As a comms leader at Activision Blizzard, Claire Nance tracks all the trends obsessing marketers. She explains why the next big thing isn’t always the best.
Our industry loves a good story. And so it should. Marketers are, after all, storytellers themselves.
But look at the industry’s big stories or trends from the last few years, and you quickly see a pattern emerge, one that places greater emphasis on latching on to ‘the next big thing’ without a longer-term view to real-world implementation or impact.
In 2022, it was the metaverse. Barely did an earnings call or marketing strategy presentation went by without the ‘m’ word being hastily inserted. There was (and still remains) pervasive confusion around what actually constitutes the metaverse, but that didn’t stop the rush to proclaim the launch of marketing campaigns in the ‘metaverse’ and the flood of metaverse-related categories at industry events and award programs.
In many cases, these activations were within virtual gaming and social platforms, legitimate growing areas of opportunity and interest for marketers that became wrapped up by the desire to be part of the buzz and hype around the industry’s trend of the moment.
The result was that the industry conversation skipped a few steps in understanding audience behavior in virtual spaces to unlock the real impact these experiences can have both now and in the future. The story was instead focused on the latest brand to activate in ‘the metaverse’ without contextualizing it within the current technological landscape and paying little attention to results, impact or objectives.
In 2023, it happened again. And yes, I’m talking about AI. Witnessing the abrupt shift from metaverse to AI across industry headlines, events and areas of expertise this year has been simultaneously amusing and dispiriting. Once again, the priority has been to jump on to the big story of the year and ride the buzz while overshadowing the real potential AI technology offers. Such was the attention given to AI this year that the term became a proxy for technology that involved even basic levels of automation or machine learning (both of which existed before the 2023 AI hype bubble), missing the opportunity for education around what it actually is and thus how marketers should be thinking about it into the future.
It’s easy to identify the similarities between the metaverse and AI and, thus, why they became the prime marketing story in their respective years. They’re both new forms of technology that are conceptually easy to understand yet inherently complex.
They present a level of accessibility and familiarity that makes it easy for them to be inserted into existing industry conversations while also occupying a high degree of technological sophistication that makes them feel exciting and advanced. The other important component of the narrative arc was that both the metaverse and AI gained prominence after major tech industry announcements – Facebook’s name change to Meta in the case of the metaverse and the launch of ChatGPT in the case of AI.
The speed and ferocity at which both the metaverse and AI became the dominant stories for marketing and advertising exposes our industry’s penchant for chasing the next big thing. There is an at-times outsized focus on ‘newness’ and being first regarding how we think about innovation in marketing, which can lead to the scenarios above, where one idea or technology dominates the year until the next ‘next big thing’ comes along. The result of this is not only that focus remains firmly in one direction, leading to an abundance of retrofitting ideas and technology to align with the newest obsession, but also that other forms of innovation that do not fit quite so neatly into the popular industry discourse can be overlooked.
As we sit at the cusp of 2024, how quickly will we see AI discarded for the next technological advancement, as we saw with the metaverse at the start of 2023? Or is there instead an opportunity to rethink how we think about innovation within marketing and the stories we tell ourselves?
As an industry, we consistently speak to the importance of identifying objectives and goals upfront, yet that may be forgotten when it comes to new technologies and ideas. Innovation, for innovation’s sake, serves little purpose, and the same can be said for innovation driven primarily by industry hype. The focus should be on outcomes, impact and exploration, rather than a need to follow the noise. After all, innovation aims to find a better way of doing things to achieve the desired results, irrespective of whether it can be attached to the current industry buzzword.
Future technologies are exciting, but without fully understanding them, it’s easy to miss areas of real potential. The appeal of the metaverse and AI was that they were easy concepts to grasp but spoke to a technologically advanced future, creating the potential to ‘skip ahead’ in the conversation around them. Understanding these technologies better as they exist today allows for more advanced innovation and execution tomorrow. But this can be easy to overlook when the intent is speed over evaluation.
None of this is to discount the potential impact of future technologies on our industry, nor the need for us to be talking about them. But there is an opportunity for the discourse around them to be smarter. As we look ahead to next year’s industry predictions, mine might somewhat optimistically be that how we talk and think about innovation evolves and that we don’t need another ‘next big thing’ to shape how we think about the future.
Until recently, many prominent brands including Disney, H&M and Coca-Cola were all-in on the metaverse. Now, times have changed and so have the business models within (some of) those companies.
Remember the metaverse?
