This month Co-Founder, Rachel Clarke, looks at the metaverse and shares a little bit of guidance for brands that are thinking about playing in this space.

In The House

Innovations and initiatives from Strat House clients and partners.

• Unilever helping women farmers to grow pineapples and their incomes
• Adidas takes on Samsung’s controversial ‘Night Owls’ ad in women’s safety campaign
• Unilever Study Reveals Influence of Influencers in Sustainable Behavior Change
• Dove are standing up for #KidsOnlineSafety
• Gong cha named best food & drink franchise at the 2023 Global Franchise Awards
• Find out why LinkedIn And Dove Are In It Together To Help End Hair Discrimination

The metaverse does not exist. Yet.

The metaverse does not exist. Yet. It may eventually happen, there are signs and trends that point in this direction, but an ‘open, persistent, (3d) interoperable world that may end up being based on web3 tech’ (…or maybe something else) is just a dream at the moment.  We’re not even sure if that is what we mean by the term ‘metaverse’. Some people use the word thinking of it as blockchains and NFTs, they use Web3 and metaverse interchangeably, as if the metaverse was the technology itself. Others leaned more towards digital avatars and identities, a place to try on new identities and create or take part in new and different experiences. Yet more talk about the philosophy of a creator-led web, interconnected communities (where value is shared between themselves) and the corporates inhabiting the space, whether that is the platforms or the brands. 

For a brand, it can be difficult to know what to think and what to do. There is definitely a shift in digital heading our way, a lot faster than social hit us – because we mostly no longer ask what’s the point of digital (sort of, I am still asked questions). And because we are not sure where it will end, brands definitely need to get ready to manage this change and put in place the tools and processes to navigate this new fractured landscape. Let’s take a look at the bits that are present when it comes to a various ‘versions’ of the metaverse

Virtual Reality takes you into a digital world, it’s a fully immersive environment, today only available through headsets. (although I’m secretly hoping someone is building a Star Trek-inspired holodeck). If you add in haptic feedback and even scents, this provides a fully immersive digital world. Meta hope that you will work in there; gaming tries to make the most of it (Resident Evil on the Oculus is extremely frightening) and many industries are actively using the technology for design and collaboration. Ford is one of many companies designing their cars in a virtual world.

Augmented reality is a digital world overlaid onto the real world. Think Snap, think filters, think Gucci bags and Ikea Place, the app that lets you add models of their products to your rooms and see how it fits in before you buy. It’s usually done through the phone screen, but glasses are starting to be more of a reality.

Virtual Worlds are fully digital worlds you observe through a screen. This is where many of the metaverse platforms mainly live, and where gaming is king. Many of the brand experiences take place here – Hyundai, Nike, Nascar, Vans and Chipotle are all in Roblox, creating their worlds and featuring their products. Balenciaga partnered with Fortnite to create skins and merchandise.  If you look at headline of “xxx enters the metaverse” it usually means they’re on a gaming platform, not a self-proclaimed metaverse platform. That’s probably because Roblox gets 55million DAUS and Sandbox 1100.

Across all of these, you have NFTs – assets referenced on a blockchain that may, or may not, come with various rights for the owner to use in various ways for their own enjoyment or profit. They can also be used as “active tickets” a way to reward a fan through events and products where what is being offered changes over time. It’s early days here, hopefully they can be used for more than an investment opportunity, especially as the market is definitely slowing down.

A recent McKinsey survey in the US told us that all the groups surveyed expected to be spending more time in the metaverse in 5 years time – even when they weren’t quite sure what the metaverse could be.  When something gets hyped as much, people start to expect it to be there now.  There is a desire to have a more immersive digital life, but its not clear where they could go.

As a brand, our best advice is always to take a look and try things out. There will be an impact, although probably not as huge immediately as the enthusiasm of some merits.  But if you’re not taking a look now and thinking about it, getting prepared, you’re not going to be in a position to connect with your customers in the future.  Next month, we take a look at some of the ways you can do that.