Interview with the CEO of Fat Penguin: Unveiling the Story Behind Fat Penguin NFT's "Going Against the Tide"
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Interview with the CEO of Fat Penguin: Unveiling the Story Behind Fat Penguin NFT's "Going Against the Tide"
All your concerns about Pudgy Penguins' core competitive advantages, 2024 plans, token issuance possibilities, and potential DYM-like airdrops are covered.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterview: Kean, Foresight News
Article: Karen, Foresight News
In 2023, the "king of NFTs" was undoubtedly Pudgy Penguins. While the overall NFT market showed signs of sluggishness and blue-chip NFT collections such as BAYC, Moonbirds, and Doodles experienced significant drops in trading volume and floor prices, Pudgy Penguins defied the trend. Its floor price continued to climb, repeatedly setting new historical highs, surpassing 18 ETH at the end of last month.
Pudgy Penguins' rise is not only reflected in its soaring floor price but also in its profound understanding and practical execution of IP development, community building, and offline integration. Meanwhile, Pudgy Penguins has expanded into diverse areas such as physical toys and gaming, achieving remarkable success. These factors have collectively enabled it to stand out in the highly competitive NFT market and laid a solid foundation for future growth.
So how did Pudgy Penguins achieve this? What major plans does it have for 2024? Is there a possibility of launching a token? Will NFT holders receive airdrops similar to DYM in the future? In response to these pressing community questions, Foresight News conducted an exclusive interview with Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins, to explore the project's core competitiveness and future development roadmap.
What Are Pudgy Penguins’ Core Competitive Advantages?
Pudgy Penguins’ outstanding performance didn’t happen overnight. From brand building and IP development to integrated online-offline marketing efforts, every aspect has contributed to its strong foundation.
Regarding Pudgy Penguins’ core competitive advantages, Luca Netz said, “We have a globally recognized IP, backed by large-scale marketing and distribution. Brand and marketing are key drivers of industry development. This is where Pudgy Penguins leads the NFT space. When technology is comparable across projects, the real differentiator is brand and marketing—and the power of branding is immense.”
Brand Building
A successful IP features strong recognizability, emotional resonance, and well-defined character positioning. The cute, playful design of Pudgy Penguins perfectly aligns with its character identity, appealing to younger generations’ love for adorable aesthetics while resonating emotionally across age groups—delivering exceptional impact.
As Luca Netz pointed out, beyond macroeconomic factors, a primary reason many NFT projects stagnated in 2023 was the lack of meaningful content or substance. Over the past two years, Pudgy Penguins has been building a genuine brand.
Moreover, the launch of physical dolls, plush toys, decorative pins, and other merchandise has made the Pudgy Penguins characters more three-dimensional and vivid. This consistent visual identity allows fans to instantly connect physical products with their virtual counterparts, deepening their emotional attachment. On physical toys, Luca Netz told Foresight News that Pudgy Penguins sold over 750,000 physical toys within seven months.
Marketing
According to Luca Netz, marketing is another crucial competitive advantage for Pudgy Penguins. In today’s digital era dominated by social media, a strong IP must skillfully leverage platforms to expand reach, visibility, and engagement, while strengthening fan loyalty and participation. Pudgy Penguins consistently delivers fun, creative content at high frequency, meeting users’ demand for novelty and immediacy.
Pudgy Penguins has implemented targeted strategies, using social media and physical product sales to effectively communicate its brand values and product messaging to target audiences.
Letting data speak, Luca Netz stated that Pudgy Penguins generates billions of impressions each month.
1. Pudgy Penguins has over 8,300 related GIFs on the animated GIF search engine Giphy, accumulating 13.8 billion views.
2. Pudgy Penguins has 1.235 million followers on Instagram, with individual posts regularly receiving tens of thousands of likes.
3. On TikTok, Pudgy Penguins has 250,000 followers, amassing 7.1 million total likes, with its pinned first video reaching nearly 13 million views.
Beyond online campaigns, Pudgy Penguins frequently appears at offline events such as Art Basel Miami, significantly boosting brand exposure and influence. Regarding offline initiatives, Luca Netz revealed they have even bigger plans for 2024.
IP Licensing
Pudgy Penguins has also strengthened its relationship with NFT holders by fostering shared values and mutual benefits, sharing commercial success with its community, thereby enhancing its market competitiveness.
Luca Netz said, “Recently, Pudgy Penguins paid millions of dollars in licensing royalties to NFT holders who authorized their IP. They will gain access to more Pudgy Penguins licenses going forward. We aim to become the first franchised IP in Web3—a next-generation IP like Hello Kitty or Pokémon.”
At the end of last month, Pudgy Penguins launched OverpassIP, an IP licensing platform enabling large-scale, transparent, on-chain authorization for holders—an important step forward in advancing NFT licensing and physical integration.
Simultaneously, Pudgy Penguins opened applications for its second round of Pudgy Toys licensing, bringing 88 Pudgy Penguins and Lil Pudgys into the real world as plush toys and dolls, allowing more fans and consumers to experience the charm of these chubby penguins firsthand.