Not so long ago, many brands were thoroughly fixated on this vague virtual world, a space that comprised both online gaming and virtual reality (VR) and that was typically conflated with blockchain-based web3 technologies such as NFTs and cryptocurrency. Though the concept of the metaverse has been around for decades, it was catapulted into the public psyche after Facebook changed its name to Meta – thereby signaling its pivot from being a social media-first company to being a metaverse-first company – in October 2021. Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse’s most devoted proselytizer, painted his vision for the future of the virtual world as being one in which the humanity of the not-so-distant future would work, play, date and do just about everything else.
Many brands, captivated by the notion that there could soon be a virtual realm populated by throngs of (mostly young) consumers, were quick to drink the metaverse Kool-Aid. Wendy’s opened up a ‘Wendyverse’ in Meta’s Horizon Worlds; Miller Lite hosted a virtual bar in Decentraland; Playboy built a ‘MetaMansion’ in The Sandbox and so on. Every other day, it seemed, some new brand was eagerly staking its claim in what seemed to be a virtual gold rush.
Then, almost as quickly as it had materialized, the bubble popped.
Following a sharp decline in the crypto market, a general lack of popular enthusiasm for virtual reality-based ‘experiences’ such as Meta’s Horizon Worlds and a surge of popular interest around artificial intelligence, some brands that had previously seemed so enthusiastic about the metaverse dropped it like a bad habit. Others appear to be tentatively treating it as a phenomenon that, like a child’s forlorn toy, has been temporarily abandoned by the culture but might one day be embraced again.
“Many brands were excited about the metaverse … [and] their shift in attention makes sense with the current acceleration and adoption of generative AI,” says author and futurist Cathy Hackl, who has come to be known as the “godmother of the metaverse.”
Hackl believes that although the term ’metaverse’ has fallen into disfavour, it still points to some very real and ongoing technological trends. “It comes down to evolutionary and revolutionary technologies,” she says. “Generative AI went from evolutionary to revolutionary in the last year, and other technology sectors like spatial computing are still in their evolutionary phase. There’s [going to be] a future after the smartphone and a new version of the web will replace the current mobile internet; whether or not we’ll choose to call it ’the metaverse’ remains to be seen. The headlines have moved on from the term but the future has yet to be determined.”
Formerly the chief metaverse officer of Journey, a company that she founded, Hackl’s current job title is chief futurist. “The chief metaverse officer [title] was starting to limit me in some ways and was putting me in a box,” she says. “I felt the need to branch out further since my work encompasses so much more.”
Hackl changing her job title is also perhaps a reflection of a broader trend of tech and marketing experts who are shying away from the terms ’metaverse’ and ’web3.’ To explore this trend a bit further, let’s take a look at the recent career arcs of (in some cases former) metaverse leads within some prominent companies.
Mike White (Disney)
In February 2022, when metaverse fever was starting to heat up across the marketing landscape, Disney tapped Mike White to lead its in-house metaverse initiatives as the company’s executive vice-president of next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences. White had been with Disney by that point for more than 10 years.
The company’s metaverse division was dissolved under the newly reinstated Bob Iger in March and White was let go from the company earlier this month. Disney now seems to be shifting its technological focus to AI.
Pratik Thakar (Coca-Cola)
During his time as the Coca-Cola Company’s head of global creative strategy and content – a position he was first appointed to in January 2021– Pratik Thakar was, like so many marketers, excited about the metaverse. The brand moved quickly in its efforts to establish itself as a pioneer in the web3 space; it launched an NFT campaign way back in July 2021 and a little under a year later released a soda aimed at the gaming community, which it alleged to contain “the flavor of pixels.”
Today, Thakar is still with Coca-Cola as the company’s global head of generative AI.
Robert Triefus (Gucci)
Fashion industry veteran Robert Triefus, who first joined Gucci back in 2008, was appointed as the company’s chief executive of Vault (the company’s online concept store) and metaverse ventures last September. He parted ways with the company about six months later to “pursue another career opportunity,” according to a statement that Gucci provided to multiple outlets at the time. He’s now the CEO of the Moncler-owned fashion brand Stone Island.
Max Heirbaut (H&M)
Sparked by what seemed to be a surge in the market for digital fashion, H&M was another big-name brand that was quick to capitalize on the metaverse. In January, the fashion brand launched Loooptopia, a branded virtual experience hosted on Roblox that emphasized educating users about circularity, or the recycling and reuse of clothing.
