[Short #91] Going Mainstream: Apes, Azuki, Creepz, and Penguins
These pesky jpegs won't go away š¤¬
Thereās been a several developments bringing the world of NFTs one step closer to mainstream. Letās dive into them!
Apes
Iāve started to get my NFT-specific news from Lucky Trader since thereās so much going on, especially for projects Iām less involved in. That said, I came across this headline.
Aside from the NFT aspect, this is a big deal because Eminem and Snoop Dogg are legendary in music.
I have no idea what this might look like, but itāll be interesting for sure. Every Monday newsletter and Sunday tweet will be talking about this, so I will abstain from doing soā¦unless thereās a particularly interesting angle š
Also, I wonāt be able to watch live as Iāll be at ETH Edcon watching Vitalik speak.
If youāre in the SF Bay Area, consider going on Sunday! General admission tickets are free, and the event will be held at Chase Center. Some big names in Ethereum will be speaking, most notably the one and only Vitalik Buterin (heās sorta the guy for ETH).
This non-profit conference happens once a year and makes a global tour (Paris 2017, Toronto 2018, Sydney 201, Online 2020-2021, SF 2022). Pretty special experience if youāre around and have a free afternoon!
Also this itinerary is veryā¦precise. I wouldnāt expect anything less from them š . These people are in charge of the Merge after all.
Azuki
Pudgy Penguins have been making moves, but they arenāt the only ones with some big announcements.
Iāve also written about the Saga of Zaga(bond), the founder of Azuki. Nice ring right? The Saga of Zaga lol.
Founder risk aside, Azuki continues to build a story, world, and community that IMO is only second to Yuga. Theyāre worth looking at for community building and Marketing inspiration.
So whatād Azuki do? Earlier this week, they had a Tweet:
Beautiful artwork! Itās not just an art piece though, itās a website thatās interactive (and their music is always on point). Click around and you learn more about the Alley, but thereās also several easter eggs and references that holders were excited about.
Whatās this little box in the back?
Itās one of those mischievous blue Beanz (the second gen collection from Azuki)
What happens when you click this shop banner in the back left?
It takes you to Takeda the Tailorās Twitter account š¤
You can tell that Azuki put in the time for this experience because with a community as diehard as Azukiās, theyāre going to leave no stone unturned.
Kudos Azuki, Iām looking forward to seeing the World-building continue.
That said, this was only the first of a few announcements.
Yes, itās a one-liner tweet. But building off the momentum of the Alley announcement a couple days ago, this matters. Azuki is slowly revealing their longer term vision of world-building.
Azuki has a lot of tweets, but a large majority are retweets from the community. Similar to Bored Ape Yacht Clubās Twitter, every tweet from the account itself holds disproportionate weight.
Last but not least, one of the largest Azuki holders doxxed (revealed) themselves yesterday.
An Azuki currently costs 8.35 ETH, or ~$13,000. 101 Azukis? Thatās 843 ETH or $1.3 million. And thatās assuming all the Azukis are common ones, which is unlikely.
When I saw this, I was intrigued because of the size of the bet, but also Adrian Cheng himself. Who the hell is this guy, dropping a milli like itās nothing?
My version of dropping a mill is going through the McDonaldās drive-thru and telling my buddies āthis oneās on me as long as its from the Dollar Menu and we use the app promosā š
Also, how cool is that GIF? Adrian doxxes himself, but visually represents the doxxing as well. From the Spirit Azuki ā> Adrian Azukified ā> Hood off. š¤Æ I didnāt even put 2 and 2 together until I was editing this piece.
Adrian Chengās Twitter profile has one link that leads to AC Journal.
Thereās a lot going on here but thereās a couple things that stick out to me on the Web3 side of things.
Adrian has a sizeable stake in Sandbox and promotes his venture portfolio companies there. Also, this:
Adrianās fund participated in RTFKTās funding round in May 2021ā¦and then they got acquired by Nike. Pretty good investment š
But that still doesnāt really answer the question ā who is this guy and how does he drop a milli on Azuki like heās salt bae?
Letās just say the Cheng family is doing well financially:
The family business started with jewelry and has since diversified into real estate, energy, casinos, etc. You name it, they probably have a hand in it.
You know what this reminds me of?
Bernard Arnaultās sons, who are the future of LVMH Group.
And I think Adrianās reveal is just the beginning.
Let me translate this for the peasants (myself included):
āHey everyone! I like Azuki. Iām going to use my resources to make Azuki a successful global brand. Oh yeah, Iām a billionaire.ā
Stay tuned folks, IMO Azuki is back and everyone should be keeping an eye on what theyāre up to. TBH they never really left, even during the shaky times.
Creepz
Iām unfamiliar with Creepz, but they made a big announcement too.
Not familiar with Seth Green? Me neither. Heās the brains behind Robot Chicken, and a LOT of other movies/shows.
Why would Seth Green and his animation studio work with an NFT collection of deformed mutant lizards? Take a look at Robot Chicken.
Robot Chicken is on its 11th season and still going strong. How many shows do you know have been going for 10+ seasons? They all have cult followings.
Pudgy Penguins
Though the Pudgy Penguins train has slowed down a bit, theyāre still rolling:
Brilliant move. Pengus are cute and family friendly. Why not buy the toys and the book as a bundle?
Takeaways
NFT brands are infiltrating mainstream through multiple mediums
Because of the creativity, versatility, and diversity of the projects and everyone involved in the space, weāre seeing all types of applications.
Even in this piece alone, we see music performances (BAYC), digital experiences (Azuki), TV shows (Creepz) and childrenās books (Penguins).
Riding the announcement momentum
Going from good to great is hard in the space. The war on attention is real, and the best projects have a sound announcement strategy. Sounds trivial, but it matters, a lot.
Azuki has shown it with the string of announcements above. Pudgy Penguins did it masterfully over the past week as well. This isnāt by chance. Want another example?
The Tiffany x Cryptopunks announcement.
Brand x Channel x Partner fit
Apes (Otherside) x Awards Show x Eminem/Snoop (Ape holders)
Azuki x Multi-channel x Adrian Cheng
Creepz x TV x Seth Greenās studio
Pudgy Penguins x Childrenās books x Green Kids Club
Shots on Goal
Weāre still at the stage where a win from one NFT brand is a win for all. Of course we hope that itās one of the projects that we hold, but a win for one should make us all excited.
There will be many failures along the way, but itās the shots on goal that count. James Clear says it best:
A few things you need to achieve exceptional results:
1) Quantity: You take lots of shots.
2) Quality: You take thoughtful shots.
3) Consistency: You keep shooting for a long time.
4) Feedback. You take better shots over time.
5) Luck: You get a few favorable bounces.
One team, one dream š
See you next week!
Nice ending incorporating James Clear! Atomic Habits is the way. Well done Thomas although this is misleading calling it [Short].