NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) started gaining traction in 2020 and really exploded in early 2021 as artists, celebs, collectibles companies, gaming companies, and consumer businesses of all types jumped on the trend to engage fans and grow their brands. Unfortunately, the hype for most NFTs soon faded and today as many as 95% of all NFTs on the market are now worthless (according to crypto marketing firm DappGambl).
The Hyundai Santa Cruz is a quirky ride that is not quite a truck and not quite an SUV, so we're always looking for fun, culturally relevant ways to talk about it. Back in 2021, we did just that when we created and gave away ten Hyundai Santa Cruz sport adventure vehicle NFTs. Fast forward to 2024, where what was once a fun and potentially lucrative token was now worth almost nothing... and likely something that the lucky winners forgot all about. The new brief was simple: Instead of forgetting these NFTs ever existed, how could we give these worthless tokens new value, engage fans, and create excitement for Santa Cruz and Hyundai?
The goal was to increase social reach and engagement across TikTok, Instagram, and X, grow Hyundai's cultural relevance, and generate earned media and PR.
Back in 2021, Hyundai jumped on the NFT bandwagon—giving away 10 NFTs featuring the new SANTA CRUZ as part of a social campaign to promote the vehicle’s launch. Fast forward to 2024—and those NFTs (like virtually every NFT) have since tanked in value. But instead of throwing out our NFT wallet and silently moving on like everybody else, Hyundai decided to do something about it. Something big and unexpected, that would make one of those worthless NFTs finally worth something.
We took to TikTok to announce the wild offer: the first person to trade in their dinky SANTA CRUZ digital token could drive away with a brand new 2025 Hyundai SANTA CRUZ. Resulting in not just one, but all ten SANTA CRUZ NFTs, becoming instantaneously valuable.
To get the word out on social and help us find the 10 original NFT holders, we crafted a conversation-sparking TikTok that reflected the broader internet’s opinion on the downfall of NFTs. In it, we leveraged native elements like greenscreens and lofi graphics to poke fun at NFTs and ourselves circa 2021, in a humorous way.
We also amplified the message on social by strategically tapping content creators to stitch their reactions to our TikTok announcing Hyundai was finally making an NFT worth something.
The giveaway ended almost as soon as it began, with a winner jumping in the TikTok comments to swap their NFT for their prize. But they’re not the only ones that won that day. The buzzworthy stunt earned Hyundai its most-viewed TikTok of all time, stole the hearts of fans, and won the best prize of all—getting the honor of being turned into an internet meme. It also proved that Hyundai vehicles always deliver value, even in digital form.
This campaign delivered 17MM impressions, 17MM video views, 3MM engagements, and earned media across more than 20 news, tech, auto, advertising, and finance media outlets which led to the finding of the winner! Not to mention, Hyundai succeeded in making the nine other previously worthless SANTA CRUZ NFTs worth holding onto for future trade-in opportunities.
