In this episode of the Web3 Marketing Association Podcast, hosts Dave Wallace and Suresh Balaji are joined by Angela Dalton, founder and CEO of Signum Growth Capital, to explore the intersection of gaming, NFTs, and Web3—and what it means for marketers.

Angela shares her career journey from equities and investment banking to becoming one of the first esports analysts, before founding Signum to advise at the crossroads of culture and crypto. She explains how video games have long served as a proving ground for digital ownership, with skins and in-game items functioning as early forms of social capital. NFTs, she argues, are simply a natural extension of behaviours gamers already understand.

The conversation covers the explosive growth of digital assets in gaming, the rise (and pitfalls) of play-to-earn models, and why the future lies in “play and own”—where identity, property rights, and interoperability across platforms reshape how people engage online. Angela discusses examples such as Burberry’s Sharky drop in Blankos and Balenciaga’s collaboration with Fortnite, showing how brands can enter authentically if they align with existing gamer behaviours.

Beyond gaming, Angela highlights broader structural shifts: the need for interoperability across blockchains, the role of Polkadot in enabling cross-chain communication, and the opportunity for marketers to simplify and humanise Web3 education. She argues that Web3 isn’t just about technology—it’s about building fairer systems where creators, communities, and companies share value more equitably.

For marketers, the key takeaway is clear: Web3 is not just a channel, but a cultural shift. The brands that succeed will be those that respect community norms, embrace transparency, and help bridge the gap between complex technology and everyday human behaviour.