Back in May 2022, H&M hired Max Heirbaut to spearhead the brand’s web3 and metaverse efforts as global head of brand experience. Heirbaut still occupies that role, according to his LinkedIn page, and the company as a whole still appears to be committed to building its presence in the metaverse. (“The metaverse offers a new way to look at personal style and the potential of ever-evolving, limitless wardrobes,” the brand wrote on its website earlier this month.)
However, it isn’t the only brand that’s still moving forward with its metaverse and web3 plans. And Heirbaut isn’t the only metaverse lead within a well-known brand who has retained their role, despite the broader cultural shunning of the metaverse; LVMH’s Nelly Mensah, for example, who was named as the company’s global head of web3 and metaverse in January 2022, still appears to be occupying that role, as does L’Oréal’s Camille Kroelly (chief metaverse and web3 officer) and Nike’s Eric Redmond (head of Metaverse Studio).
While Metaverse and Web3 will take a few years to take their full form, advertisers and marketers need to be prepared and get going on it.
Web3 is touted to have the potential to change the way systems work globally. And the world of marketing and advertising is and will not be privy to it. Much like how marketing took the form of digital marketing, it will now have to embrace the possibility of becoming decentralized in nature and adapt to the technologies of Web3 and Metaverse.
While Metaverse and Web3 will take a few years to take their full form, advertisers and marketers need to be prepared and get going on it.
Why the need to adapt?
Brands such as Nike, Hyundai, Adidas, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Samsung have embraced the virtual world and made it work for them. Demand Sage shared that the majority of revenue earned by the Metaverse came from advertising and made USD 114.93 billion in 2021.
Thoughtworks, in April, announced the purchase of its digital land in Jump.trade’sDX Racing Metaverse to leverage innovative ways and broadcast their brand and message. In March, Maggi announced the launch of its NFTs on OneRare Foodverse for reaching out to their fans and foodies in an all-new avatar. Puma announced Black Station 2 as an experimental 3D spatial playground for users to explore the virtual experience offered and/or mint NFTs by connecting their wallets.
“Brands should consider Web3 and Metaverse advertising and marketing over traditional methods due to the unparalleled potential for immersive and interactive experiences. By embracing these innovative approaches, brands can enhance their brand awareness, foster customer loyalty, and drive meaningful connections with their target audience. More importantly they no longer are constrained by geography and can sell to/engage customers anywhere literally,” shares Piyush Gupta, CEO, VOSMOS, a Web3 and Metaverse-oriented marketing company,
The user base will expand
Long story short, the user base for Web3 and Metaverse platforms will keep on increasing. The key reason for it is the control over data and the increase in privacy and security. Metaverse is reported to currently have 400 million monthly users as of 2023 and is expected to reach 800 billion users by 2028.
Users are and will be drawn to the virtual and decentralized world because of features such as ownership and control of digital assets, data and identity, transparency and trust, and enhanced privacy and security.
“With this strategy, brands may capitalize on the expanding trend of digital innovation while forging closer ties with their target market and staying ahead of the competition,” shares Hiren Shah, Founder & Chairman, Vertoz.
Why marketers and advertisers should tap into it
User engagement, direct communication, data ownership, and tokenization are the main reason why marketers and advertisers should tap into Web3 and Metaverse.
Tokenization- Tokenization lies at the centre of Web3 as a concept. With cryptocurrency and NFTs, brands can create an incentive system for users upon engaging with the brand content. The users can be rewarded with tokens which in turn can be utilized with the brand.
User engagement– Web3 will bring transparency to the table for the two parties. The relationships on this platform will be built on direct communication and trust. Marketers and advertisers will be able to learn the likes and dislikes of their target audience and how they engage with a brand publicly.
No middleman involved– The concept of tokenization and smart contracts will help remove intermediaries and middlemen from the process. Marketers and advertisers will be able to directly incentivize users to engage with them without any platform or ad networks coming in between. When it comes to marketers and advertisers, and influencers, the two can strike a deal with the need of any intermediaries, such as talent agencies or influencer marketing platforms.
Data ownership- Users will have more control over their data and will have more privacy and security. The data can be monetized by the user at will. A possible aspect of Web3 can be focused on enforcing data confidentiality and integrity on each transaction by having the owner of the wallet ‘sign it’. This concept can see advertisers and companies seeking permission from the user to access and use their data and have the user be compensated accordingly.
When should a brand think of using Metaverse and Web3?
