By Lexi Fried
The Metaverse is here. But what exactly is the Metaverse? Why should brands care about it and how can they utilize this exciting new opportunity?
Understanding the Metaverse can help you think about and unlock your brand's current and future potential within our ever-changing technological world. It's never too early to prepare for what will inevitably reshape digital marketing, and now is the time to get educated and involved.
Read more about the Metaverse and how your brand can get started, including inspiration from top brands.
Understanding the Metaverse
The New York Times defines the metaverse as “the convergence of two ideas that have been around for many years: virtual reality and a digital second life.” In this virtual world, users can interact and experience things similar to how they do in the real world, but in an entirely virtual way.
According to Meta, “The metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. The metaverse will be a collective project that goes beyond a single company. It will be created by people all over the world, and open to everyone.”
The Metaverse essentially lives as a digital space where users can come together for anything from work, play, entertainment, communication, shopping, eating, and more, all in one digital home. This is a space where our physical and digital worlds come together.
A common misconception is that the Metaverse is one single entity, but that's not the case. That said, each digital platform has its own definition of the metaverse and what it means for its future. See the examples below to learn more.
Today's Metaverse Marketing Opportunities
At Code3, we define the marketing opportunities within the Metaverse today by organizing them into three categories:
- Mixed Reality
- Gamifying and Gamertising
- Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Big Brands Are Already in the Metaverse
These brands are acting early to capitalize in the Metaverse now. Read about their tactics, what they're offering consumers, and why it's working.
Chipotle: Engaging and Rewarding Top Customers and Superfans
In early April of 2022, Chipotle partnered with Roblox to offer its second metaverse gaming experience, the Chipotle Burrito Builder, where users built a virtual burrito.
On April 7th, Chipotle tweeted the brand's game release in honor of national burrito day, urging fans to join the virtual experience. The tweet offered a free real-life burrito to the first 100k people to roll a virtual burrito.
Within the metaverse, savvy restaurants such as Chipotle can and should reach their current customers and new customers virtually to expand their impact beyond regular visitors with the help of social activations.
Absolut Vodka: Creating a Unique Universe or Digital Property
Absolut Vodka created a virtual Coachella experience in Decentraland with NFT giveaways, opportunities to win tickets to the 2023 festival, Tweet to win opportunities, selfie stations for Instagram, and more, tying in multi-channel opportunities with the virtual experience within Decentraland. “This is our first foray into the metaverse, so our goal is to test and learn over the next two weeks,” said Pam Forbus, chief marketing officer of Pernod Ricard, the parent company of Absolut. “We’ve created ten virtual experiences to see what our customers like.”
Screenshot Labs: Launching NFT Project
Web3.0 development company Screenshot Labs used an NFT project to launch and fund an expansive universe called Everai.
Screenshot Labs, building off a previous experience with Web3.0 gaming, launched their first collection in the Everai universe called Everai Heroes: Duo. After months of curating a passionate fanbase, the company essentially crowdsourced ~$4.7MM USD (1,500 ETH) to fund the project. This will allow the company to work on its roadmap building out additional collections and more. Eventually, the goal is to develop a play-to-earn (p2e) game and full metaverse experience. This example shows the power of curating passionate fans and building out a true Web3.0-based experience.
Into the Metaverse
So how can you get your brand started in the Metaverse?
- Maintain foundational elements of your brand - but imagine them in a new way that is unique to the touchpoints and experiences of the Metaverse. This could be within mixed reality, gaming, NFTs, or a combination of all of the above.
- Listen to your audiences and customers first - before trying to push an idea or experience on them - consider platform listening (i.e. social listening), consumer research, and education here to help you understand more about communities within aspects of the metaverse - before you finalize any potential activation ideas.
- Take the traditional marketing “lens” off and put your childlike imagination hat on - remember that this is new territory for many and don’t put too many boundaries or emphasis on typical marketing metrics or mandates- have fun with the ideation process and allow your creative imagination to take over.
Stay tuned for more tips, advice, and information on the Metaverse from your resident Metaverse experts at Code3! Contact us to learn how we can help you unlock your brand's potential in the Metaverse and more.
