Dialogue with the CEO of Fat Penguin: Unveiling the Story Behind "Swimming Against the Current" of Fat Penguin NFT
Regarding the core competitive advantages of Pudgy Penguins, the 2024 plan, the possibility of token issuance, and the potential for DYM-like airdrops, all your concerns are addressed.Interview: Kean, Foresight News
Written by: Karen, Foresight News
In 2023, the "King of NFTs" is undoubtedly Pudgy Penguins. While the entire NFT market is experiencing a downturn, with the trading volume and floor prices of blue-chip NFT collections like BAYC, Moonbird, and Doodles plummeting, Pudgy Penguins has risen against the trend, with its floor price continuously climbing and setting new historical highs, even breaking the 18 ETH mark at the end of last month.
The rise of Pudgy Penguins is not only reflected in the surge of its floor price but also in its profound understanding and practice of IP creation, community building, and offline integration. Meanwhile, Pudgy Penguins' diversified layout in physical toys, games, and more has also unfolded, achieving notable success. These factors have collectively enabled them to stand out in the fiercely competitive NFT market and laid a solid foundation for future development.
So how did Pudgy Penguins achieve this? What major plans do they have for 2024? Is there a possibility of issuing tokens? Will NFT holders receive airdrops similar to DYM in the future? In response to a series of community concerns, Foresight News conducted an exclusive interview with Pudgy Penguins CEO Luca Netz to gain insight into the project's core competitiveness and future development plans.
What are the core competitive advantages of Pudgy Penguins?
The impressive performance of Pudgy Penguins did not happen overnight. From brand building and IP creation to the accumulation and sedimentation of online and offline joint marketing, every link has laid a solid foundation for the development of Pudgy Penguins.
Regarding the core competitive advantages of Pudgy Penguins, Luca Netz stated, "We have a globally recognized IP and have conducted large-scale marketing and distribution. Branding and marketing are key to the development of this industry. This is where Pudgy Penguins leads the NFT industry. When the technology is similar, we need to focus on branding and marketing, and the power of the brand is limitless."
Brand Building
An excellent IP possesses characteristics such as strong recognition, high distinguishability, and appropriate character positioning. The cute and adorable image of Pudgy Penguins complements its character positioning, not only aligning with the aesthetic pursuits of young people for cuteness and adorableness but also resonating emotionally with audiences of different age groups, achieving a multiplier effect.
As Luca Netz mentioned, aside from macro factors, a major reason many NFT collections fell into stagnation in 2023 is the lack of substantial content. Pudgy Penguins has been building a real brand over the past two years.
Additionally, the launch of physical dolls, plush toys, and decorative pins has made the character image of Pudgy Penguins more three-dimensional and rich. This consistency in image allows fans to quickly establish a connection with the virtual image when they encounter physical products, further deepening their sense of identity with Pudgy Penguins. Regarding physical toys, Luca Netz told Foresight News that Pudgy Penguins sold over 750,000 physical toys within seven months.
Marketing
In Luca Netz's view, marketing is also one of the most important core competitive advantages of Pudgy Penguins. In today's digital age, where social media is highly developed, a good IP needs to effectively utilize these platforms to expand its influence, reach, and exposure, while also enhancing fans' sense of belonging and participation. Pudgy Penguins also focuses on quickly and frequently launching interesting and creative content to meet users' demands for novelty and immediacy.
Pudgy Penguins has implemented a series of targeted strategies to convey its brand philosophy and product information to the target audience through social media and the sale of offline physical products.
Speaking with data, Luca Netz stated that Pudgy Penguins receives billions of exposures every month.
- Pudgy Penguins has over 8,300 related GIFs on dynamic GIF search engines, with a cumulative view count of 13.8 billion.
- Pudgy Penguins has 1.235 million followers on Instagram, with each post receiving tens of thousands of likes.
- Pudgy Penguins has 250,000 followers on the overseas version of TikTok, with a total of 7.1 million likes, and the pinned first video has nearly 13 million views.
In addition to online marketing and activities, Pudgy Penguins frequently appears at offline events such as the Miami Basel Art Fair, increasing its brand exposure and influence. Regarding offline activities, Luca Netz revealed that there are some more significant plans for 2024.
IP Licensing
Pudgy Penguins has also established closer connections with NFT holders and a shared value concept of mutual benefit, making Pudgy Penguins more competitive in the market by sharing its success and commercial value with holders.
Luca Netz stated, "Pudgy Penguins recently paid millions of dollars in licensing fees to Pudgy Penguins NFT holders for licensed IP, and more Pudgy Penguins licenses will follow. We hope to become the first franchised IP in the Web3 space, becoming the next IP like Hello Kitty or Pokemon."
At the end of last month, Pudgy Penguins launched the IP licensing platform OverpassIP, supporting large-scale, transparent, on-chain licensing for holders, marking an important step for Pudgy Penguins in promoting NFT licensing and physicalization.
Meanwhile, Pudgy Penguins launched the second chapter of Pudgy Toys licensing applications, bringing 88 Pudgy Penguins and Lil Pudgys to real life, producing plush toys and dolls, allowing more fans and consumers to personally experience the charm of these pudgy penguins.