“Firstly, understanding their target audience’s presence and engagement within these platforms is crucial. Secondly, brands should ensure their messaging and experiences align with their core values and resonate with the audience in the virtual space. Lastly, brands need to evaluate their technological readiness and capacity to provide immersive experiences,” shares Shah.
“There needs to be clarity on why the brand is getting into metaverse and what the short and long-term goals are. For example many brands are not there for sales but to reinforce and deliver a more immersive brand experience to their consumers. Second is ensuring readiness in terms of scalability and accessibility, in order to deliver a consistent and effective experience to a diverse and global audience, before taking the plunge. Half-hearted attempts simply backfire and do more harm than good. Last, look at aspects like security since web3/metaverse needs to be seamlessly integrated into the company’s existing systems/channels and that poses a potential threat if not well protected,” adds Gupta on being asked the question.
Covering news and trends in AI and Metaverse segments. An avid book reader running her personal blog on the side. You may reach me at paromita@entrepreneurindia.com.
Before investing in augmented reality (AR), brands must consider some basic principles – and no, QR codes are no longer enough. Zappar’s Dave Mather outlines the rules of engagement for using AR in marketing strategy.
It’s nearly 2023. The metaverse and associated immersive technologies are key talking points in boardrooms across the globe. For many, they represent new and interesting ways to reach and engage younger, more discerning audiences as tried-and-tested marketing channels fail to cut through.
According to Snap’s latest Augmentality Shift report with Ipsos, four out of five brands that use augmented reality (AR) say that it helps to drive sales, acquire new customers, and increase performance. These are all metrics that marketers should care about.
However, many aren’t driving consistent results from the technology. Worse yet, many are still failing to use it at all.
With immersive technologies becoming a mainstay in how we communicate, marketers must start thinking about how they can use AR to increase engagement. Before diving in headfirst, read up on these five key principles.
1. Don’t use AR for AR’s sake
AR is not for everybody. Nor should it be used to ‘tick a box’. Instead, think deeply about the problem you’re solving with AR and how it ties back to your campaign objectives (and wider marketing strategy). If you don’t have a clearly defined objective or measurement of success, don’t do it.
You should be able to communicate the reason you’re using the technology back to the business (or client) before you start thinking about creating any AR solution.
2. Put your audience first
All marketers should be familiar with this rule: put your audience first. This comes down to where they are, who they are, what device they’re likely using, and where they are in the world.
Without this, you can’t use AR effectively. Understanding your audience deeply, and in what context they’ll be consuming your AR experience, is key.
3. Be authentic to your brand
As with any campaign, you want it to embody the essence of your brand, your values, mission, and purpose. It’s no different in AR. In fact, the technology heightens this dimension.
We’re seeing this more with brands entering the metaverse and not necessarily understanding the technology, audience, and purpose (I’m looking at you, Walmart). Make sure your AR experience fits with your brand values, tone of voice and (to reiterate the second rule) your audience.
A great example of this is a campaign we worked on at Zappar for Yorkshire Tea and their ‘Yorkshire Tree’ campaign. The AR experience took their mission to plant one million trees across Kenya and the UK to a new level, immersing users in their story with an interactive AR mini-game that put them in the driving seat, helping them plant the trees.
4. Think engagement, not reach
AR is great for a lot of things: explaining complex concepts, visualizing products in their natural habitats, and delivering greater personalization at scale. However, where it really adds true value is engagement.
It can be as simple as adding a holographic video message in AR within your customer comms from a senior leader, or as complex as creating AR portals into new worlds.
Think about the additional engagement this offers your marketing. Yes, AR is a ton more accessible than 3-4 years ago with the advent of WebAR (3.9bn devices to be precise). Delivering a deeply personal and visceral experience is where you’ll pocket the difference.
The key takeaway here is that people are actively engaging with the AR content you create, more often than not in the real world by physically moving around 3D content. This is a step change from watching a video ad across paid social.
5. Don’t get lazy with your CTA
Don’t forget about your call to action (CTA) and how you’re getting people into your AR experience. A great call to action is simple, direct, and to the point. Remember to communicate the unique value you’re offering your audience clearly and simply.
At the end of the day, it’s a value exchange and people want a return on the time they’re investing in your experience. Please, don’t add a basic ‘scan me’ to your AR; it simply isn’t enough nowadays, and you won’t get people into the content you’ve spent so much time creating.
Get these five principles right and you’ll be well on your way to creating more successful marketing campaigns that put AR front-and-center, driving real business value.
Businesses will soon need professionals whose job is to create a presence and potentially build with Web3 technologies and concepts in the metaverse — and there’s plenty that businesses can do now to prepare for that.
