Dive Brief:

• Personalized video app Cameo is opening a community of "talent and fans along with web3 enthusiasts" through non-fungible tokens (NFT), the company announced in an email to Marketing Dive.
• Starting Feb. 17, people can mint a Cameo Pass for access to limited-release art, events, celebrity Q&As and early access to new features on the video app. Passes cost 0.2 Ethereum, or $550 as of press time. The collection of NFTs will feature art by Burnt Toast, Vinnie Hager and Luke McGarry. Proceeds from the launch will further Cameo's exploration into metaverse-related projects.
• Cameo's foray into the metaverse marks its evolution as a personalized content platform to provide closer interactions between fans and celebrity or artist talent.

Dive Insight:

Brands from Walmart to Bud Light are getting in on the NFT game, looking to capture consumers' attention and dollars amid the skyrocketing buzz of virtual goods. Cameo is the latest to join in with Cameo Pass, which offers buyers exclusive art, event, features and interactions with celebrities on the platform known for selling personalized celebrity shoutout videos. Cameo is extending its activation beyond a one-off piece of virtual art by offering a membership-style pass that gives buyers access to multiple perks.

By dipping its toes into NFTs, Cameo can explore how its fans respond to metaverse-related efforts and evolve beyond its initial core product of personalized celebrity shoutout videos.

At the same time, it's unclear whether its fan base will be willing to shell out $550 to join a community that doesn't exist yet. Some membership-based NFT collections have sparked criticism for being less exclusive than they're marketed as. Plus, OpeanSea, the secondhand marketplace that Cameo mentions on its website, has made headlines in recent weeks for selling fraudulent NFTs. On Jan. 27, OpenSea instituted a limit on the number of times a user can create an NFT for free after it was revealed that about 80% of NFTs created on its platform are fraudulent or spam.

Many metaverse-related technologies like NFTs haven't served much purpose beyond one-off stunts or generating brand buzz online. But the potential for what the metaverse could one day remains appealing to digital-first companies like Cameo. Despite the business opportunity, most consumers aren't yet interested in the fully virtual world, even as mainstream categories like gaming hint at how popular the metaverse could be.

For Cameo, using NFTs to link customers to live or virtual events is a creative way to draw interest to its growing portfolio of offerings as it looks to evolve beyond celebrity shoutout videos.