[Short #151] NFT Activations at Art Basel

PLUS: 🔌 RTFKT's World Merging Chip

The Art Basel FOMO is kicking into high gear. I’m booking my flight and accommodations months in advance for next year’s festivities.

Highlighting a few higher profile events:

BAYC’s Miami Party

Every large NFT brand holds events, and the best add a little more oomph to it.

BAYC has kept the details quiet leading up to the party and started dropping hints a couple days ago.

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC

Hope our Apes in Miami pay attention to the posters. 👀#BAYCBasel22

These posters reveal the date, time, and lineup for the event, while holding the location as a secret, for now.

On top of that, speculation abounded with other clues related to a separate announcement around the Trial of Jimmy the Monkey.

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC

Happy Thanksgiving, Apes. The Trial begins this Christmas.

azf.eth 🥃 🍌 🔮 @azfnft

Yuga Labs is innovating once again by tying storytelling to IRL events. Each sticker on this poster definitely gives clues to what's in the Christmas mystery box. "Missing from the kennel" 👀 #BAYCBasel22 @BoredApeYC

The Trial is the next milestone in BAYC’s Roadmap 2.0. Note that the team does not share specifics on dates, which are oftentimes unrealistic for many reasons.

This type of roadmap provides a healthy balance for telling the community what to expect with an air of mystery. At the same time, it provides the internal team flexibility to deliver without unrealistic deadlines and promises.

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC

Roadmap 2.0 ☠️🦍⛵️

Yesterday, BAYC came out with another announcement and pre-activation.

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC

The phone will start ringing tomorrow. Will you pick it up? To discover the location of the party, you must first find it. #BAYCBasel22

Community members quickly found the location the tweet referenced: Moreno’s

And this morning, the phone booth installation went live.

Bored Ape Yacht Club @BoredApeYC

Have you found the booth yet? 👀📞#BAYCBasel22

Community members continued to dissect the photos to fuel speculation.

L1ON⚓️ @L1ONeth

@BoredApeYC 🚨 Hotline 🚨 @AppliedPrimate

Reaper 🍌 @Reaper_NFT

@BoredApeYC @GordonGoner 👀 sooo what is this???

Great pre-activation for what I assume will be a great event.

Doodles Doodleputt

Shoutout to my buddy Doodlifts and his TGID (Thank God It’s Doodles) newsletter. TGID is a great source of the latest and greatest with Doodles and I pulled some of the info below from the weekly newsletter. Thanks for the assist!

The Doodles activation is a 9-hole mini golf course, in Doodles themed of course

doodles @doodles

see u tomorrow • ᴗ •

Pharrell Williams @Pharrell

.@doodles DoodlePutt today and tomorrow in Miami ⛳️

Each hole represents a space or world in the Doodleverse. For example, the 8th hole is bubblegum themed.

burnt toast @burnttoast

hole 8

As a bonus, holders get a customized Doodles golf ball for free. And if you get a hole in one on the 9th…you get a Doodle!

evan 🌷 @evankeast

@charles_lako @burnttoast Last ball is consumed in an attempt to get a hole in one on the 9th hole which = a doodle. More are in are in the pro shop. Customized one free for holders.

Even the regular Doodles golf balls are fun!

bobbyhundreds.eth @bobbyhundreds

If you’re in Miami, gotta stop by the @doodles DoodlePutt tomorrow ⛳️

If you want to have an idea of what DoodlePutt looks like, check out the Live Stream! (will be a recording depending on when you hop in)

RTFKT Cryptokick Samples

RTFKT has had a big week with their Twitch Eggsperience, Egg claim, and continued their streak in Miami with the debut of their Cryptokicks.

Johnny X NFT @johnnyx_nft

1 of 1 SAMPLE CRYPTOKICK IRL On feet of @farokh STAY TUNED… 👀👀

DeeZe 🫡 @DeezeFi

HOLY FUCKING SHIT @RTFKT @Zaptio @clegfx @benitopagotto @HondroRTFKT 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

These self-lacing and light up sneakers seem to take inspiration from the legendary Nike MAG Back to the Future sneakers.

One pair for each Cryptokick holder? 🤞

Themes

1. The bar for IRL activations continues to rise

Obvious, but IRL activations help gain more attention for the brand while providing an opportunity for non-Web3 folks to learn more. Experiences > Ads

2. Expanding IRL activations for those that aren’t able to make it strengthens communities, engagement, and retention

Doodles partnered with community creators for a DoodlePutt Live Stream event, and RTFKT had their Eggsperience that was accessible to everyone.

Similar to being a sports team fan, it’s unreasonable for fans to attend every game. Broadcasting games, sporting your team’s gear, and providing online forums for the community help with that feeling of belonging.

3. Activations provide another channel for storytelling

As evidenced in the BAYC and Doodles events, they aren’t just a party or an opportunity for the community to hang out. They enrich, expand, and push the world and story that brands are building.

4. Not everyone needs or should have their own activation

Doodles is a great example of this. Quality activations aren’t cheap. How can you offset some costs? Find (the right) sponsors of course!

Opensea and Johnnie Walker partnered with DoodlePutt for the Lounge and Bar respectively.

I imagine Doodles gets to reduce costs while Opensea and Johnnie Walker get to advertise tastefully with a highly respected brand in Web3. Win-Win 🤝

OpenSea @opensea

We're excited to collab with our friends at @doodles this week in Miami for Art Basel at DoodlePutt! ⛳️ Make sure to stop by the OpenSea Lounge at the event to hangout and meet the team 🤙 Additional tee times may be available on site. More info 👉 doodles.app/events/doodlep…

doodles @doodles

Join us on December 2 & 3 for DoodlePutt Open from 12PM to 10PM @ 2534 N Miami Ave Limited additional tickets will be available on location Don't miss our afterparty on Dec 3, 10PM to Late Sponsored by @opensea @johnniewalker_ @tokenproof

RTFKT’s World Merging Chip

RTFKT’s gifting of Cryptokick samples was paired with another announcement earlier this morning.

RTFKT @RTFKT

Welcome to the start of RTFKT World Merging, connecting the Digital and Physical worlds. With RTFKT WM Chip 🌎🔗🌐

Linking and unlinking details here. What will the WM Chips would do?

RTFKT @RTFKT

This is just the beginning RTFKT’s World Merging experience is constantly evolving. Upcoming updates include: - New and Upgradeable WM Chips - Dynamic Access for linked Artefacts - Authentication - IRL Quest and Unlocks Start World Merging NOW 🌍⚡️🌐

Called by a different name, RTFKT WM Chips are similar to Azuki PBTs (Physical Backed Token) announced in October.

Azuki @AzukiOfficial

Introducing the Physical Backed Token (PBT): an open source token standard tying a physical item to a digital token on the Ethereum blockchain.

More products will continue to explore the intersection of digital and physical, with Web3 native ones like RTFKT and Azuki leading the way.

See you next week! TPan Premium Subs: BTF will be on Sunday 😊