The current NFT world is flooded with numerous projects that aim to captivate the eyes of the evolving community. The NFT collection Pudgy Penguins has taken a new route to garner widespread attention, and results so far have been promising. How do we say this? The NFT collection’s price has largely increased after its latest efforts emphasize creating a connection between the real and virtual worlds. This blog presents you with Pudgy Penguins’ novel take on gaining popularity for its NFTs and how new-age NFT development projects can utilize such underutilized approaches.
Pudgy Penguins: A Primer
Pudgy Penguins is an Ethereum-native NFT collection of 8,888 unique digital penguin collectible NFTs that first came into existence in 2021. While the collection seemed to be destined like just another hype-boosted endeavor, its takeover by the entrepreneur Lucas Netz ushered in a new era for it.
Since Lucas began actively involved in Pudgy Penguins, various deals were signed, including those based on selling physical Penguin toys. It even ran a seed funding round that collected 9 million dollars when the crypto market was largely bearish. Now, with its novel approach, Pudgy Penguins has transitioned into an Intellectual Property (IP) brand from a near-dead NFT collection.
Pudgy Penguins’ Latest Business Endeavor
In the series of outreach endeavors, Pudgy Penguins recently unveiled Pudgy Toys, physical plushies based on the NFT collections. These toys were initially sold online for international customers. Now, they are made available across 2,000 Walmart store locations in the USA and all Smyths stores in the UK.
Each of these toys comes with a QR code that can be scanned to uncover digital traits that can be redeemed in the Pudgy World, the virtual world built by the project. This platform is developed on the zkSync Era blockchain, a layer-2 solution built upon Ethereum.
Such a striking approach has led to the Web3 community’s support for the collection, reflected by a price rise of 189% between weeks. Alongside these, the NFT project also has an active online presence on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, tapping into user-generated content to establish itself as a leading NFT venture.
Lucas Netz, the CEO of the project, posted these exact words on X following the release of Pudgy Toys on Walmart:
“One small step for Pudgy Penguins, one giant leap for Web3.
Web3 IP and blockchain technology are now front and center in the worlds biggest retailer.”
Where Pudgy Penguins Won
This approach generated the tremendous traction Pudgy Penguins’ team needed at the moment as the NFT market seemed to focus only on ape-themed NFTs. Those ape-based NFT collections continued winning, too, but Pudgy Penguins did things in a different way.
Usually, whenever an NFT project needs to create attention and revenue, the usual route is to release another NFT collection or a Web3 app where the existing NFT collection can be used. But, Pudgy Penguins worked minimally on those aspects – it developed a virtual world, Pudgy World, and a derivative NFT collection, Lil Pudgys.
Apart from this, it created Igloo, a clothing brand selling themed clothing and accessories based on the project. Businesses like this and Pudgy Toys show how the project is keen to garner real-world appreciation for itself and build a unique Web3-native IP brand.
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Where Others Fell Short
Most NFT collections kept on minting newer NFT iterations as a way to appeal to the wider market and accelerate Web3 adoption. While this approach worked during the 2021 NFT boom, the subsequent bearish market showed the harsh reality – most collections’ floor prices tanked as fewer collectors showed interest in trading these NFTs.
The same happened with Web3 applications, such as games and virtual worlds, as most people were unwilling to purchase digital assets when the space’s monetary value went significantly low. Even if NFT ventures formed real-world collaborations, efforts were mostly virtual in nature, lessening their overall impact. For example, some NFT projects created custom NFTs and digital collectibles that reflected the partner’s brand, which did not sit well in the real world.
Another point that had impacted projects was their teams’ decision to stay anonymous. While being able to stay anonymous remains one of Web3’s greatest advantages, NFT projects striving for global recognition cannot do away with real-world participation. With NFT-focused events occurring in most metropolitan cities across the globe, showing up as a team matters for NFT ventures planning for business in the long term.
Lessons NFT Development Projects Can Learn from Pudgy Penguins
With more NFT development projects determined to launch NFT collections, the success of a renowned Web3 IP brand like Pudgy Penguins offers them some valuable lessons to implement. Some of them include the following:
Physical Products
As a project focusing on NFTs, it wouldn’t be ideal only to keep launching NFT collections continuously. Opting for physical products can help a lot for newer projects to gain popular reach, which can then be utilized to attract Web3 audiences.
Real-World Meets
The Pudgy Penguins’ team often meets community members across the world, like the recent meet in Malaysia, where the team met with the local Pudgy NFT holder community, and Token 2049 in Singapore, where it held a Pudgy Week, a week-long community event for NFT holders.
People-facing Approach
Pudgy Penguins’ CEO is very involved in the project, with regular community meetings, which is a rare trait for a founder. New project founders need to realize that being involved doesn’t stop at social media interactions, and showing up physically fosters increased levels of trust among NFT holders.
How Can We Aid Projects to Launch NFT Collections?
If you’re a Web3 business enthusiast interested in launching an NFT collection, you might have sensed how Pudgy Penguins’ refined approach won people’s hearts – even those outside the NFT-savvy space. As a renowned provider of NFT development services, our team at Blockchain App Factory offers professional assistance for startups aiming to build impactful Web3 brands.
Our prowess in NFT development encompasses NFT creation and studio services that ensure you have an NFT collection that precisely reflects your project’s aim and theme. Supplementing such efforts, our seasoned marketing team provides extensive promotional services that put your NFT collection on the top – both in terms of community strength and revenue generation.
Conclusion
The buzz around NFTs has been stable with time, irrespective of market trends and mainstream perspectives. The immense success of NFT development projects like Pudgy Penguins has been fuelling hopes for the Web3 space that is still on its way to finding the perfect way to link with the real world. Aspiring NFT collection-based ventures should take a point or two from Pudgy Penguins’ business approach to ensure constant revenue generation and cultural presence in a world where digital trends change in hours. With Blockchain App Factory’s professionals, though, you’re in safe hands, as we can aid you in launching NFT collections and building a great deal of fandom. Do you want to get started? Fill out the contact form to initiate a casual business conversation with one of our representatives!
