HOT WHEELS NFT GARAGE

Within my first month of joining Mattel, I was tasked with helping re-envision and evolving the Hot Wheels NFT Garage. The strategy and background knowledge I brought to the project around NFTs and our consumers, along with my ability to quickly integrate and seamlessly work cross-functionally with all partners and teams, has since allowed my role and responsibilities to drastically increase, including but not limited to:
Supporting the planning of future NFT drops, strategizing and leading development of new products, NFTs, rarities, and collectibles, art directing the NFT development pipeline, developing and designing the look for the front and back of our premium NFTs which later becomes the packaging for our physical redeemable die-casts, concepting and art directing the opening sequence animation that plays before opening the blind pack, concepting and creating the NFT Garage brand identity and all marketing campaigns, developing the UX & UI for webpage layouts, producing all videos and sizzles for events such as NFT.NYC, NFTLA, VeeCon and more, working with our packaging team to concept and develop additional limited edition packaging for physical redemption die-casts, as well as selecting and designing some of the physical Hot Wheels vehicles appearing in each series.

This role has given me the experience of simultaneously leading numerous vendors around the world, leading and mentoring internal designers, and seamlessly working with multiple cross-functional teams at Mattel. The project requires accuracy, accountability, impeccable communication, creativity, innovation, and a strong ability to multitask.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION:

CIO 100 Award Winner
“Awarded for exemplifying the highest level of strategic and operational excellence, as well as what it means to deliver business value through the innovative use of technology.”
2023 American Metaverse Awards Winner, Top Fashion or Consumer Brand Initiative

View the Entire Collection here: https://hotwheelsnftg.io/catalog

 
 

OPENING SEQUENCE

This video plays before an individual opens their blind pack. I was tasked with developing concepts and art directing the video, creating multiple concepts and pitching to leadership before landing on the selected video below.

 

SERIES 1 PROMO STICKERS

“Stickers,” acted as free collectible NFTs for our first launch. They were given out to the first 500 people across three various platforms (1,500 total) who made a WAX wallet in preparation of the drop and acted as a fun way to excite our audience.

 

SERIES 2 & 3 PROMO NFTs

While the initial strategy of logo-play stickers was fun to create, I wanted to push the concept further and focus on being more in-line with what the audience would want. For Series 2, I pitched the idea of having a unique NFT created for any promotional drop moving forward. Leadership loved the idea, and our execution was met with outstanding results. This shift drew in thousands of additional accounts generated, led to an increased number of viewers listening in during our AMAs where promo codes were handed out, and generated Mattel revenue through secondary sales as these promo NFTs were viewed as limited edition.

 
 
 

SOCIAL MEDIA

A selection of motion graphics created to generate attention and buzz for our NFT drops

 
 
 

WEB BANNERS

Examples of web banners created to promote the drops across various websites, emails, and digital platforms

 
 
 

UX & UI DEVELOPMENT FOR MATTEL CREATIONS

For Series 4, we took the leap to take the NFT Garage to Mattel Creations… and reworked our appearance for a more elevated, high-end look and feel while still staying true to the previously developed aesthetic our audience knows and loves. With the launch on a new platform, I worked alongside our developers to not only create all assets for every page, but to create all wireframes, and develop the UX&UI for the site. Below are a few examples of the many web pages and assets designed for the NFT launch on Mattel Creations.

 
 
 

3D RENDER DEVELOPMENT

Our audience loves to see the physical redemption die-casts for each drop! Unfortunately due to timing, we do not always have the die-casts created and ready to be shot before our launch announcement. As a way to keep our audience excited and engaged, I work to develop a shot list, compose all angles, art direct our 3D artists, and approve all final renders to be used as a representation of the physical die-casts to come.

 
 
 
 
 

NFT CARD BACKS & BLIND PACK DESIGN

These assets are crucial to the blind pack purchasing process, and minted along with the NFTs. The aesthetic is inspired by a cleaner, adult-focused take on our core Hot Wheels branding.

 
 
 

EXPANDING NFTS INTO PHYSICAL STORES

Exploring how we could further expand our audience, we partnered with Target to launch an exclusive line of NFTs only available through an accompanying in-store purchase. We looked into our exclusive Target line called Ultra Hots, and embraced our adult-targeted aesthetic while staying true to the retro packaging Ultra Hots fans know and love.

THE NFTS

 
 
 

THE SOCIAL

A showcase of the die-casts, NFTs, and packaging shots I had the opportunity to art direct and produced out.

 
 

NFT Card Back & Blind Pack design

 
 
 
 

NFT EVENT SIZZLES

I was tasked with creating videos and sizzles to be played during NYC.NFT, NFTLA, and the Hot Wheels Legends events. These videos were meant to act as a looping sizzles, either allowing for the host to speak alongside the video and expand on the goals and achievements of the Hot Wheels NFT Garage, or a silent looping video for various digital billboards- including one displayed in Times Square NYC!

 
 

THE OUTCOME

Since the first drop, this project has been met with resounding success and continues to grow with each series. Some quick stats:

  • Over 68k in the queue on our first drop. This was the highest number of people ever recorded in a queue on WAX’s site to date.

  • Series 1 completely sold out in less than 10 mins, bringing in an immediate $325k.

  • Mattel generated $480k in secondary sales in less than 24 hours, and generated over $1 million in 3 days.

  • Each drop since Series 1 has had an increasing number of people in the queue, generating 90k people in Series 2 and 150k people in Series 3.

  • The success of each drop has allowed us to continue securing more OEM licensors to bring our audience’s favorite cars to each new drop.