A non-fungible token (NFT) is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a block chain, a form of digital ledger, that can be sold and traded. Types of NFT data units may be associated with digital files such as photos, videos, and audio. Because each token is uniquely identifiable, NFTs differ from blockchain crypto currencies, such as Bitcoin. Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), essentially blockchain-certified digital art, have been gaining immense popularity among brands, artists, celebrities, etc, both in India and globally.
India’s leading media conglomerate Viacom18’s Youth, Music and English Entertainment (YME) cluster, set its foot in the rapidly growing digital space of non-fungible tokens with the announcement of the NFT marketplace Fullyfaltoonft.com, which has been setup by GuardianLink.io – a pioneer and innovator of NFT Technologies.
This launch is said to be a first of its kind in India, from a Youth entertainment brand and creators/users on the marketplace can enjoy the safety benefits of GuardianLink.io’s Anti-RIP NFT technology. The marketplace will offer ‘fully valuable’ digital art conceptualized and created by the team that brings to life iconic brands like MTV, Vh1 and Comedy Central in India, and is all set to go live on 14th February 2022.
As Viacom18 is all set for the launch of Fully Faltoo NFT Medianews4U spoke to Anshul Ailawadi, Head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18 & Keyur Patel, Co-Founder & Chairman, GuardianLink.io on this launch.
Anshul Ailawadi, Head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18
Tell us more about this offering and how unique is Fully Faltoo.
NFTs are unique and what we are doing with Fully Faltoo is essentially taking a lot of our existing artwork which is a part of our legacy, and making it available to our brand loyalists, consumers and fans, globally. These are extremely iconic IPs and artwork that we are taking about. All of these are done in house by our creative teams and in that sense is quite unique. What we are mounting is a robust campaign to inform consumers what this potentially entails. So it’s not just about going to people who understand NFTs but taking it to a slightly wider set of audiences, including those who are sitting on the fence.
Why have you got into NFTs? What is the new phenomena happening in this NFTs?
NFTs as a phenomenon are new. But the underlying need they fulfil has been around for ages. People have been collecting postage stamps, coins, etc and NFTs makes this process easier. We have been tracking this space for a while now, and we’ve realized that a lot of our core younger audiences are extremely fascinated and intrigued by it and in some cases are already dabbling in it. Moreover since the audience was already there, and we have a strong bond with them, we took a step forward by giving them an opportunity to engage with us on this platform as well. This is the immediate reason for our launch. The longer term reason honestly, is to see how this space evolves. If the virtual world becomes more and more mainstream NFTs might become more than just collector’s items, where they have the value, where you can use them for special status, or early access or money or can buy experiences and so on.
What would be your pricing strategy?
Our NFTs are priced in a manner that ensures that most people can afford it. For a market like ours, we want this to be people’s first entry point into this world. We’ve been very cognizant of that for the first drop. For subsequent drops we’ll see how it evolves basis our learning from the first one.
Because I’m sure the audience profile for your channel is comparatively, for somebody who’s just taken up a job or somebody who’s still a student, so how will they be able to afford to pick up stuff which is there?
People who loved the MTV Bakra in the early 2000s, would be in their 40s or late 30s today. The audience profile is slightly wider and broader. And having said that, we’ve been mindful of that when we looked at the pricing strategy right. So they would be well within there at least the two segments. We have Loot which consists of 3000 pieces and about 13 pieces that are Rare. These are qualified as Rare as there are no to very few versions of it. The Loot is competitively priced.
What efforts are you making to simply NFT’s for the Indian market being an early entrant from the media and entertainment industry?
In the first phase of the campaign which is currently live, we are building awareness and educating consumers through our promos and creative. We’ve launched two TVCs, and a digital campaign that helps people understand and appreciate this space. We are taking more of a category approach than a brand view to help our consumers. The idea is to simplify and build as much trust as possible with the first wave.
How will see Fully Faltoo shape up in 2022 in addition to the phase one part of the upcoming launch?
We are going to do some interesting stuff around Fully Faltoo. We will do multiple launches, and drops. There will be some social content around it too.
Keyur Patel, Co-Founder & Chairman, GuardianLink.io
How secure and safe are NFTs from an investment standpoint?
NFTs are just like any other asset that one may own. NFTs are in a very nascent stage just like stocks were in their nascent stages in the 1930’s. While a stock is more like a benchmark of a company’s performance, NFTs have tremendous utility beyond being an investment. If an NFT has no utility, it may not have a very high value. On the other hand NFTs by celebrities or art are more like collectibles. These have their own value in terms of rarity, the quantity, etc.
Technology involved and role in Viacom18’s NFT offering?
The technology in the world for NFTs is currently very limited. We started off 3.5 years ago to build this technology when no one was even speaking about it and have launched it early last year. We are helping Viacom18 set up the entire platform and marketplace and have the right technology to facilitate the drops and manage it overall. We also provide a massive set of discord audiences that is a part of our cloud framework.
How easy is it for one to resell their Fully Faltoo NFTs?
Once you sign up on FullyFaltoo.com, you will have a wallet that can be loaded via a UPI payment that can be used to buy a NFT. Once you have purchased a NFT, consumers who are keen on buying the NFT you own can bid on it if you would like to sell it. As an owner, you can either accept or reject the bid.
How big is the NFT industry in India?
The NFT industry in India is very young but is growing. People discovered the concept when we launch Amitabh Bachchan collection at a mass scale. To put it in perspective it is about 70 million people currently across the globe.
