potential to reward the community that makes the merchandise valuable.

Searching For a Cultural Moment Brands like Pokemon and Harry Potter have one component over these PFP projects – a mainstream cultural moment, a piece of content that enshrines a novel, tv series, video game, or cartoon icon into long standing cultural relevance.

Star Wars had its cultural moment in 1977 with the launch of A New Hope that catalyzed the western sci-fi franchise.

Pokemon, the highest grossing media franchise of all time, achieved breakout success from its initial video game, but pivoted that into other media formats like trading cards, animated series, feature length movies, and comics.

Some franchises experience smaller cultural moments before their larger catalyst. Marvel comics initially had a small fervent fanbase, but the first Iron Man film in 2008 sparked the Marvel cinematic universe and became the most successful box office franchise in history.

Over the past two years, NFT projects have experienced their speculative moment, but most have failed to reach their “cultural moment” - the mainstream moment that cements the NFT collection into a state of enduring relevance. NFTs have the benefit of blending financial incentives with culture – developing a potential flywheel by which communities and projects can help each other bootstrap media that eventually becomes culturally significant.

NFT projects like the Forgotten Rune Wizards NFT franchise are attempting to blitzscale their cultural moment by simultaneously creating an animated series and video game. Other projects like Shibuya are developing new franchises crowdfunded by a broader community.

The PFP projects and NFT brands that create their cultural moment – whether through media, content, or something else entirely – will be poised to become (and remain) the next multi-billion dollar brands of the coming decades.

Collectively, NFT avatar / PFP projects possess the greatest market cap of any NFT category. The companies behind some of the top PFP brands like Yuga, Doodles, Tally Labs, Forgotten Rune Wizards, MoonBirds and others have collectively raised billions of dollars to build their PFP project into mainstream media franchises.

The significant valuations often beg the question, how will these companies monetize their PFP collections?

gm anon, please subscribe to Unsyndicated

Type your email… Subscribe The Strongest Media Monetization Strategy: Sell Merch To date, PFP projects mostly monetize from either new drops (e.g. Mutant Ape Yacht Club) or through secondary sales. Both can be effective revenue streams, but the vast majority of PFP projects will likely end up monetizing through a much more traditional avenue – selling physical and digital merchandise.

The most successful media franchises in the world – Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, Pokemon, Batman, Disney Princesses – make a majority of their revenue from merchandise.

Most brands monetize heavily through merchandise sales “No doubt of it. Mickey Mouse is the greatest thing in the history of merchandising.” - Kay Kamen, Walt Disney’s first licensing agent

That quote is from 1947 – decades before Mickey’s true merchandising prowess would be realized. The point is, while boring, merchandise as a revenue stream is incredibly powerful, and even more effective than even Disney’s first licensing agent would have ever predicted.

Some PFP projects have started to issue physical merchandise and goods like Cool Cats clothing, Doodles collectibles, Pudgy Penguins, and Nouns Coffee.

PFPs are leveraging their brands for physical merch and goods Existing brands like The Hundred’s Adam Bomb Squad (ABS) initially sold their PFPs that came with a physical shirt. More importantly, ABS NFT owners are able to receive royalties if their individual Adam Bomb Squad NFTs are used in streetwear lines. Recently, The Hundreds launched the first iteration of this program providing a 10% royalty (in gift card form) to NFT owners who’s PFPs were used in the new fashion line.

There’s also clear potential for PFP projects and web3 brands to adopt more digitally native merchandising – opting for NFT skins in Fortnite versus physical Mickey Mouse ears. Still, physical merchandise will be a key revenue stream for web3 brands, but with the potential to reward the community that makes the merchandise valuable.

Searching For a Cultural Moment Brands like Pokemon and Harry Potter have one component over these PFP projects – a mainstream cultural moment, a piece of content that enshrines a novel, tv series, video game, or cartoon icon into long standing cultural relevance.

Star Wars had its cultural moment in 1977 with the launch of A New Hope that catalyzed the western sci-fi franchise.

Pokemon, the highest grossing media franchise of all time, achieved breakout success from its initial video game, but pivoted that into other media formats like trading cards, animated series, feature length movies, and comics.

Some franchises experience smaller cultural moments before their larger catalyst. Marvel comics initially had a small fervent fanbase, but the first Iron Man film in 2008 sparked the Marvel cinematic universe and became the most successful box office franchise in history.

Over the past two years, NFT projects have experienced their speculative moment, but most have failed to reach their “cultural moment” - the mainstream moment that cements the NFT collection into a state of enduring relevance. NFTs have the benefit of blending financial incentives with culture – developing a potential flywheel by which communities and projects can help each other bootstrap media that eventually becomes culturally significant.

NFT projects like the Forgotten Rune Wizards NFT franchise are attempting to blitzscale their cultural moment by simultaneously creating an animated series and video game. Other projects like Shibuya are developing new franchises crowdfunded by a broader community.

The PFP projects and NFT brands that create their cultural moment – whether through media, content, or something else entirely – will be poised to become (and remain) the next multi-billion dollar brands of the coming decades.