Nike .SWOOSH Launch TINAJ (This is Not a JPEG), First Physical Release

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Introduction 🔌🔧

It’s been a year since the FTX implosion, and as you can imagine, it has been a painful one for the Web3 space.

As a byproduct, however, it has washed away a lot of the scams and unserious actors.

On the other side of the coin, those with a long-term view and vast resources have built some really interesting things that are gaining traction.

One of those is Nike who launched .SWOOSH, their Web3 platform — weeks after the FTX collapse — and has become the best case study for brands in this industry.

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Nike. Swoosh Launch TINAJ (This is Not a JPEG), First Physical Release

The Sporting Crypto Newsletter is supported by The HBAR Foundation.

Almost 12 months after announcing their Web3 platform .SWOOSH, Nike get physical.

Yes, the great pioneers of digital content in sport, fashion and Web3 have stopped the silly NFT stuff, and gone back to basics with good old-fashioned real-life sneakers. (not really) 

Their first physical drop is the funnily named; Nike Air Force 1 TINAJ - This Is Not A JPEG. Discussed in this Newsletter

👟 What is TINAJ?🤔 .SWOOSH until this point🧠 Concluding Thoughts and the Future of .SWOOSH

👟 What is TINAJ?

Nike’s Web3 platform .SWOOSH is creating physical sneakers.

Nike Air Force 1 TINAJ (This is Not a JPEG) is the first physical piece that the sportswear giants’ digital platform is launching.

TINAJ will drop via the Nike SNKRS app on October 20th 2023 and cost $120. 

The sneaker is only available to Nike Our Force 1 (OF1) holders on the .SWOOSH platform, and the boxes, either classic or new wave, must be open for holders to qualify for the TINAJ drop.

There will also be .SWOOSH and TINAJ apparel drops to accompany the sneaker release in the future, prices of which have not been revealed as of yet.

🤔 .SWOOSH until this point

Before we get further, let’s recap .SWOOSH and their journey over the last 12 months:

• In November 2022, Nike launched .SWOOSH. It is described as “a web3-enabled platform that champions athletes and serves the future of sport by creating a new, inclusive digital community and experience and a home for Nike virtual creation” 

• They onboarded Nike fans using Nike .SWOOSH ID, a non-token that acts your .SWOOSH account. Since then 375,812 .SWOOSH IDs have been claimed.

• In January 2023, Nike launched the Your Force One contest, where members could co-design sneakers for the Our Force 1 collection.

• In April 2023, Nike distributed 106,453 free virtual posters to .SWOOSH community members who had previously engaged in co-creation with Nike.

• In May 2023, over 30,000 people bought almost 100,000 Our Force 1 boxes resulting in almost $2m in revenue for Nike

• In June 2023, Nike announced that .SWOOSH NFTs were to appear in future editions of EA Sports video games. They also partnered with Fortnite to create ‘Airphoria’ — players who linked their Epic Games and Nike accounts while Airphoria is available were be able to claim an "Achievement" on .SWOOSH.

It’s safe to say it’s been a really busy 12 months for .SWOOSH by Nike. Having said that, this is their first foray into the physical realm when it comes to .SWOOSH.

It adds another dimension to what has been exclusively a digital platform so far.

It also adds some form of gamification.

Of the Our Force 1 boxes, ~46,300 are still unopened, and to buy an Air Force TINAJ, you have to have opened your Our Force 1 box and hold an Our Force 1 sneaker.

This isn’t just a physical drop, however.

Those who do buy the TINAJ sneakers via the Nike SNKRS app are then airdopped (given for free, direct into their .SWOOSH account) a digital double with full 3D animations.

Only one physical sneaker can be claimed per account.

🧠 Concluding Thoughts

There is not playbook for executing in Web3 for brands, so I do sometimes have sympathy when brands are not successful from the start.

But Nike are most definitely one of, if not the leaders when it comes to innovating in this space as a large organisation.

Their Web3 strategy is world-class. 

One thing to dissect here specifically on the TINAJ is the fact that it will be dropped via the Nike SNKRS, for the first time connecting another of Nike’s digital platforms to the Web3 platform .SWOOSH.

SNKRS has had 50m+ lifetime downloads and it was reported that in Feb 2022 the app was seeing 4m+ monthly active users.

