What does Netflix have to do with NFTs? - Episode 336 - by cryptohunt.it

What does Netflix have to do with NFTs?

It’s Thursday, Jan 12th - Welcome to the Cryptohunt Jam, where we spend a minute a day explaining the intersection of exciting new technologies and your world. As always: In plain English.

Today: A look at Netflix's NFT campaign to promote a movie – and why it worked.

We've been talking a lot about blockchains, and what YOU may - or may not - get out of them. But there is an entire different perspective: What companies get out of it.

And, let's be honest, for the most part it has simply been a way for them to blatently tap into a well-to-do audience. Remember, for example, how Tiffany's suddenly sold “NFTIFFs”, which were just diamond-studded jewelry copies of some expensive NFTs to open the wallets of their rich owners?

Well, let us tell you the story of Netflix then, who thought about something a little different: Using NFTs as a way to promote a new film.

In 2021, Netflix was finalizing the release of it's documentary called "This is a Robbery". It chronicles one of the largest art thefts in history, one where 13 famous paintings were stolen and only the frames left at the scene.

To promote the documentary, Netflix did something clever: They collaborated with 13 smaller influencer artists to create their version of these 13 stolen paintings. Then they launched these as 13 surprise NFTs in parallel with the movie.

Interestingly though, Netflix didn't want to make any money from those like most other brands who dabble in digital art. Instead, the streaming giant sent people directly to the artists' pages, where they could bid on the NFTs. This meant: The artists made 100% of the money, and Netflix none.

So why do this in the first place? Because it created a huge buzz for Netflix. The crypto community is very active on social media and immediately took a liking to the idea, especially BECAUSE it was helping those artists directly instead of enriching a middleman, which is one of the ideas behind Web3. And mainstream media thought the concept was clever too - suddenly all the big newspapers wrote about the project.

And this is how Netflix elevated a documentary that could have gone unnoticed to something that got global attention - all by tapping into the power of the crypto community and hijacking the NFT trend in a positive way.

We think this is very clever. And best of all? Everyone is happy, and nobody got cheated. And that's quite rare these days.

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This podcast is produced by Cryptohunt.it, the easiest place to learn all about Web3. Thanks again for that review!