As conversations about Web3 move from a forward-looking possibility to a rapidly approaching reality, it’s important for news media companies to understand where it’s headed and how they can be part of it.

During Wednesday’s Webinar, Paulo Mira, CEO of the digital agency PHD Mobi, gave INMA members a brief history of the Web and a tour of the future. Then, he explained how news media companies can leverage the opportunities it has to offer.

Web3 is based on blockchain, which Mira explained is “nothing more than transforming data into a block of information.” While the original Web was based on giving users materials to read or view, Web2 introduced elements like Facebook and Google, allowing for more participation online. Web3 allows users to not just read and interact, but to own digital assets like bitcoin.

“We can create things in a way that nobody needs to be in the middle of. And that’s why the economy is transforming so, so rapidly,” Mira said. This new landscape is rife with opportunities for news media companies, and the easiest one to capitalise on is NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.

Unlike a fungible token, such as coin or paper money with a set value, NFTs change in value. But in order for it to have value, “it needs to be something rare,” he explained. “It needs to be transferable and it needs to be authentic, so it must be an original.”

Sony Pictures and director Quentin Tarantino are transforming frames of the iconic movie “Pulp Fiction” into NFTs. Fans will be able to buy the images and own that individual frame; if they sell it, Sony and Tarantino will receive 10% of the sale in perpetuity.

“So from now until the end of history, Sony is going to be receiving 10% of every transaction that happens with those NFTs,” Mira said. “This is a big deal. And this is kind of the model that everybody is going after now.”

What it means for media companies

But it doesn’t take a box office smash to generate cashflow from NFTs, Mira said. Companies like Time and Vogue have entered the NFT space, and other publishers can learn from what they’ve done. In fact, Mira said, publishers are sitting on a ready-made treasure trove of possible NFTs.

“The IP or the intellectual property is already inside of your company. You don’t need to create anything. You already have plenty of photographs, videos, images, artwork, and cartoons,” he pointed out. “Whatever you have there is already there. You just need to understand that that has value. And it’s just sitting there doing nothing.”  

Time magazine recently leveraged its considerable stockpile of historical images to create collections of NFTs. A driving element of NFTs is ownership; audiences want to be part of an exclusive community and own something special. Time’s five collections included more than 20,000 NFTs and sold for more than US$600,000, with all the money going to charity. The art that was sitting in the archives has suddenly gained value: “Now it’s generating money for them, and it’s gonna generate money every time it’s transacted into the future,” Mira said.

In addition to generating revenue, Mira said jumping into the NFT space can change the perception of a brand.

“When you say that your company is doing [NFTs], other departments will say, ‘Oh, wow, we are so modern. We’re high tech.’ That overflows to outside of the company, to your audience, to your advertisers, to the community that you’re impacting.”

Getting started with NFTs

To start, media companies should look at what intellectual properties they have in their databases and identify what their audiences want.

“You have to see what exactly is interesting to your audience. What is a subject that is interesting? Are we talking about culture? Are we talking about art, or are we talking about sports, the economy, or politics? It depends on what is the profile of your media company or your product.”

Mira encouraged getting audiences involved to vote on what they’d like to see made available as an NFT; not only does it ensure they’re getting what they want, but it’s an awareness campaign that lets them know it’s coming.

Next, companies must create a package that aligns with their audience’s wants. “What is it that you already have in-house that you can group them and create a package?”

Creating the right offer is critical, which means choosing the right marketplace and pricing it correctly: “You want it to be accessible but depending on what your offer is, what your package is, and what your benefits are, your price goes up and down.”

In addition to pricing the NFT for sale, publishers must decide what percentage of the future sales it will receive. “Are you going to make 10% of the sale in the future? Or 5%? 20%? This is how to make this more relevant for your revenue streams.”

Spreading the word

Media companies have many advantages when it comes to selling NFTs because they have access to individuals and events that buyers want to be part of.

“That makes a media company completely different from whatever else is in the market today,” Mira said. “Because in the media company, you can offer benefits.”

A company could create a sports-themed NFT collection and offer a ticket to a game once a month as part of that purchase, he said. Or they could use the NFT to get discounts on sporting events.

“NFTs are being used as coupons or codes to give discounts for all kinds of things. It could be events, it could be buying products, it could be attending a concert. It could be whatever it is,” Mira said. “Media companies have something that nobody else has — access — which is what we call the intangible.”

Mira walked participants through the process of creating an NFT and gave a tour of OpenSea, one of the most popular NFT platforms. He created an NFT for INMA to show the simplicity of the process and encouraged companies to start looking at what they could do to leverage NFTs.

“I would like to invite you all to create, or to start creating, your strategy so that you can participate in this amazing new world that is the world of Web3.”  

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