A Dystopian concept made Utopian
The Metaverse is here. It’s no longer a secret that many see this fictional universe as the present and the future of how people will interact, socialize & connect in the coming days.
But what is this latest tech buzz, the Metaverse all about?
To put it simply, the Metaverse is a shared virtual space, that exists in real-time, is always active, encompasses immersive environments, and people who access it can make decisions that affect the universe.
This virtual world is gaining the hype and you as a brand should care!
The Metaverse and virtual environments are places for consumer attention and commerce. A new marketing ecosystem is evolved where brands can connect with their customer base in ways that have never been possible before.
What’s the brand advantage?
There are many reasons why marketers are flocking to the metaverse. Noteworthy ones are:
→ It is fast becoming the most authentic way for core early adopters like Millennials and Gen X to engage with a brand’s products and technologies
→ An opportunity for brands to build brand awareness in an environment that eliminates media involvement while keeping the brand relevancy intact
→ Built on cryptocurrency and digital goods including NFTs, the metaverse offers an additional sales channel or more importantly, a completely new revenue stream
amongst many others. And from the engagement that brands are already getting, it’s clear this marketing strategy is working and is here to stay.
Now, how do you dip your toes into the Metaverse?
To access the 3D space and be part of a thriving virtual economy is what users are looking forward to in this Metaverse-hyped world. For now, gaming and entertainment are at the forefront as these can be adopted in a virtual world and can be evolved within.
Many companies have published dedicated reports about the functioning, growth, and accessibility of the Metaverse. For example, Accenture’s tech trend report entitled: Meet Me in the Metaverse.
Metaver-esque platforms like Decentraland, Sandbox allows users to create an avatar to enter the virtual world. Other big Metaverses like Fortnite and Roblox, offer brands targeted opportunities that may have been previously unattainable due to the presence of an already captive audience that is willing to engage.
Accessing the Metaverse in the near future: an engaged audience in a parallel world
According to a report by Gartner, by the year 2026, a quarter of us could be spending an hour a day in the metaverse. Better yet, a video of the pioneer of the alt-reality himself, Mark Zuckerberg, explaining what the Metaverse is and what’s going to become.
In the near future, digital natives can access this hypothetical iteration of the Internet by creating new assets (like NFTs), and engaging in activities like buying, selling, or exchanging items in return for native tokens.
Augmented reality or AR is a huge part of the Metaverse and its immersive experience. This space is helping brands enter into a new transformation of experiences, majorly shopping. Big brands like Gucci & Vans have already stolen headlines by selling digital merchandise to audiences. Other brands have gone further by offering the experience of their real-life product on the Metaverse.
Major players in the emerging Metaverse
Not just a virtual space for social interaction but an innovative workplace station, the Metaverse has already been embraced by a huge community. Hence, millennials and Gen Z are going to be a large part of the zeitgeist here.
To name a few brands that have ventured into this unchartered territory are:
Vans launched a virtual skatepark in the Roblox universe that let players try new tricks and earn points that they can redeem in the virtual store to customize their avatars. The online park has seen upwards of 50 million visitors.
Stella Artois has created a Tamagotchi-like experience in parallel to the famous Kentucky Derby event. The global alcoholic beverages brand created an online platform where non-fungible token (NFT) horses are traded, raced, and bred.
Microsoft’s product space, Microsoft Connected Spaces will allow professionals to recreate and visit their retail stores or factories during virtual meetings.
Brands like Victoria’s Secret, L’Oreal, and McDonald’s have filed trademark requests for online retail services featuring virtual foods, brand names, product names, and more.
JPMorgan Chase has recently made moves to Decentraland, a well-known Metaverse, by launching a lounge called The Onyx. Other brands like Samsung Electronics, Sotheby’s, and Coca-Cola found this virtual world an attractive spot for their digital real estate investments.
An Immersed community of brands maybe?
Usually, individuals are resistant to advertising. Therefore, as brands try to enter the metaverse, they need to understand the importance of not disrupting the immersive experience already being had.
The best strategy for brands here is to partner with the owner of the platform itself to create a property that feels like it is part of the experience. For example, most brands on Roblox gain significant traction when they partner with known members of the Roblox community to create items and experiences. Similarly, O2 partnered with Fortnite creators to throw a concert on the shooter.
This is the evolution of influencer campaigns that generate their own user-generated content. Everyone who is organizing anything of note on different metaverses has one common belief - that their target audience is present and ready to engage with their brand-based activities.
Trailblaze with BigCity
How to understand a space so nascent? Does your audience exist there? What mechanisms will ensure they interact with promotional campaigns in the metaverse?
As companies are beginning to toy with the idea of a metaverse future, technology is slowly rising to advancement in all spaces. Having built cutting-edge gamification mechanisms, AI-enabled platforms as well as truly immersive AR/VR experiences, we can be your guides in the Metaverse!
Promotional and rewarding campaigns have been historically run on physical assets. With the metaverse in action, these campaigns run now mostly on digital assets through digital rewards, and this is what the future will be.
It is imminent that the audience adoption of the metaverse will only increase with time. If brands are investing to be present on the metaverse, then so should their rewarding strategies and promotional activities; to increase sales, reward engagement, and much more.
After all, it is another world full of possibilities. 
What’s more?
With more than 15 years spent in the promotions & loyalty space, BigCity can help you curate the best set of rewards & experiences suited to your audience and enable reward fulfillment whether it’s in the Metaverse or in the real world.
To know more about our ideas for pathbreaking Metaverse campaigns, get in touch with us at marketing@bigcity.in, and let’s create the perfect world agnostic consumer or channel promotion together.
