Brands need to reinvent their marketing playbook for digital worlds
The so-called metaverse piqued the interest of brands looking for ways to bridge the digital and physical divide amid COVID-19 lockdowns, which created a demand for virtual escapes. Now with Facebook announcing plans last week to transition into a metaverse company over the next five years, it’s become essential for brands to understand how to navigate digital worlds.
“The metaverse could be the next ubiquitous way to connect users across every platform and social touchpoint, whether it be a game, entertainment, video, zoom, SMS or phone call. The idea of a massive, centralized community is being invested into heavily and is coming,” says Victor David, co-founder and CEO of Epik, a global licensing agency connecting brands with major video games.
In short, the metaverse —a term coined in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel “Snow Crash”— is a collection of digital worlds and assets, where interoperability allows users to interact as digital versions of themselves, also known as avatars, across platforms. The ultimate goal is to allow users to generate content and connect it across digital worlds. Users will be able to take their avatars and assets and move from place to place; a “Fortnite” skin could be brought into a “Minecraft” world, for example.
Essentially, the metaverse can serve as a playground where brands can connect to fans outside the constraints of the physical world through options as broad as the internet itself. It’s no surprise that imaginative creatives and forward-looking businesses are attracted to the potential, and experts say the interest will only grow with advances in technology.
Facebook’s announcement last week of plans to create a new metaverse product group is only expected to further fuel a trend that had already been gaining momentum.
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This article first appeared in www.adage.com
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