Pudgy Penguins Enters Gaming, Delivering New Interactive Experiences
To further expand its brand influence, explore new business models, and offer richer interactive experiences, Pudgy Penguins is entering the gaming space. Luca Netz previously emphasized the importance of consumer-facing products in Web3.
Pudgy Penguins plans to launch two arcade games and Pudgie World in 2024—direct implementations of this vision. Luca Netz added that delivering excellent gaming products is now his top short- to mid-term priority. Currently, 15 people are working full-time on Pudgie World.
The two arcade games include a claw machine (crane game) and a two-player Runner Game. Designed to be fun and challenging, these games create a lighthearted atmosphere where players can enjoy themselves while deepening their connection with Pudgy Penguins.
Beyond arcade games, Pudgie World is another key focus for 2024. Pudgie World is a game set to launch in Q1 or Q2 of this year, powered by zkSync, aiming to deliver an engaging, scalable, on-chain open-world narrative experience for millions.
Pudgie World serves as the digital counterpart to Pudgy Penguins’ physical product ecosystem, seamlessly blending real-world and digital experiences. Owners of physical Pudgy toys can scan the included QR code, create an account, redeem traits, and customize their Forever Pudgy Penguin. A key highlight of the Pudgy World Alpha release is the introduction of a new character duo: Pudgy & Peaches.
Luca Netz’s description of Pudgy World sounds promising—he likened it to an MMO RPG that’s fun and easy to pick up. While the game will incorporate NFTs and wallets, these elements will be abstracted to make the gameplay feel more like a traditional game.
More importantly, Pudgy physical toys are not just ordinary dolls—they come with unique QR codes that unlock access to Pudgy World. This fusion of physical collectibles and digital gameplay introduces a novel mode of interaction and a new business model, breaking the limitations of traditional toys and allowing fans to freely navigate between physical and virtual worlds for a truly immersive entertainment experience. This synergy will also significantly enhance the brand image and IP value of Pudgy Penguins.
In summary, Pudgy Penguins’ success in the NFT space stems from its distinctive character design, robust brand and IP development, integrated online-offline experiences, innovative marketing strategies, and upcoming gamification. These elements together form Pudgy Penguins’ core competitive advantages, setting it apart in the NFT landscape.
A script can be copied, but culture cannot. Nevertheless, Pudgy Penguins’ journey offers valuable lessons for other NFT projects and entrepreneurs, inspiring more teams and individuals to drive innovation and advancement in the NFT space, contributing to the broader industry’s growth and prosperity.
Other Questions
Luca Netz’s responses to other community questions are as follows:
Foresight News: How many people are on the Pudgy Penguins team?
Luca Netz: The Pudgy Penguins team currently has 60 members. We’re planning to expand and are hiring for roles including Creative Director, Art Director, 2D illustrators, 2D animators, and Web GL developers.
Foresight News: Can you share a rough overview of Pudgy Penguins’ revenue and expenses?
Luca Netz: After completing our seed round last year, we had $10 million in the bank, and we still have over $10 million today. We’ve also just delivered $10 million in retail sales. On the expense side, we spend between $400,000 and $500,000 per month. I believe we’re managing our finances very well.
Foresight News: What are your plans and visions for Pudgy Penguins’ future? What are your personal goals for 2024?
Luca Netz: I want Pudgy Penguins to become the first franchise IP in Web3—the next Hello Kitty, the next Pokémon. Building a brand like Pokémon or Disney takes time, but I believe we can go viral and break into the mainstream quickly. By the end of this year, I hope the mainstream market truly recognizes us.
Foresight News: Now that Pudgy Penguins has captured attention, some other NFT projects may follow the toy and licensing path. Do you think this is replicable?
Luca Netz: I do think many other NFT projects will try to copy us, but the difference is we have the cutest, most unique characters and the strongest community.
Foresight News: Is there any possibility that Pudgy Penguins will launch a token?
On this question, Luca Netz gave an evasive answer. He said, “We will always do what’s in the best interest of the community, and we’ve consistently lived by this principle. I made an early promise to them, and I plan to fulfill it—that’s the only answer I can give you.” Luca Netz responded to the possibility of launching a token with “no comment” three times in a row.
Foresight News: Dymension’s DYM airdrop included Pudgy Penguins NFT holders. Will Pudgy Penguins holders receive similar airdrops in the future?
Luca Netz: I think so. The Pudgy Penguins community includes some of the most important builders in crypto—many are diamond-handed, early crypto adopters. So when protocols airdrop tokens to the Pudgy Penguins community, they get noticed. Right now, at least four protocols are in discussions with us. Pudgy Penguins NFT holders are very likely to receive similar airdrops in the future.
Foresight News: What are your thoughts on NFT trends? When do you expect the next NFT boom?
Luca Netz: I believe the NFT boom will return within the next 6 to 12 months. The digital collectibles market has massive room for growth—it currently represents only 1% of the overall collectibles market (with physical collectibles making up 99%). For NFT investors, this is a great opportunity to actively monitor and participate in market developments.
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