An NFT Entrepreneur Newsletter by Clyde F. Smith
Prelude:
Wow, so many interesting things going on in NFT Land.
Following our last newsletter, NFT Land Grows From Content Marketplace to IP Licensing Source, it was both surprising and not to see Yuga Labs (Bored Ape Yacht Club) buy both CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs.
Got an NFT marketplace? Ready to compete with everybody?
How to Create Your Own NFT Platform – William M. Peaster on Artiva
LimeWire’s back and this time it’s going to be a centralized NFT market?
I saw the original headline and thought this was a very symbolic moment until it turned out that two brothers bought the brand in the last year or so and are banking on nostalgia.
I was hoping for more from that last item.
I’ve got a lot of disappointment ahead!
One thing that hasn’t disappointed me? Liquid Death’s NFT Marketing!
Read on:
Liquid Death Brings You Murder Head Death Club NFTs
When I first saw Murder Head Death Club NFTs, I was much less surprised than I was when I went on to check out Liquid Death Mountain Water‘s website. Seeing those kids partying with Liquid Death cans is the most amazing way to promote hydration in children that I could imagine.
In fact, it’s so cool I almost featured this video despite the absence of NFTs!
But, Liquid Death has an adult following as well, for whom, I assume, these NFTs are intended. Then again, I can see there being a kid’s market for such NFTs.
Murder Head Death Club
There’s a lot to like here:
Adult Swim’s Will Carsola is the artist behind the collection and he’s all in on NFTs. That’s a very strong base for the collection.
The Murder Head art feels very on-brand for Liquid Death. That’s strong brand backing.
The initial minting fee at .0666 ETH is very fair, especially for such a drop, which may be another reason the “Murderlist” filled up so quickly.
However, and this is the only negative thing I see so far, they’re still saying the drop date is in March. And that’s very fuzzy for anyone that cares or wants to get in on these for trading purposes.
Also, I only realized while working on this post that there is public minting after the Murderlist minting. That’s normal and there are 6,666 NFTs available to mint. But, everything on the site gives one the impression that getting on the Murderlist is the only way to purchase these.
For example, on the project’s homepage, the answer to the FAQ, “How do I buy some of these?”, says, “First, get on our Murder List.”
I don’t see the phrase “public minting” on any of the public facing website content from the company. I guess newcomers will figure it out?
Ooh, one more thing. Just checked the Murder Head homepage and it still says join the Murderlist which has been closed almost since the first announcement.
Murder Head Utility
Lots of utility in this project.
From the publicist-provided fact sheet:
“All NFT holds will have access to the private Liquid Death Discord community, virtual events, NFT-branded merch drops, and other IRL perks”
“Buyers of multiple NFTs could get a chance to be featured in a Liquid Death commercial, have their face tattooed on Liquid Death’s CEO, legally own a celebrity’s soul, be the CEO of Liquid Death for a day and much more”
Some could consider the environmental aspects of this project forms of utility (or not):
Liquid Death is working with Pachama to “offset 110% of the highest calculated carbon emissions” and will be donating to “nonprofits that are helping to fight plastic pollution and bring clean drinking water to those in need.”
As also stated in the fact sheet:
“The project unlocks a new way for Liquid Death to connect with its cult following through art, merch, events, chat and more.
A big part of a successful NFT collection is the utility. In this case, the utility and the marketing are deeply intertwined.
Self Portrait of Will Carsola
Liquid Death Was Ready For NFTs
Liquid Death has a well-established history of edgy marketing and smart merchandising. NFTs make that an easy fit.
That history helped get them Will Carsola:
“I liked the idea of a product whose marketing not only made fun of itself but also made fun of corporations and advertising in general.”
He is also said to have liked Liquid Death’s environmental and anti-plastic perspectives. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true for all of Liquid Death’s base.
I’m not sure of the ramifications for Liquid Death because I have no sense of how negative their actual fanbase has been.
NFTs seem to be upsetting a lot of folks. You can see the public response to Liquid Death’s announcement on Twitter which includes some very negative takes.
The issue of being ready for NFTs before one’s base has caused NFT projects to be canceled. Hopefully, this will all go well for Liquid Death but it’s touchy stuff right now for any brand, even the edgy ones.
Up Soon
Still struggling with my schedule but a weekly essay with a few related notes seems to be a good fit for now.
Topics for future essays I’m currently following include the rise of NFT services on Fiverr, integrating NFT features in mainstream services (as Adobe has done) and the surprising(?) lack of concern about NFT minting quality shown by NFT traders and collectors.