NFT, or non-fungible token, is a term that is quickly moving from the list of “crypto jargon” to the mouths of the mainstream. More and more people are wondering what the hype is about, where they can collect NFTs, and what exactly they do with it once they have it.
The excitement is there, but the accessibility isn’t, at least for the majority of non-crypto audiences. What makes it more difficult is that even where there are sports cards, art, or music that has been transformed into an NFT, it can be unclear how fans can find and purchase it. And this is where Jamie Lewis comes in to help. He’s held roles as a Global Licensing Director for an international consumer products business, has advised numerous technology start-ups across multiple industries, and holds a degree in Finance from The University of Nottingham.
Jamie is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ioconic, a digital asset licensing business that integrates the world’s most iconic brands into the digital ecosystem. What this means is that Ioconic’s team of experts work with top brands to create digital strategies. These strategies can include designing digital assets for mass market adoption, defining new ways for brands to enter the digital space, helping brands integrate with blockchain (including NFTs), giving children the chance to interact with the blockchain and tokenization space, and helping brands to use key elements of blockchain for fan engagement and rewards.
A prime example of Jamie’s work is the recent collaboration with MGA Entertainment to release a special line of L.O.L. Surprise NFTs. These NFTs take the form of digital character collectibles that can be purchased, displayed, and even bought/sold/traded on digital platforms. Ioconic worked with an incredibly popular brand with a broad following, developed a digital strategy that unlocked additional revenue for the company, and created digital products that fans and collectors have been excited to experience. Without entering the crypto world through a blockchain exchange or other complex DAapp, fans have been gently introduced to the world of crypto in a way that is meaningful, valuable, and engaging.
We spoke to Jamie about what led to the establishment of Ioconic, what it can offer, and where it will go from here.
Jamie Lewis
How did your career bring you to this industry?
I was previously the Global Licensing Director for an international manufacturing business. As a result, I had a lot of experience working with a number of the biggest consumer brands in the world. I was personally involved. In crypto investing for a number of years and saw the beginnings of the NFT industry appearing. It occurred to me that there could be a huge opportunity for brands to enter the digital asset ecosystem. Given my experience with global brands and my industry knowledge—it seemed like the right time to set up Ioconic.
What first inspired the idea of helping bring businesses into the digital ecosystem?
We are at the beginning of the age of digital ownership. There is a clear opportunity for IP holders, individuals and brands to build digital economies around their portfolios.
There are so many NFT projects appearing across marketplaces and closed platforms. At Ioconic, we believe this method is restricting the opportunities for brands to engage with their loyal fan bases due to the fact many of these projects are targeted at crypto and NFT investors rather than the brand’s actual fans.
If you are a global brand—why restrict your audience in the digital space?
We are now focused on engaging both the crypto industry as well as mass market audiences for the brands we are working with.
What type of digital assets do you help license and create for customers?
We don’t ‘help’ license. We actually operate as licensees and take the risk on the contracts themselves. We invest in the projects using our own funds. We only look to benefit if the brand we are representing benefits.
Ioconic is not a platform. The business exists as a turn key solution for brands to enter this space. Every brand we work with has different fan demographics, different requirements and different visions. Therefore, every project we work on, we ideate fresh digital asset strategies to capture the area of the market the brand wants to target.
Our projects to date have covered: advisory, NFT drops, tokenomics, social token implementations, digital ecosystem rollouts, physical to digital integrations, blockchain gaming, amongst others.
What is an example of a digital asset launch you’ve done lately?
Our latest project which we launched a beta version of last week, is for LOL Surprise! This is a $25bn global toy brand with tens of millions of fans around the world. We created, funded and built an entire digital ecosystem for the brand to become centred around. There is a soft currency tokenized economy, NFT minting and marketplace, a blockchain game as well as a physical to digital edge whereby we are rewarding physical merchandise collectors in the digital platform.
The most exciting element of this project was delivering a tokenized and blockchain-based ecosystem for kids—proving that complex technologies can truly be taken to the mass market. It’s also pretty cool that our QR codes are heading out to tens of thousands of global retailers for ‘physical’ redemptions!
How does blockchain come into play for a company’s digital strategy? Is it more than just NFTs?
Absolutely! I think we are only at the beginning of wide blockchain integrations and rollouts. At the moment ‘blockchain’ is a bit of a buzz word but very few outside of the industry actually understand the power and benefits of utilizing blockchain technology. Companies want to be involved and don’t even know why. It is so important to educate and demonstrate the benefits of blockchain for all businesses getting involved in this space. Whilst NFTs are of course minted on-chain, the application of this technology can go a lot further!
How do you approach the opportunity for community engagement using blockchain?
Community engagement is a huge part of what we are focused on when delivering digital asset projects for brands. In the physical world—brands rely on traditional advertising methods to generate sales and engagement such as TV, etc. In the digital asset space, community engagement is ultimately what makes or breaks a project. Given that we are tokenizing many platforms for brands, we are able to engage users in the form of rewards and redemptions in order to attract them, reward them and retain them.
