gm.
in my latest NFT graph, I break down the ingredients for a “blue-chip” NFT project.
it’s a little bit of *branding*, a good amount of *hype*, solid *execution*, and a big *community*.
4 ingredients and 4 sections to my newsletter. sounds like we’re going to have a solid thinkpiece going here!
ALPHA ⚓️
Lucky Ducky making moves
*hype*
I’m leading today with actual news. I got a *press release* and everything.
so here it goes: Pete Levin and Rich Zim will be joining the Lucky Ducky team. for those that don’t know those names, the release presents of their accolades and past experience…in particular Rich Zim’s work on The Nightmare Before Christmas and Pete Levin’s animation on Robot Chicken.
ever heard of ‘em?! *Jason Concepcion voice*
Jeremy Fisher, the founder of Lucky Ducky (and full disclosure, a subscriber to this newsletter and a Web3 friend of mine) is building a superteam of animators to bring his studio to the next level…and in order to do that, you often have to start building *hype*.
that’s still how Hollywood and Web3 work at the end of the day.
press releases are used to do exactly that…to draw eyeballs and get publications bigger than mine to write about them.
by the time you read this, I’m hoping the film world has picked up on the news…and that Web3 also stopped sleeping on this awesome animation project/studio.
(and seriously go listen to the Blank Check podcast on The Nightmare Before Christmas to get a glimpse of how much work goes into stop-motion animation)
BETA ⚓️
Sappy Seals surge
*community*
the bear market is for building…and buying Sappy Seals apparently.
the Seals eclipsed a 1 ETH price floor on Tuesday in anticipation of an announcement by their fearless, shitposting leader, Wab.
it’s been a crazy ride for the project, which has leaned into *memes* in order to stay top of mind on NFT Twitter. and their community has certainly done its part too. it feels that a Sappy Seal PFP represents a *certain* type of person…a very funny person.
(but one that definitely thinks they’re funnier than they are)
plz refer back to my pyramid at the top.
yes, *community* is the foundation that all NFT projects need. that’s because much like Sappy Seals, it can help weather any storm thrown their way.
but it’s harder than it sounds to build a solid one. do I know how we got here with Sappy Seals? hell no.
do I think they’ll be around for a while based on that foundation they’ve built? absolutely.
props to Wab and the Seal community. arf.
GAMMA ⚓️
Cool Cats win!
*brand*
following up on the results of the Macy’s Parade vote…
Cool Cats ended up pulling off the comeback, beating out SupDucks at the last second.
say what you will about the Macy’s Parade (that it’s boring, an antiquated tradition, not relevant anymore, etc.), it is cool that they’ll be some NFT representation in it next year.
*and* say what you will about the Cool Cats, but you can’t deny the blue cat’s branding power. it’s iconic already within the NFT world…despite the team’s missteps…and it’ll surely get a few families to turn their heads during the parade and ask:
“what is that thing? it’s cute.”
that could be a nice crossover that raises the profile of the NFT space in general. at the very least, I’ll be hyped to watch the event next year for the first time ever.
DELTA ⚓️
Yuga Bounty Program
*execution*
what made Bored Apes as big as they are? the creators would like to think it’s the lore, while holders would like to say it’s the community.
but me? I think it’s something different.
the Bored Apes, and particularly the Yuga team, outpaced their competition early on with their *execution* of ideas. from the Mutant serum to the airdrop of the Bored Ape Kennel Club dogs, they’ve turned dreams into reality time and time again.
and most importantly did so with very little hangups or controversies.
think about it too…their stumbles recently have come only because the Otherside has not gone smooth and their Ape staking had some hangups.
now? Ape staking is live and their holders are once again reaping the rewards from the team’s execution (though the money printer they’ve created certainly doesn’t hurt).
so it’s no surprise then that they’re implementing a bug bounty program to keep the ship running something. they simply need to make sure that the pyramid keeps standing.
see you next week.