By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Brand Central is taking another leap into the metaverse and the world of NFTs, signing a deal with Bored Ape Yacht Club Owners.
The collective of like-minded Apes call themselves the Bored of Directors, and are working to create a portfolio of branded merchandise through licensing deals brokered by Brand Central.
The collection of Bored Apes is a great representation of the brand with different images, personalities and graphics and the collective plans to bring more Bored Ape owners on board as the brand grows, explains Brand Central CEO Ross Misher. Although the brand is not affiliated with Yuga Labs and does not include the official Bored Ape Yacht Club brand, logo or any affiliated marks, the Bored of Directors and their respective Apes’ likeness can be used and manipulated as necessary for consumer products.
Owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs are also free to create projects using their individual Apes and owners are granted the right to create derivative works for commercial purposes.
That ability is one of the things that provides value for some NFTs for the owners, who typically buy them in online. in an auction-like format. Some NFTs have risen in value to millions of dollars over the past 18 months.
“Brand Central is extremely excited to bring to the licensing industry a collective of over 10+ Bored Ape NFTs to create a cohesive brand and package of Ape characters to be licensed across all product categories,” the company says. “The collective is not the first-time that owners have used their Bored Apes to create brand extensions such as the recent BAYC themed Burger Joint “Bored and Hungry.”
Brand Central is partnered with the brand collective NFIP Holdings, LLC, to bring the 10+ NFTs to life in multiple categories including figures, plush, apparel, accessories, food & beverage, beer & spirits, snacks and confections, drinkware, barware, gifts & novelty, stationery and more.
“We have been waiting for the right time and partner to utilize the IP rights that were granted to us when we purchased our Bored Apes, and Brand Central was the perfect agency to lead this initiative as they are experts in launching cutting edge, must-have pop culture brands from Ninja to Full Send,” said Jamie George, owner of Bored Ape #8519 and co-founder of NFIP Holdings.
This collective and The Bored of Directors brand is not affiliated with Bored Ape Yacht Club.
“For all those licensees and retailers looking to get in on the NFT phenom led by the original Bored Apes, we have assembled it into one turnkey package. The time is now.” said Misher.
This is the second major deal Brand Central has signed over the past weeks connected to the rapidly growing metaverse licensing segment. They also represent Virtual Brands Group, an innovative company that helps brands monetize their products and services in the metaverse.
VBG is best known for staging a wildly successful program in the Roblox world for Forever 21, resulting in huge numbers of users creating their own Forever 21 stores and selling merchandise online.