Twelve years ago, companies didn’t hire social media talent — they didn’t think they needed it. But now? Businesses need social media directors and entire social media teams. The same is true for playing in the metaverse.
It is my belief that within the next three to five years, a minimum of 30% of business is going to come from a blend of metaverse experiences and implementations of Web3 technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, virtual reality and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs). It is essential for creative agencies (e.g. advertising agencies, marketing agencies, etc.) to prepare how they will play a role in the metaverse now so their customers will be able to find them.
The big three
The first step in preparing for the metaverse is for creative agencies to decide which of the three roles they will play — either the expert experimenter, the contributor or the activator. Making this decision now will help companies get ready for when their customers arrive in the metaverse, and it’s only a matter of time before they do.
Expert experimenters. Theseare businesses that have an understanding of the metaverse already. To find out whether they are in this group, business leaders can ask themselves if their business strives to be the deep subject matter expert on all things in the digital universe, or whether it’s an early adopter at the vanguard of new technologies. In that case, they need to understand the technologies involved within the metaverse and how Web3 is speeding up evolutions and revolutions.
Contributors. These are businesses that are still in their infancy in terms of embracing this new wave of technology and deep subject matter expertise is not required. Creative agencies in this group can introduce their client partner brands to the metaverse and converge their physical and digital presence in a way that is profitable and meets customer needs.
Activators. This last group is made of businesses that focus on seeking ways to offer holistic experiences for businesses and audiences to have within the metaverse. Businesses in this group are like a hybrid between the expert experimenters and the contributors.
Nevertheless, whether you know a little or a lot about Web3, you can’t afford to be left out completely; defining your role is an essential first step in preparing for the integration of the metaverse. People are investing in the metaverse heavily. It’s expected to reach $5 trillion in value by 2030, and this number is exponentially growing each and every month.
Next steps
After leadership at creative agencies decide which role they want to play, they need to develop a strategy and strengthen their online presence. To do this, they will want to hire people whose job it is to prepare the company to implement itself into the metaverse, in whichever role the company has chosen to take. Doing this will help them strengthen their brand identity — and thus, brand loyalty — before the metaverse fully arrives (and it’s coming sooner than we think).
Additionally, leaders and creatives should focus on user experience. What kind of experience do they want their customers to have with their business in the metaverse? This is essential for brands getting established in the metaverse because if they can think one or two steps ahead of what their customers will want when they emerge into the metaverse, brands will be there waiting, ready to give customers what they’re looking for.
Finally, it’s critical for creative agency leaders to remain adaptable as they learn more about the metaverse while it’s still unfolding. Staying adaptable and remaining at-the-ready for change will help agencies stay ahead and prepared to meet customers when they find them in the metaverse.
The importance of Web3
Even if your agency isn’t embracing extended reality and other metaverse projects, experiences and communities quite yet, many of your client partners’ customers are. And arguably, meeting customers where they are is the single most important piece to building brands and businesses that grow and transform.
The metaverse isn’t just a probability — it’s inevitable. Throughout the evolution of the internet, waves of advancement emerged because of technological advancement. The internet went from simply being a new technology to sharing the world of information through web browsers to developing social media. Underneath all that were advancements in the programming language, faster internet speeds and, of course, the smartphone.
Now, we are in a new wave: the wave of augmented reality (AR), VR and mixed-reality experiences with the technologies to make them work even more soundly and profoundly. If you haven’t begun exploring immersive platforms and how you can approach conversations and tactics related to the metaverse with your client partners, the time has come.
The natural progression
If trends in technology really do repeat history, then it won’t be long before hanging out in the metaverse becomes more mainstream. We must watch where people go. An immersive virtual world in which customers socialize, shop, relax, work and play isn’t so far-fetched anymore.
Given there was a time when people thought the idea of online dating, smartphones, social media and real human connection online was scary and too futuristic, it makes sense that agencies might be facing those same fears about the metaverse. The popular movie Her may have seemed sad and dystopian, but there were some interesting predictive themes being provoked in that film. Concepts like love, connection, relationships, identity and community will evolve as they always have over time.
However, knowing what we know now, we understand that embracing new technologies is far better than avoiding them. And for creative agencies, it’s much more profitable. The metaverse is becoming so much more than a buzzword, and the reality is that advertisers and marketers will be doing business in a virtual world at an exponential rate as seamlessly as they advertise on social media — and very soon. Blending our real and virtual lives has already begun, and the sooner you get on board, develop a point of view and experiment, the better.
