The digital age has FANTASTIC-4-ALLY transformed how brands engage with audiences, shifting from traditional advertising to interactive, co-creative experiences. If you've ever collected anything in your life, today's modern collectible platforms are unlocking new opportunities for brand-fan collaboration, and about to start reshaping the $500 Billion collectibles industry.
The Power of Co-Creation
Consumers today are more than just buyers; they are creators, investors, and advocates. Brands are tapping into this by crowdsourcing ideas and empowering fans to contribute designs and concepts, strengthening loyalty and engagement.
McDonald’s recent "Good Morning Spread Joy" campaign wonderfully illustrates this shift. Partnering with Doodles, customers who purchased a McCafé beverage via the app received exclusive digital rewards, including NFTs, digital badges, animations, and access to the Doodles animated series, integrating blockchain technology to connect with digital-native consumers.
Similarly, DC Comics / Candy Digital allowed DC Bat Cowl NFT holders to submit story ideas, leading to the creation of an entire comic series. This further highlights how user-generated content enacts deeper brand engagement and new levels of interactivity within digital spaces.
Digital Collectibles Strengthen Brand Engagement
When I wrote THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL COLLECTING & COMIC SHOWCASING in Feb 2025, digital collectors were hopeful, yet skeptical VeVe’s “VEVEVERSE” would launch on time. But launch it, they did.
VeVe, known for partnerships with Marvel, Disney, Lucasfilm, and Lamborghini, has revolutionized digital collectibles by providing users with tools to build and display their collections in immersive virtual environments. The launch of their VeVeVerse, ahead of Meta’s metaverse ambitions, continues to solidify VeVe's position as the global leader in digital collecting.
Marvel’s exclusive VeVe comic book covers, available only in limited digital mint runs on VeVe, exemplify this strategy. Users are showcasing their Marvel Artist assets in customizable showrooms, inviting others to explore their collections, and interacting with fellow fans globally. This ability to build, personalize & share digital spaces is fueling a new wave of creator economy.
VeVeVerse: A Game-Changer for Brands:
The VeVeVerse presents a unique opportunity for its IP partners & collectors through:
Exclusivity & Scarcity: Limited edition digital assets drive demand.
Global Reach: Collectors worldwide can own and display iconic IP.
Revenue Sharing: Blockchain royalties ensure ongoing earnings for artists and brands.
Brand Boosting: User-generated, shared showrooms expand branding across social media.
Deeper Fan Engagement: Enthusiastic collectors actively promote and showcase their assets.
New Business Potential: Digital storefronts & creative services are emerging within the VVV.
All-New Business Opportunities in the VeVeVerse
Since 2021, VeVe’s collector base has grown significantly, fostering a network of artists, YouTubers, and content creators. This movement has been largely under the radar of mainstream collectors and mainstream media, but is rapidly gaining traction as Web3 adoption accelerates.
If you’re not really paying attention, EVERYTHING we know about the “transactional Internet” is about to change. The Internet’s rate of adoption was kinda slow…outside of playing Atari Tank Battle with a friend on the same TV screen in the 80s, nobody knew what the hell a connected digital ecosystem really meant…WOPR scared the collective shite out of everyone.
TODAY WE ARE ALL CONNECTED, ALL THE TIME.
We’re more fearful of leaving the house without our mobile phones than our old-fashioned wallets. The pace of Web3 adoption is hockey stick curving up fast and won’t take anywhere near as long to gain adoption as our original WWW took.
We’re all used to it, we all benefit from technology advancements that make our lives easier, and shortly, we will all benefit again as Web3 streamlines so many broken elements in need of repair on those tired Internet lines…
Physical collectors have long invested in displaying their prized items - building shelves, curating rooms, sharing their collections... Just look at how SNIKTING awesome WOLVERSTEVE'S showroom looks below!
Yet not everyone has the time, money, energy or SPACE to do this in their homes. Now though, digital collectors are replicating this experience in the VeVeVerse, ushering in new job opportunities and business models.
EMERGING VEVEVERSE BUSINESS EXAMPLES
CALIFORNIA COMICS:
JUST LAUNCHED THE WORLDS FIRST VEVEVERSE (METAVERSE) COMIC BOOK STORE
California Comics specialize in acquiring rare, fancy & historically important mint numbers, which are the unique numerical identifiers found on most digital collectibles. They have now amassed thousands of assets that are starting to fill their VeVeVerse store & showroom shelves (not all items are for sale - some they love too much!), similar to a physical comic store building up its inventory of printed books to sell to their customer base, but with blockchain verified scarcity, digital assets.
