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A metaverse clubhouse for NFT owners

some·place by Lana Hopkins, Sydney and Los Angeles

Global – Seeking to carve a community-centric niche in the Web3 space, metaverse platform some.place offers a serene online meeting space for those who hold non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The platform will feature a marketplace, gallery room and other public areas where users can display their NFTs and interact with one another. To gain entry, hopeful members must purchase its proprietary NFT – a sleek 3D potion bottle that it calls Genesis.

Founded by women entrepreneurs, some.place aims to offer a more equally gendered virtual experience for NFT communities. Looking ahead, the platform plans to have regular marketplace drops with brands, artists and celebrity collaborations. By taking this approach, some.place recognises the importance of growing a digital community before launching an array of digital assets, rather than the other way around.

Through its considered and curated approach to NFT trading and women-first community-building, some.place sets an example to other online networks hoping to launch in the post-social era.

Strategic opportunity

As NFT ownership trickles down to the masses, brands have an opportunity to establish virtual clubhouses for its early adopters

A vibrant rebranding for Africa’s highest valued start-up

Flutterwave rebranded by Verve, Africa and The Netherlands

Nigeria – With its colourful rebranding, fintech company Flutterwave – the top-valued start-up on the continent – is boosting African culture.

The fintech brand provides a payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent. While already an established start-up, its new visual identity was designed by Dutch brand agency Verve to be inspired by the Yoruba word 'LiabaLaba', which translates as 'butterfly’ in English. With a bold colour palette, the identity deviates from the typically conservative design of financial services.

‘Flutterwave is such a powerful and dynamic brand that exudes the spirit of African entrepreneurship and so our collaborative approach was critical to this, ensuring the brand remained authentically African while standing out in its category,’ says Roman Stikkelorum, managing director of Verve.

Moving away from the cold and corporate aesthetics of the financial world, this rebranding showcases the next era of African entrepreneurship in all its vibrancy. To read more about how design is shifting in line with money, read our design direction Fluid Capital.

Strategic opporutnity

Instead of implementing a one-size-fits-all approach, financial companies should consider launching region-specific design identities that uplift different consumer groups

Daily Paper’s playlists solidify its sonic identity

UK and Amsterdam – The fashion brand is tuning into the powerful medium of music and becoming an official curator on Apple Music. Recognising that music plays a core role in Daily Paper’s identity, its initial launch of five playlists feature songs relating to its flagship stores, its behind-the-scenes creative processes and soundtracks curated by the global Daily Paper community.

In its Seasonal Sounds playlist, the brand considers the selection of songs as a reflection of the Daily Paper universe. The brand explains: ‘Whether it’s the songs that were played by our creative team in the design room, or iconic tunes from artists that shaped the culture that inspired the story of our garments, our Seasonal Sounds playlist will bring you into our creative process and contextualise the resulting designs through music.’ Here, Daily Paper showcases the importance of connecting audiences with brand touchpoints beyond physical products and store environments.

In the luxury space, we’ve previously explored how Auralux Experiences can similarly provide an effective format for discovery, education and brand-led connections.

Daily Paper in collaboration with Apple Music, Amsterdam, London and New York

Strategic opportunity

Brands across sectors can take inspiration from this strategy and similarly find ways to entice audiences through cultural tie-ups. Beyond music, consider how you could align your brand with artists or film-makers, for example

Stat: Brand storytelling is integral to marketing

Lick Click Bite Spit by Bianca Schick

Content-led marketing, where companies design campaigns that centre on storytelling and cultural commentary, is projected to continue its acceleration in the coming years. According to a report by the World Media Group, 37% of companies believe that content-led advertising can help shift brand perceptions.

As companies gain confidence in this form of advertising, they are embracing brand storytelling to generate long-term engagement with audiences. According to 41% of the companies surveyed, the content-led approach is optimal for increasing brand engagement, while 33% of brands maintain that this method can help demonstrate thought-leadership.

Content-led advertising is eclipsing traditional marketing as consumers seek to connect with brands’ back stories and understand how companies fit into contemporary culture. But as more businesses adopt this new strategy, there’s a risk that certain material will be drowned out. To learn how to stand out in an overcrowded content environment, readers can look at how Curator Kids are navigating information overload.

Strategic opportunity

To differentiate from other companies, consider embracing unusual content mediums – such as voice notes, text messages or even YouTube comments – to spread brand awareness

Futures100 designed by Sam Davies for the Future Laboratory

Nominate your Futures 100 Innovators

As we develop our Futures 100 Innovators longlist for 2022, we’re calling on you – our community of members and readers – to nominate those individuals who are transforming industries, creating opportunities or disrupting the status quo.

Each month, we reveal 10 new names in our longlist for the Futures 100 Innovators Awards – a global line-up of 100 innovators, disruptors, activists and change-makers working across sectors ranging from Beauty to Food & Drink, Luxury, Retail and Youth culture – with January and February’s lists already live.

But it’s not only for us, The Future Laboratory and LS:N Global analysts, to decide: we are calling for our wider community to contribute to this year’s longlist by nominating your own innovators. Just tell us who they are, what they’re doing to shape the future, and any links where we can find out more about their projects or work, via: [email protected]

After 10 months, our complete Futures 100 Innovators list will be presented to a panel of industry judges who will select and award their 10 leading innovators, revealed in October 2022.

To partner with us on this year’s Futures 100 Innovators Awards, get in touch with Jonny Ayres via: jayres@thefuturelaboratory.com