With Nike’s announcement of its new web3 platform “.swoosh”, Nike pushes its stand-alone web3 brand strategy.
It’s been almost a year since the RTFKT Clone X launch, which was followed by the historic acquisition by Nike, marking a pivotal point for Nike’s standing and engagement in the space.
Since then, Nike has started collaborating with RTFKT on different co-branded NFT drops like Cryptodunks, MNLTH 2 and Skin Vial as well as phygital products that can be forged like the Nike AR Hoodie.
Today Nike announced .swoosh (“dot swoosh”), Nike’s web3 platform which they call the “home for its virtual creations”. There will be virtual creations and collectibles by Nike but also the opportunity for the community to co-create products and earn royalties.
While there have been co-branded NFT drops with RTFKT, this time the brand narrative is fully owned by Nike and their internal unit Nike Virtual Studios. This is clearly a push putting the Nike brand more into the foreground.
By enabling payment via credit/debit card and choosing Polygon for their .swoosh ID, I think this has the potential to onboard the next wave of non-crypto/web3 people into the space and make a step towards mass adoption.
So far it is clear that a community challenge is planned for December and a first collection drop for January next year. Excited to see what they have lined up!
