Who will buy the idea of non-fungible token (NFT) marketing? Understanding consumers’ psychological tendencies and value perceptions of branded NFTs

Abstract

Innovative companies are experimenting with branded NFTs as part of their marketing strategies to engage consumers who are seeking exclusive content. Young consumers tend to be early adopters of blockchain technologies and are seeking branded NFTs for their own purposes. Using a U.S. sample of Gen-Z and Millennials (n = 1,053), we examined the values (i.e. informative, entertainment, unique, expressive values) consumers are seeking in the acquisition and display of branded NFTs and explored how their tendencies toward status consumption, perceived financial constraint, and dispositional innovativeness influenced their willingness to engage in brand WOM. The analyses confirmed the proposed model and revealed that value perceptions (unique, entertainment, and expressive values) helped elicit an individual’s sense of status consumption and dispositional innovativeness. This relationship resulted in positive brand WOM. For the financially constrained, the unique value offered by NFTs was important for positive WOM to manifest. This research helps both marketers and policymakers better understand consumers’ psychological responses to branded NFTs.