MAM
GUEST COLUMN: Understanding the role of NFTs in influencer marketing
Mumbai: Let’s start by understanding NFTs.
The acronym NFT stands for “non-fungible token.” This signifies that it’s a one-of-a-kind code that can’t be substituted with anything else. An NFT is nothing more than a digital representation of a physical item. NFTs have monetary or sentimental worth and can be bought, sold, or traded. You can own them because they are digital assets. They are one-of-a-kind digital assets in the form of cryptographic tokens. Bitcoin tokens can be thought of as blockchain-verified dollar bills, and NFTs are works of art or other media files that have been confirmed on the blockchain.
In the digital realm, the possibilities are limitless. NFTs are a gamechanger for digital content creation since they allow creators to create and sell art, music, books, films, and more. Digital marketers and content providers can communicate with customers on social media, give them valuable assets such as giveaway prizes, and more.
How do NFTs impact influencers?
NFTs have the potential to establish a new universe of intellectual property with copyright income for content creators and influencer-generated material that attracts influencers and content creators. We’ve seen over the last decade that viral moments may provide a monetary profit for their creators. Memes, short videos, and products are all examples of this. It can be used as a possible revenue stream for a variety of people and businesses, ranging from professional sports leagues to artists and others, who can now sell the NFT behind their brands instead of having to negotiate a three- or five-year usage of their image.
Influencers can earn a lot of money, but their resources are limited. To make money, they rely on brand partnerships and collaborations. But NFTs change that by offering a completely new way to make revenue and improve marketing strategies. Because of its unique setup, the creator economy has enabled individuals to generate digital content using blockchain-based technologies, potentially altering the financial environment for the creators involved. They’ve made it possible for artists to make millions from just one piece of work. NFTs are being explored by creators as a means to deliver unique, paid experiences and communicate with their followers.
NFTs also have the potential to be sold in the future. They can be configured to allow royalties so that when an asset is sold on the NFT marketplaces, the developer receives a portion of future sales.
Naturally, the scope of influencers in the fields of lifestyle, fashion, and art is nearly endless. These influencers can sell exclusive content, such as digital art, while NFT ensures its validity and value. Influencers in the gaming industry are also getting involved, selling in-game weaponry and artifacts as NFTs.
As a prize, NFTs can boost engagement. Influencers can organise a campaign and give away NFTs, which have a lot of value for their followers. NFTs are also excellent prizes for collaboration posts and user-generated content contests, particularly if they include a memorable moment, exclusive material, or a digital collectible.
Moving Forward
NFTs aren’t just the latest craze; they’re digital assets that exist exclusively online yet have real-world value. We’re getting more digitally oriented, and NFTs bring a popular activity, an investment possibility, and a status symbol into the digital realm. We like physical objects that we can hold and feel, but digital assets are the way of the future. Companies and influencers have a one-of-a-kind way to monetize online content and intellectual property, from unique digital art to a virtual baseball card to an unforgettable moment.
It is critical to recognise that NFTs do not pose a threat to brand-influencer partnerships. On the contrary, by employing NFTs as a newer form of technology that will allow them to drive innovation, they will be able to improve their collaborations and continue to expand their ties.
NFTs are popular because of their uniqueness and collectability. Creating products through limited partnerships between companies and influencers will be a whole new revenue source for both the brand and the influencer. Customers can gain access to a unique piece of the digital world with NFTs.
Today, marketers are using Livestream product launches and other experience sessions with influencers in the form of tutorials to create experiences that are exclusive. The digital and crypto worlds are sweeping the globe as new generations of customers become increasingly accustomed to them and see the enormous value of this type of transaction and investment.
(The author is CEO of Mad Influence, a social media marketing platform. The views expressed in this column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
