Por stringnet
Marketing, no doubt, has improved the way a company promotes its products or services to consumers. With the passing years and the new technologies incoming, the art of promoting something has evolved from traditional newspaper advertising to a complex and well-designed strategy shown in text, audio, and/or video. All this is thanks to the web revolution and social media platforms, from which a huge amount of customers can be targeted… But what if you discover that this model is about to change and the world is witnessing another revolution in this field: the metaverse and the marketing in the metaverse? Stay tuned to get to know more about it.
Marketing in the Metaverse: A New Idea?
Although it may sound new, the idea of the metaverse has been around the scene since the early 90s, when it appeared in a novel titled Snow Crash, in which a hacker-using virtual reality (VR) goggles jumps back and forth between a dystopian Los Angeles and a virtual world called the Metaverse. Thirty years later, the concept has been gaining space among users and (what brings us here) companies. But… What is the Metaverse? and, of course, what is marketing in the metaverse? Let’s see.
What Is the Metaverse?
The metaverse could be defined as a dynamic, experiential, and intuitive virtual universe based on Vitual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and/or the Internet of Things (IoT) where users can create their avatars, customize them, go shopping, hangout with users from all over the world, attend to a concert or to do any other activity without even getting out of their houses.
To access the metaverse you will only need to register on a website, as well as a computer or smartphone, sometimes VR goggles (like in the novel), and headphones (if desired).
Having given an idea of what the metaverse is, one question may be asked: how can people and companies profit from it?
Before sketching an answer, you must know how the metaverse is changing the way marketing is done.
Flat Media vs. Immersive Media
Nowadays marketing is based on a third-person experience, i.e. that the subject can’t interact with the objects promoted. This is called flat media or flat content.
What the metaverse can offer is immersive media or immersive content. This means that a person will be able to interact with the products or services injected in the metaverse from a first-person perspective.
This implies that the metaverse opens a new way of making marketing since an item will stop being a plain object, and it will become something to interact with instead. So, a client won’t just be able to see a shirt but to try it on its avatar.
An example of this may be Nikeland, Nike’s metaverse, on which people can register for free and wear their avatars with items that could be bought or earned in a competition run into that metaverse. The idea behind this metaverse is to promote sports, and training (since users need to move with their phones to register any movement in the metaverse) and to create a community.
Marketing in the Metaverse
So, parting from the point that behind a metaverse is a community provided by identity (like Nike’s metaverse, for instance) the marketing in the metaverse is focused on assuring better engagement to create greater business opportunities.
And why is that? Because the people that have been around the metaverse so far have felt more connected with those brands that have a strong digital presence, according to Justin Peyton, Chief Transformation & Strategy Officer at Wunderman Thompson.
Keeping that in mind, another matter may be considered: how to create engagement?
Metaverse and Engagement: Strategies
To answer that, one can take a look at Gucci.
That’s right! This brand has already stepped into the metaverse, and, likewise Nikeland, it offers unique designs of cloth and accessories, such as sneakers, that can be bought online only. With these, people can customize their avatars and get some exclusivity at an affordable cost, since some of these items are sold for less than twenty dollars.
Another approach could be gaming. This industry is predicted to generate more than $260 billion by 2025. And the core of this business is entertainment. Regarding this, Vans, the skateboarding brand, has made a game out of the brand itself by building a metaverse where people can hang out in skateparks and get the best of style and skateboarding by using special gear and accessories.
Besides this, another way to create engagement is using Virtual Product Placements, which are promotional objects or experiences injected into virtual or augmented worlds on behalf of paying advertisers. For a better understanding of this idea, you can think of a customer that sees someone walking on the metaverse using a specific outfit or accessory that matches his likes or identity, such as gender, age, artist, or even a part of his wish list items, like a pokemon, for instance.
Something likewise occurred in The Sandbox metaverse, a platform wherein users can buy virtual lands and make their creations on them. It happened that a person spent over 400 thousand dollars to buy a piece of land next to Snoop Dogg’s house. This artist was building a digital recreation of his real-life California mansion, where he planned to have exclusive parties and concerts.
So, as a consequence, marketing in the metaverse will evolve into subtle advertising since people won’t see or interact with a post, video, or audio. Instead, they will be immersed in an environment where they will be able to watch personalities wearing a specific t-shirt brand just passing by or having them living next door.
The Future Is Now!
Here at Stringnet, we are ready to provide you guidance through this new technology that literally will transform your business into a dynamic, intuitive, and experiential one.
As always happens in the history of business and wealth, those who get in first take a huge amount of profit than those who don’t.
Be part of this thrilling world and dive in counting on the support of our great team!