Bud Light's NFT Drop Will Give Buyers 'Voting Rights' for Upcoming Promotional Merchandise

By Brendan Menapace

Bud Light is jumping into the NFT market with its N3XT Collection of 12,722 branded tokens to tie in with the release of a new zero-carb beer called Bud Light NEXT.

We’ve done a good bit of coverage about how NFTs are working their way into the marketing space. But this story is less about the NFTs themselves, and more about how Bud Light is using participation in the NFT drop to influence future branded merchandise that you can actually see, touch or wear.

As part of this Bud Light NEXT breakthrough release, we’re launching our first-ever NFT collection, where holders will have the chance to be a part of the brand from its inception. pic.twitter.com/rJZiU3zyJO

— Bud Light (@budlight) January 27, 2022

On Feb. 6, NFT/Bud Light enthusiasts can try to get their hands on the newly minted tokens, which are randomly generated pictures made up of two-part backgrounds. If they get the NFT, they’ll be able to vote on future Bud Light NEXT branded merchandise decisions.

They’re sort of like Wonka golden tickets, only if the golden tickets were purely digital, and instead of competing in passive aggressive tests of character and will that left children stuck in chocolate tubes, carried off by squirrels, or turned into millions of digital particles floating in a room, Bud Light is just asking people to buy an NFT. But, unlike a chocolate bar, each NFT will cost $399.

"As we usher in a new era of beer with the launch of Bud Light NEXT, we’re simultaneously seeing a revolutionary shift in the way brands engage with people on the internet,” Corey Brown, senior digital director for Bud Light, said in a statement to AdAge. “Our NFT project celebrates this new era and those who similarly are breaking barriers in technology and creativity.”

It’s always nice when brands allow customers to have a say in their promotional output. It benefits them, too, since they know for a fact that the products they put out are things end-users want, removing all risk of the item ending up in a trash can immediately. And while it's unclear exactly what kind of say NFT-holders will have in determining the actual branded merchandise, the fact that it's one of the perks at all shows how much Bud Light values merch and its ability to drive customer engagement.