Brands in the NFT world are dominated by a new guard.
They’re startups that didn’t exist before NFTs, with funny names: Bored Apes, Doodles, Cool Cats, Moonbirds. And the most successful NFT brands are all PFPs (profile pictures).
Legacy brands jumping into web3, however, are much less likely to launch PFP collections.
Less than 5% of legacy brand NFT projects are PFP collections. Of 184 brand NFT projects we reviewed, only 9 could be considered PFP collections.
Not all NFT art needs to be moody monkeys or pixel punks, but PFPs are a massive part of web3 culture. And that’s not going away anytime soon. So, why have legacy brands been slower to adopt the format?
Defining PFPs
Let’s start by defining PFPs.
A PFP is NFT art commonly displayed by holders as their profile picture, typically on social platforms.
Successful PFPs tap into identity. Holders WANT to display it as a form of expression just as we express ourselves through music, fashion, art, sneakers, even cars.
Defining PFPs
Must be NFT art
Must be personified (needs a face)
Must evoke identity/culture (cool factor)
Should be square
Should be generatively produced (made using an algorithm/set of rules)
Should be a portrait (focused on head + shoulders/torso)
Quantity is typically 1,000 to 10,000
The two keys here are to make the art personified and expressive. If it can’t smile or smell, it’s probably not a PFP.
Without human characteristics (face, head, arms, etc.) and traits that we find interesting (sunglasses, laser eyes, scarf, etc.), it becomes harder for us to attach identity to the art.
Brand PFP Projects
The NFT collections below are some of the best examples of brand PFP projects.
There are edge cases we did not include here. Do Batman Cowls count as PFPs? Does Bud Light brand art? These and other generative collections are notable but have less personification and less opportunity to tap into identity.
Playboy
HypeBeast called it “a civilization of 11,953 non-fungible rabbits.” Playboy chose a 3D render art style to create a new character inspired by their iconic logo. Many of the traits are inspired by Playboy covers and merchandise.
Holders receive access to Playboy archival content, iPlayboy, new experiences, events, giveaways, and discounts.
“A collection of 11,953 unique, non-fungible tokens brought to you by one of the most iconic brands in the world. Each Rabbitar was… inspired by Playboy’s most famous iconography, art, photography, celebrities, and more.”
The Hundreds
The Hundreds has been one of the most successful streetwear brands in the world for almost 20 years. The Adam Bomb character is an iconic symbol for Hundreds fans and the broader streetwear audience. Their collection of various bomb characters and art is sourced and inspired by their past streetwear art.
Adam Bomb Squad is less personified than many PFPs, but it is character based and many holders use the art as their profile picture.
“Adam Bomb Squad is an NFT project by The Hundreds, consisting of 25,000 unique combinations of bombs and accompanying backgrounds from our two decades of history. Ownership grants you membership cards that come with perks directly from Adam Bomb Squad and the community.”
Forbes
Forbes Virtual NFT Billionaires – Opensea (launched on FTX)
Forbes took inspiration from their annual billionaires list to create 100 Virtual NFT Billionaires (VNFTB).
The simple but elegant utility is that the current owner gets listed with the billionaire on the official VNFTB list. This, combined with the scarcity of a small collection, has maintained a stable price.
“Forbes Virtual NFT Billionaire is a fictional, virtual investor, with an enormous imaginary portfolio with a virtual net worth based on live New York Stock Exchange pricing, fabulous hobbies, and an eccentric Forbes accessory.”
Liquid Death
Murder Head Death Club – Opensea
Liquid Death’s collection is very on-brand with this entire collection, from launching their presale list (Murderlist) to the storytelling around why they had so many severed heads to get rid of in the first place.
“[We] minted 6,666 generative severed head NFTs by Adult Swim artist Will Carsola. Each head is an exact replica of a thirst that has been savagely murdered by Liquid Death. …You’ll get exclusive access to private celebrity interviews, VIP concert tickets, limited edition merch, special discounts, and a bunch of other shit we can’t even tell you about.”
Pepsi
Pepsi's “genesis” Mic Drop collection focuses on its connection to music and noteworthy cultural events. When it comes to identity, the personified microphone art is less expressive than many PFPs, but several of the traits are personified.
Pepsi has also partnered with the Billboard Music Awards for an extension of the Mic Drop collection. I’d look for them to do more with entertainment and music events.
“The Pepsi Mic Drop genesis NFT is a generative-style collection of unique NFTs that live on the Ethereum blockchain. A nod to the year Pepsi was born, each of our 1,893 genesis tokens is created using nearly 50 unique attributes across six categories, including microphones, stages, accessories, and more.”
Entertainment Brands
Entertainment brands have also started rolling out PFP projects.
The first of these was the Matrix Avatars, a 100k NFT collection of full-figure characters based in the Matrix world.
Several cartoon brands launched in 2022, including Care Bears, Rugrats, Looney Tunes, and Hello Kitty. Entertainment IP comes with unique challenges as PFP collections.
If your existing IP is a well-known character (like the above brands) it becomes harder to tap into the identity benefit of PFPs. Consumers view it more as a collectible and less as an expression of themselves. It might be helpful for these brands to create a new character or new version of a classic character that is visually distinct.
