This has been a habit for a while now, and every starry-eyed announcement usually promises some form of connection or exclusive opportunity. But for the majority of the population who don’t own cryptocurrency or NFTs (and may not care to), big names and the pricey tech concepts they promote make for strange bedfellows indeed.
Have we reached critical mass on the NFT market? Are we in the final days of this influencer or that movie star pushing high-dollar digital wares?
Where is the crypto train headed?
He says what we’re seeing now; the awkwardness and cult-like aggression of cryptospace promoters, is the wheat separating from the chaff.
“Right now, these things may have a very minute audience. But it’s like the beginning of a roller coaster. You’re working, climbing, and going up, up, up, and then the payoff comes,” he tells CNN.
While celebrity endorsements may spin a future where people buy and sell exclusive virtual wares as easily as they do at a merch stand, the current world of digital assets is a small pond filled with very, very big fish.
Who’s connecting with whom?
What these big fish are hoping to sell to their smaller followers is a point of connection — a ticket into the pond, if you will. A chance to swim alongside them.
What’s coming next?
Behrooz says the key to any good partnership — one that doesn’t feel forced or inorganic, is to really investigate the celebrity or influencer that would be attached to a project. Who is their audience, for instance, or what kind of values do they have? It should be someone authentic who has a close relationship with fans, he notes.
That’s especially important in the world of NFTs, he says, where people can easily fall victim to scams or mismanagement.
“People are starting to be aware of situations in this space where they’re being taken advantage of,” he says. “So you have to look at the communities the person has created.”
It’s no surprise that those most active in these digital spaces may not have ever listened to a Snoop Dogg or Madonna cassette. They likely don’t even remember why Paris Hilton is famous.
“This is clearly more prevalent with younger, more digitally native people because, for that generation, money has always been more conceptual,” La Monica says.
“We’re not changing our approach,” Behrooz explains of his agency’s work. “This is where the marketplace is to convert people into believers.”
In the future that metaverse believers dream of, stars could hold concerts or meet-and-greets in virtual spaces with regularity. People could buy special items for their avatars — the virtual versions of themselves that would inhabit this new world. Behrooz says he’s blown away by some ideas he’s seen about ways to interact with the metaverse, like custom houses and NFTs that translate into exclusive, real-world access into clubs or other events.
As it is now, the digital assets celebrities promote are often prohibitively priced or hosted on platforms that require exclusive rights to access. The connection to fans often feels tenuous at best, and predatory at worst. But as long as the crypto race continues, stars of all stripes will be running along, hoping to lead their followers — and their money — into the future.
