Samsung launches weeklong metaverse and NFT activation

Today, Samsung launches a weeklong “Discover Samsung” event, supported by NFTs and a scavenger hunt through their Discord community.

Samsung launched their Discord community, or server, in June. Earlier this year, they also opened a presence on 3D virtual platform Decentraland called Samsung 837X, and that place — modeled on the physical Samsung 837 interactive store in New York City — will host virtual events throughout the week.

By connecting multiple metaverse touchpoints to other legacy digital channels like Samsung.com, the brand shows how these emerging experiences can bring younger consumers into traditional fall sales events.

Dig deeper: 4 key strategies for NFT brand launches

Hunt for clues. Brand fans will be given a series of three questions on Samsung’s Discord server. They will find the answers to the questions somewhere on Samsung.com or Discord.

When that part of the game is complete, Discord users will then submit their MetaMask wallet address on Discord for a chance to win an NFT worth up to $500 in discounts on Samsung products.

NFTs and prizes. Participants will have until 5pm ET on September 14 to answer the questions. The next day, Samsung will drop NFTs to user, and each NFT will have a randomly-assigned value of $0-500.

Participants will then be able to redeem their NFT for an online certificate to use when shopping for Samsung products during the event.

In addition to everybody receiving an NFT with some value, 30 winners will get other prizes totaling $10,000 in giveaways.

Metaverse commerce events. Samsung will also host commerce events at Samsung 837X. These live-streamed events will feature products pulled from actual users’ wish lists on Samsung.com.

Why we care. It’s not just about planting a flag in the metaverse. Instead, it’s about what brands do once they, and their customer, get there.

This metaverse campaign has the familiar elements of a sweepstakes that have been part of marketing for ages. There are discounts and other prizes, which also, from a strategy standpoint, resemble loyalty programs. This promo updates the strategy by making it gamified with a digital scavenger hunt that engages metaverse community members on Discord and Decentraland.

Macy’s and Old Navy have also dropped NFTs as part of seasonal celebrations. Gap rolled out special wearables for virtual pets. The most promising executions are part of a longer, multi-step roadmap — the kind that Under Armour is putting together for 2022, 2023 and beyond.