Luca Netz, the founder of Pudgy Penguins, who previously officially surpassed Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) to become the second-largest NFT collection by market capitalization, was interviewed on December 10. He not only shared the brand's comeback story, the shaping of brand culture and future vision, but also plans to launch tokens, expand physical product lines, and diversify platform layouts in the future.
Turning point for meme culture, the rebirth journey of Pudgy Penguins
Netz mentioned that Penguins was once ranked among the top three popular NFT projects in 2021 alongside CryptoPunks and Bored Apes. However, due to issues such as insufficient funding transparency, unfulfilled commitments, and poor communication with the community, they gradually lost the trust of supporters.
The most representative incident is the 'fishing rod incident', where the original team airdropped a 'mystery gift' to users, which turned out to be a virtual fishing rod (Rods) with no specific use, leading to great disappointment in the community.
The team claimed that these fishing rods could be used in future games, but later stated that the games had not yet been developed, causing a massive collapse of confidence in the community, which not only jokingly referred to it as 'the last straw that broke Penguins' back', but also initiated a movement to 'impeach the founder'.
The original team finally decided to auction off the Penguins, and this process was fraught with twists and turns, as many well-known NFT investors and developers were very interested in the Penguins, with even Mark Cuban participating in the bidding.
But in the end, Netz successfully won the bid at the initial market value of about $2.3 million $ETH, stating: "I just felt that Penguins really had potential, just the direction was wrong." "This comeback is really rare in NFT projects, not only becoming an important cornerstone for Penguins' growth but also inspiring the motivation for brand rebuilding." He laughed.
Breaking boundaries, from NFT to diversified business layouts
Netz emphasized that NFTs are the starting point for building culture and community, but Penguins' goals are even greater, stating that they are continuously exploring more diversified brand management strategies with NFTs at their core:
Launching a tokenization plan: Netz believes that tokenization is the core of the brand's next step in development, allowing Penguins to connect with more users worldwide.
Physical product line: Netz stated that they are actively creating more offline products, such as toys, clothing, and collectibles, bringing Penguins closer to consumers' daily lives.
Social media and digital content creation: Penguins can generate billions of content exposures each month, establishing brand influence through social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
Planning for the future token $Pengu
Netz also shared why the team chose to launch the token $Pengu on the Solana blockchain. He stated that Solana has a large active user base, making it quite suitable as an expansion platform for Penguins. There are also plans to extend the $Pengu ecosystem to other blockchains, including Abstract, to provide users with more participation opportunities.
(Note: Abstract is a Consumer Blockchain that combines streaming media and social features, allowing users to view content, participate in live broadcasts, and even interact.)
Strengthening the brand story, from meme to cultural symbol
Strengthening the brand story has always been a key focus for Penguins. Netz stated that they have assembled a strong creative team that continuously produces high-quality content, aiming to attract more user attention with each exposure. He believes that the core of brand influence lies in how to tell a good story: "We hope Pudgy Penguins will not just be an NFT, but a globally recognized cultural symbol."
Netz also revealed the ultimate goal of Penguins, hoping to see them appear in movies, television, games, and even on supermarket shelves in the future.
Combining NFT and meme coins, the golden formula for the future
Netz believes that the combination of NFTs and tokens will lead the next wave of market trends. He stated: "NFTs create a sense of belonging for the community, while tokens amplify this feeling globally. The two complement each other, and this will be the key to the next stage."
He mentioned that Penguins is already prepared for the tokenization plan and will leverage its existing cultural influence to support this new initiative, also stating that Penguins is undergoing a new revolution in the integration of culture and technology.
This article features the Pudgy Penguins founder sharing the brand's comeback and future vision, where NFTs and meme coins represent the golden combination for the future, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.
