Somnium Times - ORBIS Academy uses functional NFTs to increase brand awareness and open up new digital revenue streams.

ORBIS Academy uses functional NFTs to increase brand awareness and open up new digital revenue streams.

How ORBIS Academy used functional NFTs to increase brand awareness and open up new digital revenue streams.

Although the Internet as we know it today is about 30 years old (the World Wide Web was launched in 1991), it is constantly evolving. New technologies are developed and launched on a regular basis, and it can be difficult to know what will last and what is just a fad.

Switzerland-based ORBIS Academy is an online education platform designed to help individuals understand & adapt emerging technologies. One technology that has attracted tremendous interest recently are non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

NFTs are a class of digital assets that are created using blockchain technology, are unique, and cannot be duplicated. People can purchase NFTs on a marketplace, store them in their own decentralized wallet, and use them for a wide variety of things depending on the NFT. NFTs often represent a piece of art, but can also represent other media such as videos, songs, or any type of collectible.

Digital assets are a particularly exciting use case of NFTs, as digital items are usually acquired through gaming platforms, such as avatars, skins, and other digital objects. However, these types of digital assets are not actually owned by the purchaser but depend entirely on the publisher of the game. For example, if the latter stops operating the game, you no longer have access to your items and all the money and time put into the game is lost.

ORBIS Academy recognized the opportunity to use NFT technology to give digital asset owners more control over their items. In addition, ORBIS knew this would be an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of their organization, build and strengthen their online community.

Bringing the vision to life

To capitalize on this opportunity, ORBIS Academy partnered with emerging NFT artist “TheRealCyberpunk88” to create an exclusive collection of avatars in Somnium Space, one of the largest blockchain-based metaverse platforms on the market. The Cubicals christened avatars have unique DNA protected on the Ethereum Blockchain and are freely tradable on the largest NFT marketplace OpenSea.

Buyers were able to add the avatars to their digital wallets immediately, retaining full ownership and control of the avatars independently of ORBIS Academy and Somnium Space. In addition, a dedicated building was constructed on a digital property in Somnium Space, where Cubical owners could stay exclusively, participate in private events, or even host online events themselves for free, whether in 2D, 3D, or virtual reality. Learn more about Cubicals here.

First-Mover Advantage

ORBIS Academy was able to accomplish several goals at once with this project. First, they increased the visibility of their organization to a new audience in the Somnium Space Metaverse, while also strengthening the existing community, as owning the NFT gives one a stronger sense of belonging to a community, having a say in important decisions, and also participating in the progress of the project.

While the exploration of use cases of the Metaverse and the benefits to Cubical owners was the focus, ORBIS Academy was able to tap into a new digital revenue stream through the sale of these utility NFTs, in addition to increased brand awareness.

The Metaverse is still at a very early stage, but by developing a presence in Somnium Space, ORBIS Academy is able to gain first-mover advantage and build its community there. This has opened the door to explore other use-cases for Cubical NFT holders, such as NFT airdrops, in-world benefits, participation rights (DAO), or generating revenue by renting out the Cubical building or hosting events, where most of the revenue goes back to Cubical owners.

Ultimately, ORBIS Academy demonstrated the value, purpose, and power of emerging technologies by generating interest in these technologies while continuing to expand its learning platform and Metaverse presence.