Their collection is so appealing to those in the community, that their social fanbase has exploded, they now sponsor a well-loved comic collector’s online channel (The WebV Collective) and confirmed their FIRST store sale on March 6th, 2025 with none other than YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBOURHOOD GOCOLLECT WRITER!!!
Going forward, this could attract sponsorships, affiliate programs or support from other asset holders who become suppliers to list their items within this virtual reality storefront. As this builds out, the possibilities are endless...
MasterRoni:
JUST BECAME THE FIRST VEVEVERSE PAID ARTIST
MasterRoni was recently hired to design a unique VeVeVerse environment by a fellow fan who felt this was their best approach to having their custom space crafted. NO different than hiring an interior designer, renovator or painter in the real world, this just proved the case there is value in custom show-rooming. Using OMI tokens, VeVe’s cryptocurrency that is used for rewards point programs, and soon for direct digital asset purchases, the buyer and artist struck a deal via direct messages and happily announced their partnership as the first of its kind.
Collectors Gone Digital (CGD):
THE FIRST INDEPENDENT (NOT VEVE) 'HOW TO VEVEVERSE' YOUTUBER
Founded by Toronto Canada-based digital artist Josh, CGD has grown into a trusted resource for VeVeVerse tutorials, community updates & collecting strategies. He's one of many creative minds building a unique following, where his talents are showcasing to a wide array of fans & collectors. He now guest appears on many other content creator channels, co-hosts a show on digital collecting, puts out compelling content on digital showrooms & is a trusted advisor to those seeking ideas, education or potential design help.
STILL SKEPTICAL ABOUT DIGITAL COLLECTING?
Yes…I hear the groans from some of you & acknowledge the sense of dread some physical store owners are suddenly realizing, to which I merely ask...
Why not consider this a new opportunity and prepare?
When the Internet ‘happened’ you built a website for your store, right?
You enabled e-commerce or shipped products bought online to your customers right?
Did you do this yourself or pay one of those new ‘webmasters’ to help set this all up?
You now transact with suppliers online & via email (web based application) more than a phone?
Do you post your wares on socials and maybe even buy a few digital ads?
Have you maybe even used Marvel Unlimited (Digital) accounts to read some comics?
Could you be a designer who builds digital banner ads, social posts or websites?
Do you recommend creative ideas or new concepts to clients as part of your consulting role?
So...stepping back just a little, could this maybe EXCITE, more than SCARE You?
I mean, COME ON, look at the talent behind creative artist VEVE VAULT MASTER who, for we STAR WARS FANS in particular out there, could really have no reason not to love what's he done in this Star Wars VeVeVerse room. We're talking about artists building video game quality artwork we can all enjoy. Please, visit this 1:40 min snippet on YouTube to see what I'm talking about! (Or paste the URL into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k1zOmlUoXs
The Future of Brand-Fan Interaction
In 1936, DISNEY featured the film "Thru The Mirror," about Mickey Mouse's adventures into a future virtual world. In September 2023, Disney, in Partnership with VeVe featured their limited edition, digital comic drop "Thru The Betaverse," where Mickey & Friends travel 100 years into the future to experience another virtual world of crazy conundrums.
It's a wonderful story and fun read. Yet, I just can't seem to shake the feeling Disney KNEW something back in 1936, which they seem to have rekindled again in 2023, just a wee bit ahead of our new metaverse-pending world.
Even Disney's "Golden Moment" NFTs, the first of their kind from the brand which sold out in minutes, were released on the VeVe app November, 2021. Not a bad run of brand-to-fan engagement, eh?
The shift from passive consumption to active participation is redefining brand engagement, and some danged incredible mutual opportunities for those keen enough, and yeah okay, speculative enough, to see the vision.
Fans are now integral to shaping a brand’s future through digital assets, blockchain integration, and metaverse spaces. As Web3 adoption accelerates, these digital experiences will continue to evolve, offering limitless opportunities for brands and creators alike.
Fans are no longer just an audience - they are collaborators, stakeholders, and contributors to an ecosystem that should exist for generations to come, creating new business opportunities and career titles we can't even fathom yet, and for that reason alone, I look forward with fascination on what lies ahead thru the mirror...
Thanks for Reading!
