GET IN TOUCH WITH PAKKO, CREATIVE DIRECTOR ALIGNED FOR THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY.
PAKKO@PAKKO.ORG

LA | DUBAI | NY | CDMX

PLAY PC GAMES? ADD ME AS A FRIEND ON STEAM

 


Back to Top

NUCL3AR // DIGITAL ARTS

Take a Lesson From Bored Ape: 3 Lessons in NFT Psychology That Can Boost Your Brand Engagement | Inc.com

Take a Lesson From Bored Ape: 3 Lessons in NFT Psychology That Can Boost Your Brand Engagement | Inc.com

People own Lamborghinis and Birkins for this reason. What BAYC did differently with its NFT was capitalize on this intuition by providing a digital avenue for owners to signal their status. At prices reaching $6 million, when someone’s Twitter or Instagram profile photo is a Bored Ape, you know they have money to burn.

The skeptics in the room will say, “But what about people who take a screenshot for free?” The NFT  proponents clap back and say that while the two are indistinguishable in their appearance, there still is the ability to determine authentic proof of ownership through blockchain technology and laws around copyright infringement, if it comes to that. And it will.

It doesn’t stop there. Not all Bored Apes are born equal. While two people can own the same Lamborghini, a Bored Ape is anything but boring. It’s like a fingerprint–unique, unrepeatable, and non-fungible in the truest sense. The scarcity not only satisfies consumers’ need for uniqueness, but also offers a one-of-a-kind digital identity that owners can boast about. 

By now we should appreciate the point that it’s not about the picture itself. It could have just as easily been Engaged Elephants, Anxious Anteaters, or literally any other random digital artifact. It’s about what it means to now have that coveted belonging.

Spending this much money on a digital image may not have the same kind of pull if it didn’t come with a host of ever-renewing, exclusive perks. Bored Ape owners are granted access to The Bathroom, a members-only collaborative graffiti board; the Mutant Ape Yacht Club, a collection of “evolved” Bored Apes that have been given a vial of “Mutant Serum”; the Bored Ape Chemistry Club, the marketplace where you can buy these serums for an average price of $127,000; and the list goes on…

Not dissimilar to using slot machines at casinos, shopping online, or even just pressing buttons, the dopamine rush that results from seeing what is on the other side can be a significant driver of consumer behavior. Not knowing what your Mutant Ape will look like, wondering how it will compare with your friends’ Mutant Apes, and envisioning the social banter that will result may be just enough to justify the purchase. And it was. Serum sales in January surpassed $22 million.

Marketers should take page from the BYAC NFT playbook. It may seem frivolous and silly on the surface, but don’t be fooled. Underneath that bored ape is a deep well of human psychology and a lesson for driving engagement: Make people feel important and part of the group, and provide them with novel benefits that tickle and delight.

This content was originally published here.