Alex Duplan of Fuerza: People are still trying to understand those NFTs

The changes introduced in the industry after the Covid pandemic struck – and now never seems to end – have deeply influenced ad agencies’ creative output. The home offices’ entire technological development to maintain communications has been key to their effectiveness. Alex Duplan, VP/creative director of Fuerza, explained in talks with PRODU the changes made in 2021 and what they signify for this year. “I believe that continuing to work in remote most of the time brings everyone a lot of mental peace. People can concentrate and work at their own pace, and that in the end has been more productive for us. We closed 2021 with new clients and with a forecast of growth in 2022. We already have a pair of projects starting the second week in January,” he said. In the balance of what was good, what was bad and what was worse in 2021, the creative noted that fear of Covid-19 and its variants halts the investment of capital in the creative process. “One very personal aspect is that there are still people who refuse to believe in science. They give it no validity. What’s good is that we have learned to be better towards each other. This is reflected in folks being happier at work, in a much more positive atmosphere. It’s like we’re understanding humanity and its needs much better, and of course we’re realizing our need to stick together.”The key phrase for 2022 should be “multicultural = mainstream,” whereas the trend during the first quarter of the year will be nowhere near that specific. “It’s complicated to predict just one trend. We’re very segmented. Every area has its own trend. And some platform or some algorithm could discover something totally new.” Strengthening the NFTsNon-fungible tokens, better known in the industry as NFTs, is a fashionable term though its full meaning remains unclear to many. “People are still trying to understand it. Though some use it correctly, many mistakes are made. The key is exclusivity, but also a sharp, critical and honest look will make a valuable article seen as more than a bargaining chip, but rather a product worth exchanging. The idea of NFTs has existed for a while as anything original and of which there is only one, like a painting or a print, a bottle or any collectible item. The difference now is that NFTs can be totally digitized, so that consequently, they technically don’t exist. Nonetheless, Duplan added that education will play a key role in promoting them. In other words, “making people understand what they are, what the blockchain is, why they are secure and why one can trust them. Once folks understand this better and more readily accept them, they will really take off,” he said, but noted that “people who make them just for the sake of making them are bound to fail. This MUST be done in line with the culture of the user, like the brand that orders it or invents it. For example, the St. Louis Cardinals failed to make a ‘digital pizza’ of NFTs. (It was an individual effort unconnected to the team or the sport), but the St. Louis Blues ice hockey team is working with us and looks to extend the art of goalkeepers’ masks to NFTs. This fits in with the sport’s culture and extends to an element of the game that already exists.”