Walking Before You Run: Becoming a Web2.5 Brand
Don’t Let All the Lofty Conversations Around Metaverses and Web3 Intimidate You. Start Leveraging Blockchain Now By Being Web2.5
With all the noise circulating on the extraordinary eventual impact of Web3 technology, we’d like to clarify one thing: You don’t have to wait.
You don’t even need to be fully on board with all of the Web3 philosophies or complicated tech stacks, either. That’s because brands and marketers can utilize certain aspects and benefits of blockchain technology right now, without having to dive off the deep end. That’s what we, and many others, call “Web2.5.”
Don’t get us wrong — we’re thrilled about what the mainstream implementation of blockchain technology promises for both businesses and consumers. However, our mission is to launch tokenized brand and marketing campaigns for the businesses of today. The technology to leverage non-fungible tokens for loyalty-building, engagement-focused, and CRM-minded is ready for you.
In this article, we’ll explain Web2.5 and the abilities and benefits of current blockchain technology. Read on to learn the details and how to approach campaigns for today’s objectives and needs.
Web2.5, Web3… What’s It Mean?
If you’re in need of a crash course in blockchain terminology, look no further than Mint’s terminology guide. This earlier article provides details and definitions for some of the main keywords relating to tokenization and blockchain. You’ll walk away with a solid understanding of what these words mean in relation to each other and the differences between each.
What Is Web2.5?
It’s not an official term. We started using it back in January or February of this year, and it’s gained some momentum. Web2.5 has become a colloquialism for the actionable blockchain opportunities within today’s technology and means, leveraging both new and existing platforms in harmony.
In short, it means a blockchain ecosystem that brands can leverage for consumer campaigns within the existing marketing mix and connected to existing infrastructure. By adopting a Web2.5 strategy, you needn’t overhaul your ecosystem completely or spend large amounts of money. You can use products already on the market to supplement your current strategy.
Our e-commerce integration with Shopify makes the purchase/sale of tokens quite simple, or even just an email address is all that is needed to deliver tokens to audiences. Rewards and experiences for participation can take place within token-gated and NFT-enabled environments, or fulfilled/claimed in real life: Exclusive content. Token-gated commerce (which we introduced first this past spring). Community-driven activities. Games. Discounts… Whether we are encouraging existing behaviors with new incentives, or new behaviors with existing incentives, the blockchain makes it better, faster, and easier than ever.
Brands Are Already Using Web2.5 Crypto and Blockchain
The good news is that you’re probably well aware of Web2.5 campaigns without fully realizing it. This is because most of what you associate with NFTs and blockchain are operating within this hybrid ecosystem.
Collectibles. Drops. Exclusive NFTs. All of these shiny, eye-catching campaigns launched by large brands such as our Bud Light and NFL Ultimate Survivor Game, Swarovski, with their exclusive diamond-studded Build-A-Bear partnership, and WB, with their recently released Lord of the Rings “Movieverse” collection, are supplements to the current Web2 infrastructure.
A typical Web2.5 campaign flow looks like this: Brands use social media to drive people to campaign sites. Customers then make NFT purchases with credit cards or claim the token (for free) with just an email address. You can see that these campaigns still involve centralized web properties like social media, but they direct people toward a Web3 experience.
How Can Your Brand Join In?
Good news: We’ve created an NFT Marketing Playbook just for the purpose of helping you bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3. You can leverage NFTs while still utilizing the current marketing channels you know and love. With a platform like Mint, you can create a bespoke, branded website that can house NFT experiences or simply be a place where you can direct your consumers to purchase. Our guide will give you steps on how to strategize, create, and execute a campaign within your means.
For example, an NFT strategy can make you Web2.5-savvy relatively quickly, with few boundaries. You could go the collectibles route, or you can leverage NFTs to help give consumers extra access to an event, offer a reward, or create communities. Ticketmaster did this wonderfully by providing everyone present at Super Bowl LVI with a special NFT to commemorate the occasion. It is a unique collectible, but it’s also a way to galvanize the community.
So — the step into Web3 is more like a half-step. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You don’t need to jump into expensive metaverse projects (yet, if ever). Simply consider what you’re already doing, and determine how an tokenized NFT experience can augment and add value. We can help with that. Reach out to us for a consultation on how you can leverage NFT tools in your marketing.
To learn more about how the Mint platform works, or to see it in action, visit the website and get in touch. Or, visit the Mint blog for more information on web3 and NFTs.