It’s an app that has been around since 2015, and is many multiples larger than .SWOOSH as a platform.

The connection between the two is very interesting.

To me, it shows once again that Nike are incredibly serious about Web3 being a core function of their business, not just a silo on the side that may or may not grow. A punt or experiment — it’s clear now that it’s the exact opposite for Nike.

But there is friction, with existing Nike sneakerheads.

Showcasing these sneakers, to sneakerheads, who may not know much about .SWOOSH is going to cause some slight frustration - as per this comment in a complex article.

It is frustration that Nike will have to ride until there is less friction and hoops to jump through, and .SWOOSH becomes more integrated within their brand in its entirety.

UI in Web3 is clunky and there’s always the polarising optics it brings with it.

With that being said, it could also prove to be a masterstroke. The conversion figures via cross-pollination will be fascinating to see, and what better way to onboard people to your Web3 platform than to showcase things they can only have by owning digital content created by Nike?

It’s very pointed and intentional. Nike even announced the TINAJ drop during a live stream on SNKRS.

So make no mistake about it, they are going directly to their most digital audience via the SNKRS app and trying to converge the two.

The Future of .SWOOSH

Nobody knows quite what .SWOOSH as a platform is going to become, but we have some clues so far:

1. Digitally native and far-reaching: .SWOOSH as a platform is trying to activate 100s of thousands of digitally native sneakerheads.

2. Gamification and exclusive access: Nike want .SWOOSH to be far more than a transactional loyalty platform. They want their users to co-create, interact, collect and generate content — as well as participate in gamified experiences — or at least make choices with the digital keys (digital Nike apparel) they have in their wallets

3. Interoperability and Openness: For a big brand it’s always difficult to open yourselves up to the extent that many Web3 native brands have because inherently it makes your MOAT less defensible. But Nike has shown that by partnering with both EA Games and Fortnite, not only are they creating those digital bridges, but they are doing so with ecosystems that are usually very closed off.

If you add to the above, the fact that:

1. Gaming is the fastest-growing and highest-grossing market in entertainment

2. Every brand under the sun is looking at how to ‘future proof’ by catering to a more digitally native audience

3. Margins of physical goods for Nike have tightened since COVID

Their keenness to grow .SWOOSH and having it bridge to the gaming world from the ground up makes a lot of sense.

In fact, we don’t even need to guess this.

On Swoosh.Nike —> The foot of the website reads:“Whether you’re a designer, storyteller, gamer, or just have love for Nike culture, we want you to build Nike’s digital-first community with us.”

Their drive to create, with their community, the future of digital (and physical) sports apparel, is no longer looking like a lofty goal or something done for PR purposes to doubters, but a future core part of Nike’s business.

The body of work can no longer be argued against.

💡 Sporting Crypto Spotlight - Ep. 6 of the Podcast!

In this episode, I was joined by Max Wolfe, Web3 & Digital Licensing at McLaren Racing to discuss their Web3 strategy.

Watch the episode below on YouTube!

Or your podcast player of choice… if you’d prefer not to see our faces!

🍎 Find us on Apple Podcasts here [Link] ✅ or on Spotify here [Link]

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• Upland, NFLPA, and OneTeam Partners Expand NFL Player Integration in Web3 for 2023-2024 Season (Read more here)

• OKX Unveils OKX Crypto Cricket Cup during International Championship (Read more here)

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• Spanish Esports team MAD Lions have launched the MAD Lions loyalty scheme: The Pride (Read more here)

• Moncler & adidas Originals Release New Collection (Read more here)

• Power of Women and Man City’s ‘Same City, Same Passion’ collaboration celebrates the start of the Women’s Super League Season 2023-24 (Read more here) 

General ‘Stuff’ that Could Impact You

• Great thread on NFTs (Read more here)

• Active developers in Crypto are at their lowest since the end of 2020 (Read more here)

• American Express Drops Art POAPs For Austin City Limits (Read more here)

• PayPal explores NFTs with new marketplace patent after launching stablecoins (Read more here) 

• UBS Launches Tokenization Trial on Ethereum (Read more here)

• Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT Creator Yuga Labs Confirms Layoffs (Read more here)

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