A recent Yuga Labs example is helpful here. When Yuga started building Otherside, their upcoming metaverse game, they created a new type of character, Kodas, to build on their existing BAYC IP. This allowed them to jump into a new ecosystem without relying exclusively on their iconic Bored Ape characters for storytelling and world-building.
Why are brands slow to embrace PFPs?
There is no wrong way for a brand to enter the web3 space and start learning. Every client we work with to help make these decisions is a unique case.
PFPs may see lower adoption from brands because there are so many decisions to consider before taking on this type of collection.
There are four main reasons brands have been slower to embrace PFPs.
1. Wealth of Options
Legacy brands have a long list of options that allow them to experiment with NFTs without taking on a 10k PFP project. And that list of options is quickly growing.
Popular NFT project types:
Brand Art: Leaning toward existing branding, IP, product art
Collaborations: Working with NFT artists or existing NFT collections
Membership NFTs: Community focus, lower technical and artistic lift
Commemorative NFTs: Marking a moment in time, milestone, or event ticket
Metaverse Projects: Creating metaverse skins, avatars, objects, or experiences
Many brands choose smaller test projects that are easier to launch and learn from before taking on the challenging build-out of a PFP collection.
“Today, NFTs represent digital fashion, music, wearables, digital twins to real-world objects, and enable luxury experiences or private clubs open only to the holders. They provide value beyond PFP collections, centered around entertainment, rewards, and utility.”
— Elena Ikonomovska, Co-Founder and Chief AI Officer at Mnemonic
2. Less Revenue Focus
Legacy brands come into web3 with existing business models. Launching an NFT collection does not need to be a direct revenue channel. It can support established revenue sources through awareness, brand, community, and loyalty.
PFPs are a big focus for the NFT community because they are great at making money. Legacy brands can more easily choose to work outside of those guardrails.
One media brand veteran I spoke to on this topic pointed to the “boom and bust” stereotype of PFP projects. And that teams “working to build a meaningful, long-term presence in Web3 might want to avoid the “insatiable utility” utility demands of the traditional PFP consumer.
Managing expectations in a space driven by financial incentives is important. That’s why we recommend brands consider free mints and/or collections gated to customers and other stakeholders.
3. Technical Difficulty
If you launch an NFT project, a PFP collection is the most difficult challenge.
The strategic planning involved, technical execution, creative direction, and art decisions are all demanding. All of these pieces also require resources and expert support.
PFP collections offer unique value opportunities for brands, but that value requires having the right talent and support on your team.
4. IP Decisions
Building out a universe of characters with various traits, backstories, and likely some brand integration creates intellectual property questions for brands.
“Large brands are skittish on deploying PFPs because of concerns about how fans will use NFTs with IP implications. Secondly, generating thousands of individual and unique PFPs and enabling the same IP protection creates some brand risk.”
— Jeremiah Owyang, CMO at RLY Network Association
We see this especially with entertainment and media brands who have to take into account various rights agreements. The Matrix could not make NFTs portraying any actors from the movies. DC may have focused on Batman Cowls for similar reasons.
Brands have started to answer these IP questions, but it’s another part of the decision tree that may cause brands to take a shorter path.
Is it more challenging for brand PFPs to succeed?
We honestly don’t know yet, because there have been so few brand PFP collections to learn from.
How brands measure the success of NFT collections will be different, focusing more on community and engagement metrics than revenue numbers or royalties.
Benefits of PFPs
Of all the places a brand can go in web3, PFPs simply offer the most interesting way to engage with an audience today.
Community
The biggest benefit of a PFP collection is the immediate community it can create. Art brings people together in a way that’s hard to replicate. A PFP collection with a clear ethos or purpose can be a powerful community tool.
Identity
Imagine trying to convince thousands of your customers to change their profile photo to some type of brand art without using PFPs. The connection with a PFP community is unique and we’re really only starting to understand where this brand identity layer can go next.
Creativity
Brands don’t get to experiment creatively that much. Launching a community built upon expressive art creates opportunities for new types of brand IP and media. PFPs are a rare unicorn: an opportunity for your brand to be more fun and relatable.
Best Practices
I encourage you to consider a PFP collection as part of your strategy. When done well, the brand and community-building opportunity is unmatched.
If you’re looking to build a brand PFP collection, I’d recommend getting two criteria dialed for success:
1. Expressive Art
At Sofresh Labs, we’ve made a study of NFT art, and so should any brand looking to build a PFP collection. Lean into personification. Make the art unique with various traits that dial into identity.
2. Clear Benefits
Define simple utility paths for your NFT holders that do not rely solely on financial gain. Access to exclusive merch, events, and collaboration opportunities are emerging as best practices.
In a future post, we’ll dive into a more detailed look at what helps PFP projects succeed.
Work With Us
We help brands make these decisions and execute unique web3 strategies. If you’d like to work with Sofresh Labs or learn more about what we do, hit reply and say hello.
– Jason
Solid insights and summary of what's happening with brands and NFTs. If a brand decides that a PFP project is too ambitious, what is the best alternative? What did the other 95% you looked at do?