Pudgy Penguins Enters the Gaming Space, Bringing a New Interactive Experience
To further expand its brand influence, explore new business models, and provide richer and more diverse interactive experiences, Pudgy Penguins is also entering the gaming field. Luca Netz previously emphasized the importance of consumer-facing products in the Web3 space.
Pudgy Penguins plans to launch two arcade games and Pudgie World in 2024, which is a practical application of this viewpoint. Luca Netz also stated that providing excellent gaming products is its next short- to medium-term challenge and priority. Currently, there are 15 full-time employees working on Pudgie World.
Regarding the two arcade games, one is a claw machine, and the other is a two-player runner game. These games will be filled with fun and challenges, providing players with a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere, allowing them to have fun while deepening their understanding of Pudgy Penguins.
In addition to arcade games, Pudgie World is another priority for Pudgy Penguins in 2024. Pudgie World is a game that Pudgy Penguins plans to launch in the first or second quarter of this year, supported by zkSync, aiming to create an engaging, on-chain open-world narrative experience for millions of players.
Pudgie World is a digital experience that closes the loop of Pudgy Penguins' physical products, integrating the real world and digital experience. Pudgy toy holders can scan the accompanying QR code, create an account, redeem features, and customize their Forever Pudgy Penguin. An important part of the Pudgie World Alpha release is the introduction of the new character Pudgy & Peaches.
Luca Netz's description of Pudgie World is exciting; he describes it as a game similar to MMO RPGs, characterized by fun and ease of access. While there will be elements of NFTs and wallets in the game, these will be abstracted to make the gaming experience closer to conventional games.
More importantly, Pudgy physical toys are not just simple dolls; they come with unique QR codes that, when scanned, can access the Pudgie World game. This combination of physical toys and gaming experiences can bring Pudgy Penguins a new interactive way and business model, breaking the limitations of traditional toys, allowing fans to freely traverse between reality and the virtual world, enjoying a more immersive entertainment experience. At the same time, this will significantly enhance Pudgy Penguins' brand image and IP value.
In summary, Pudgy Penguins' ability to stand out in the NFT space is indeed due to its recognizable character positioning, brand and IP building, online and offline interactive experiences, innovative marketing strategies, and the upcoming gamified experiences. These factors collectively constitute Pudgy Penguins' core competitive advantages, allowing it to carve out a unique niche in the NFT field.
Scripts are easy to replicate, but culture is not. However, the experience of Pudgy Penguins holds significant reference value for other NFT projects and entrepreneurs, inspiring more teams and individuals to drive the development and innovation of the NFT space, collectively promoting the prosperity and progress of the entire industry.
Other Questions
Luca Netz answered other community concerns as follows:
Foresight News: How many people are on the Pudgy Penguins team?
Luca Netz: Currently, the Pudgy Penguins team has 60 people and is planning to expand the team, hiring a creative director, art director, 2D illustrators, 2D animators, and Web GL developers, among others.
Foresight News: Can you roughly disclose the income and expenditure situation of Pudgy Penguins?
Luca Netz: After completing the seed round last year, we had $10 million in the bank, and we still have over $10 million in the bank now. We just delivered $10 million in retail sales. In terms of expenditure, we spend $400,000 to $500,000 each month. I think we are doing well in terms of income and expenditure.
Foresight News: What are your plans and thoughts for the future of Pudgy Penguins? What are your personal goals for 2024?
Luca Netz: I hope Pudgy Penguins can become the first franchised IP in the Web3 space, becoming the next Hello Kitty or Pokemon. Building a brand like Pokemon or Disney takes a long time, but I believe we can go viral and quickly break into the mainstream market. I hope that by the end of this year, the mainstream market will truly recognize us.
Foresight News: After Pudgy Penguins has attracted attention, it is expected that some other NFT projects will explore the toy and licensing route. Do you think this is replicable?
Luca Netz: I do believe that many other NFT projects will try to replicate this, but the difference is that we have the cutest and most unique characters, and we have the strongest community.
Foresight News: Is there a possibility of Pudgy Penguins issuing tokens?
In response to this question, Luca Netz gave a vague answer. He stated, "We will do what is always in the best interest of the community, and we have been practicing this principle. I made a promise to them early on, and I plan to fulfill that promise, so that is the only answer I can give you." Luca Netz responded "no comment" three times regarding the possibility of issuing tokens.
Foresight News: The DYM airdrop distribution includes Pudgy Penguins NFT holders. Will Pudgy Penguins NFT holders receive similar airdrops in the future?
Luca Netz: I believe so. The Pudgy Penguins community consists of some of the most important builders in cryptocurrency, many of whom are diamond hands and early participants in cryptocurrency. Therefore, when you airdrop tokens to the Pudgy Penguins community, you can attract attention. Currently, at least four protocols are communicating with us, and Pudgy Penguins NFT holders are likely to receive similar airdrops in the future.
Foresight News: What are your views on the development trends of NFTs? When do you think the NFT craze will erupt again?
Luca Netz: I believe the NFT craze will erupt again in the next 6 to 12 months. The digital collectibles market has a lot of room for growth, currently only accounting for 1% of the collectibles market (with physical collectibles accounting for 99%). For NFT investors, now is a very good opportunity, and it is necessary to actively pay attention to and participate in the development of the market.
