CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are creating tremendous opportunities for creators and collectors of art, memorabilia, and other digital assets. Now Rare Air Media, producer of Michael Jordan’s visual autobiography For the Love of the Game, is getting into the space, too. The company is working with Chicago brand strategy and design firm, VSA Partners, to design, develop, and market a range of NFTs on the XRP Ledger blockchain, including a one-of-a-kind selection of digital assets covering former-NBA player Michael Jordan’s life and storied career.
Mark Vancil, founder and CEO of Rare Air Media (who was prominently featured in The Last Dance, the renowned docuseries on the life and career of Mr. Jordan) is enthusiastic about the effort:
“Original, high-quality NFTs are a natural fit for a company that has worked with icons across sport and music for the past 29 years. VSA’s reputation for excellence, innovation, and creative expertise is the perfect partner to make it all happen. I see the digital asset space becoming a valuable revenue stream for our team in the years to come.”
VSA Partners is one of the country’s leading branding agencies. Embracing NFTs as a marketing opportunity for clients is a natural extension of its award-winning work. The firm is a premier partner of Ripple’s Creator Fund by San Francisco-based blockchain technology firm, Ripple. The $250 million fund provides creators with the financial, creative, and technical support needed to explore and craft premium NFTs and other tokenization projects on the XRP Ledger.
“We recognized early on the importance of NFTs as a secure means of growing the brand-building experiences through the continuous innovation of digital assets,” said VSA Partners Chief Marketing Officer, Sarah Lent. “Our partnership with Rare Air is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
NFTs utilize a digital ledger. As with cryptocurrencies, the ledger proves identity and ownership of digital assets. The unique security and identification attributes have opened up extraordinary opportunities for creators of digital content to not only assign value to their work, but to profit from it. Blockchain ledgers have been swiftly adopted by collectors, too. That means both sides of digital asset commerce can be confident in the assets they purchase and create.
“For companies like Rare Air Media, blockchain technology like the XRP Ledger provides a whole new market for their work,” Lent said. “And they’re not alone. We’ve seen a significant increase from content-based operations asking how NFTs and Ripple’s Creator Fund can help expand their businesses. It’s a fast-growing sector that will change the marketing landscape as we know it today.”
Rare Air Media’s first batch of NFTs is expected to hit the market in Q2 2022 and will include a selection of original intimate images of Jordan, accompanied by his personal thoughts and observations leading up to the photo.
Said Vancil about the collection, “It’s virtually impossible to overstate Michael’s impact on global culture. He is as much a fashion icon and business mogul as he is a remarkable athlete. The NFTs provide an intimate glimpse into Michael’s view of his exploits and enduring legacy. My hope is that these works provide true fans with a new angle into what drives Michael’s unusual sense of excellence.”
