What is the Metaverse?

Kicking off a new series exploring the role of the metaverse in marketing now and tomorrow, we explore whether it’s time to start building a virtual community for your brand

19 December 2022

There's little consensus about what the metaverse currently is, or more importantly, what it may evolve into. But as brands begin to mark their territory in this new digital frontier, marketers must consider how to avoid the trap of bandwagon thinking and engage with the metaverse in a meaningful, effective way. “The metaverse is the next generation of the internet,” explains Carrie Timms, director of global business marketing EMEA at Meta. “Right now, we experience the internet in 2D through our phones or computers. The metaverse uses new technologies to create an immersive 3D experience. This digital world is still being built, but you can already get a taste of it – either as a fully immersive virtual reality or as augmented reality layered over the world around you.” Just like the internet as we know it today, the metaverse won’t be run by any one organisation: realising its full potential is a task for the many, not the few. “The metaverse is being co-created by companies, creators, brands, policymakers, NGOs and people excited about the next big thing,” confirms Timms. “The possibilities are endless, but how exactly the metaverse evolves is up to all of us.” Early-adopting brands – so far largely youth-focused and weighted towards the fields of fashion and entertainment – are making some headway in the nascent metaverse. But as awareness of this fast-evolving world enters the mainstream, marketers across all sectors and categories are sitting up and taking notice of the relatively untapped opportunities to be found there.

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By Albert Abello Lozano, head of automation, Treatwell

What is the metaverse, and should your brand care about it?

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While traditional marketing channels have often lagged when it comes to inclusion, the metaverse has the potential to level the playing field by democratising access and empowering diverse creators to play their part in shaping what comes next. And with one quintillion possible avatar variations across Meta apps alone, people can express their digital identity more authentically than ever before – or define a whole new one. "This is a time for experimentation, and telling stories in new ways," urges Max Vedel, co-founder and creative director at Swipe Back, a metaverse-focused agency working with brands including Absolut, Swarovski and Dior. "Brands who take part in cultural shifts tend to be more integrated when those shifts become mainstream." As Vedel points out, successful marketers must not only stay abreast of emerging technologies and trends, but also the changing face of how consumers choose to spend their time. "People are already building platforms and products with the same philosophies and principles: immersion, decentralisation, interoperability and community," he says. "Eventually, adoption and evolving technologies will shape the metaverse as it should be."

Access to a diverse, fast-growing community

Incremental gains

Roisin Donnelly: We need to really understand what the customer wants. What does the customer need? Who is the customer? What do we need to do to make it easier for the customer? I hope we can educate them better – we must be absolutely customer-obsessed in everything we do. Michael Inpong: The number one rule for personalisation is delighting the customer. And part of delighting them is answering their desire for privacy. ■

Performance only

Performance plus extended reach

Whether consumers experience the metaverse as immersive VR, world-enhancing AR, or as next-level interactive entertainment with a social twist, one thing is clear: the cross-section between our real and virtual worlds is fertile territory to bring a brand’s story to life. A fully realised metaverse is still years away, but brands such as Gucci, Nike and MINI are blazing a trail through interactive innovation. Luxury retailer Fendi also joined the metaverse at the start of 2022 with a virtual runway and range of crypto wallet accessories. In September, the fashion brand took it up a gear with two innovative AR effects, developed using Meta's Spark AR, to mark the launch of its new Faster trainers. Facebook and Instagram users could discover Faster by Fendi trainers in an archaeology-inspired AR treasure hunt, using hand-detection technology to bring real-life actions into the virtual experience. “We're looking at new realities, blurred intersections from digital to physical, and a whole new set of business models for brands to tap into," says Wayne Deakin, global principal at branding consultancy Wolff Olins. "Everyone seems to have a different idea about what it will mean for our lives, and there's a lot of hype and hard sell,” he continues. “But, like the birth of the web, it's a force that’s here to stay, with massive creative and commercial opportunities and reach." “This is a pivotal moment for brands: being an early adopter means not only experiencing this new digital world but also becoming one of its architects,” agrees Meta's Timms. “We're on the cusp of the next big tech revolution, and just like the internet transformed how we connect with audiences, the metaverse will be no different. Getting in early means having the chance to test out this new tech, discovering what works for your brand and your business, and finding innovative ways to share your story in this new era of connection.”

Unprecedented brand activation opportunities

Reach campaign targeting broad audience

Unlocking new opportunities for immersion and interactivity, the metaverse can broaden a brand’s reach to a global demographic that interacts with marketing in a lean-forward, participatory way – but the onus is on brands to engage, entertain and delight them. "Advertisers always have to adapt to the world around them; this is just the next turn of the wheel," argues Isabel Perry, director of technology at BYTE/DEPT, who leads a multidisciplinary team creating AI, AR and metaverse activations for brands such as Sprite, eBay and FIFA. In time, she suggests, every brand's customer base will have a presence in the metaverse – especially as many gen Z consumers are already well-versed in metaverse-like gaming platforms like Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft. “The metaverse multiplies the channels through which brands can tell their story and connect with customers, especially younger ones,” continues Timms. “Many companies are already using technologies like AR so people can try on makeup, test out furniture or even test drive a car before they make a purchase. People are more likely to buy products they’ve experienced themselves. Objects they can touch, garments they can try, technologies they can test. The metaverse allows brands to do that like never before.”

A new marketing channel and audience demographic

The metaverse may still be in its infancy, but technology is advancing apace, with VR headsets such as the Meta Quest 2 making fully immersive metaverse-style experiences increasingly accessible and affordable for consumers. "Ultimately, the metaverse will become what digital is today: invisible," suggests Nick Pringle, SVP and executive creative director at global digital innovation and marketing agency R/GA. "We don't see digital anymore; it's just life. It will become a normal way to interact with brands, with friends and with culture. And, over the next 10 to 20 years, the tech will disappear and you'll move effortlessly between digital and physical." Even if the time is not yet right for your brand to dive headfirst into the metaverse, putting in the groundwork now to understand its potential – and consider the right angle of approach in the future – is time well spent for marketers. “No matter which sector you operate in, the metaverse will be nothing short of a revolution,” predicts Meta’s Timms. “It will fundamentally transform how customers interact with your brand. Whatever your industry, the metaverse adds a whole new dimension of connection, and that’s exciting – not just for businesses, but for people.” ■ Learn more about business opportunities in the metaverse here.

A stepping-stone to the future