VaynerNFT rebrands to Vayner3 as it broadens purview

VaynerX’s consultancy focused on nonfungible tokens, VaynerNFT, is rebranding to Vayner3 as it broadens its offering to encapsulate Web3 activations one year after it was founded.

Gary Vaynerchuk, chairman of holding company VaynerX, launched VaynerNFT in July 2021 to help brands plan, strategize and execute on NFT strategies. At the time, he said NFTs were primed to become a “real consumer trend in perpetuity” as he predicted brands would invest heavily in the technology in 2022.

A diverse range of brands have released NFT projects in the past year, from Tommy Hilfiger to PepsiCo to the Ukrainian government. But the digital assets have emerged as one segment of a much more comprehensive push from brands into metaverse and Web3 experiences.

Announcing the rebrand of VaynerNFT, the company said that while interest in the NFT world “continues to expand dramatically”, the past 12 months have also given rise to virtual events and metaverse experiences, cryptocurrency acceptance and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

The new Vayner3 is positioning itself as a consultancy that can help brands invest in experiences across the Web3 ecosystem, from building branded metaverses to blockchain integration strategies. NFT technology “will remain a cornerstone of Web3”, it said.

Vaynerchuk, who is CEO of Vayner3, said In a statement: “The world of Web3 is the next iteration of consumer behavior. The team we built at Vayner3 is here to guide the world’s leading enterprises and intellectual property owners through this space.”

The consultancy will continue to be led by Avery Akkineni as president.

Akkineni said there are now “myriad ways” for brands to engage in the Web3 space, from loyalty integration programs, immersive consumer and digital experiences, philanthropy infrastructure to adopting cryptocurrency acceptance.

 “While NFTs may have been the word of the year in 2021, there are myriad ways for enterprises to engage in multidimensional Web3 strategies, anchored in driving tangible business outcomes,” Akkineni said in a release. Akkineni also serves in an advisory capacity across Salesforce Web3 Studios and OneOf, an eco-conscious NFT platform.

The consultancy launched with Budweiser as a flagship client and said it now services more than two dozen Fortune 500 companies, including PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Diageo and Coinbase.

Some clients, including Budweiser, Diageo and PepsiCo, are shared with VaynerX’s creative and media agency VaynerMedia, where Vaynerchuk is also CEO. VaynerMedia grew revenue by 31% to $188 million in 2021, according to its Campaign US Report Card.