On Wednesday, Dr. Seuss-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were launched on Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain in partnership with NFT startup Tibles, in which Dapper Labs previously invested. The project has been in the works for over a year.
The NFTs are digital collectibles of iconic characters such as Cat in the Hat and the Grinch, as well as representations of locations and items in the stories. The assets are available through a mobile app, Seussibles, with pack prices starting at $4.99. Users will also gain access to a group chat to discuss Dr. Seuss’ content.
When brands go into the NFT space, they often aim to attract a younger audience that is fairly fluent in new technologies and can appreciate the brand’s efforts to move engagement to the digital realm. In this sense, the younger generations motivate brands to move into the metaverse. While one might think the app is targeting children, users need to be at least 18 years old to sign up. Hence, parents may take the role of buying the NFTs. The fact that bartering rather than trading is encouraged in the app reinforces this view.
Despite efforts from various initiatives, Dapper Labs included, to diminish consumer barriers to entry and require little to no crypto knowledge to participate in the experiences, NFTs are still a foreign concept to most consumers regardless of age. And while many brands have launched their own digital collections this year, it is still too early to predict what the industry will look like in the coming years. Some envisage that brands will use NFTs primarily as loyalty rewards.
However, if people are familiar with NFTs from childhood, the long term success of these products and the normalization of their commerce in society would become more likely.
This, of course, is of great interest to Dapper Labs, whose purpose is to take NFTs mainstream. Sports are an effective outlet to get people talking, as was demonstrated by NBA Top Shot. However, targeting children is also an impactful way to integrate NFTs into common consumption behaviors for the longer term.
“We’re talking about more of a cultural movement, where there are things that people of diverse interests can participate in,” Dapper Labs’ Head of Partnerships Caty Tedman said. “Seussibles is really a shining example of how beloved property can come to life using this technology.”
Meanwhile, Dapper Labs is still improving Top Shot. It announced it would begin launching NFTs at live games and brought Women’s NBA to the platform. The company raised over $300 million earlier this year and another $250 million in September. It continues to raise funds to invest in other startups.