Businesses will soon need professionals whose job is to create a presence and potentially build with Web3 technologies and concepts in the metaverse — and there’s plenty that businesses can do now to prepare for that.
Twelve years ago, companies didn’t hire social media talent — they didn’t think they needed it. But now? Businesses need social media directors and entire social media teams. The same is true for playing in the metaverse.
It is my belief that within the next three to five years, a minimum of 30% of business is going to come from a blend of metaverse experiences and implementations of Web3 technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, virtual reality and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs). It is essential for creative agencies (e.g. advertising agencies, marketing agencies, etc.) to prepare how they will play a role in the metaverse now so their customers will be able to find them.
The big three
The first step in preparing for the metaverse is for creative agencies to decide which of the three roles they will play — either the expert experimenter, the contributor or the activator. Making this decision now will help companies get ready for when their customers arrive in the metaverse, and it’s only a matter of time before they do.
Expert experimenters. Theseare businesses that have an understanding of the metaverse already. To find out whether they are in this group, business leaders can ask themselves if their business strives to be the deep subject matter expert on all things in the digital universe, or whether it’s an early adopter at the vanguard of new technologies. In that case, they need to understand the technologies involved within the metaverse and how Web3 is speeding up evolutions and revolutions.
Contributors. These are businesses that are still in their infancy in terms of embracing this new wave of technology and deep subject matter expertise is not required. Creative agencies in this group can introduce their client partner brands to the metaverse and converge their physical and digital presence in a way that is profitable and meets customer needs.
Activators. This last group is made of businesses that focus on seeking ways to offer holistic experiences for businesses and audiences to have within the metaverse. Businesses in this group are like a hybrid between the expert experimenters and the contributors.
Nevertheless, whether you know a little or a lot about Web3, you can’t afford to be left out completely; defining your role is an essential first step in preparing for the integration of the metaverse. People are investing in the metaverse heavily. It’s expected to reach $5 trillion in value by 2030, and this number is exponentially growing each and every month.
Next steps
After leadership at creative agencies decide which role they want to play, they need to develop a strategy and strengthen their online presence. To do this, they will want to hire people whose job it is to prepare the company to implement itself into the metaverse, in whichever role the company has chosen to take. Doing this will help them strengthen their brand identity — and thus, brand loyalty — before the metaverse fully arrives (and it’s coming sooner than we think).
Additionally, leaders and creatives should focus on user experience. What kind of experience do they want their customers to have with their business in the metaverse? This is essential for brands getting established in the metaverse because if they can think one or two steps ahead of what their customers will want when they emerge into the metaverse, brands will be there waiting, ready to give customers what they’re looking for.
Finally, it’s critical for creative agency leaders to remain adaptable as they learn more about the metaverse while it’s still unfolding. Staying adaptable and remaining at-the-ready for change will help agencies stay ahead and prepared to meet customers when they find them in the metaverse.
The importance of Web3
Even if your agency isn’t embracing extended reality and other metaverse projects, experiences and communities quite yet, many of your client partners’ customers are. And arguably, meeting customers where they are is the single most important piece to building brands and businesses that grow and transform.
The metaverse isn’t just a probability — it’s inevitable. Throughout the evolution of the internet, waves of advancement emerged because of technological advancement. The internet went from simply being a new technology to sharing the world of information through web browsers to developing social media. Underneath all that were advancements in the programming language, faster internet speeds and, of course, the smartphone.
Now, we are in a new wave: the wave of augmented reality (AR), VR and mixed-reality experiences with the technologies to make them work even more soundly and profoundly. If you haven’t begun exploring immersive platforms and how you can approach conversations and tactics related to the metaverse with your client partners, the time has come.
The natural progression
If trends in technology really do repeat history, then it won’t be long before hanging out in the metaverse becomes more mainstream. We must watch where people go. An immersive virtual world in which customers socialize, shop, relax, work and play isn’t so far-fetched anymore.
Given there was a time when people thought the idea of online dating, smartphones, social media and real human connection online was scary and too futuristic, it makes sense that agencies might be facing those same fears about the metaverse. The popular movie Her may have seemed sad and dystopian, but there were some interesting predictive themes being provoked in that film. Concepts like love, connection, relationships, identity and community will evolve as they always have over time.
However, knowing what we know now, we understand that embracing new technologies is far better than avoiding them. And for creative agencies, it’s much more profitable. The metaverse is becoming so much more than a buzzword, and the reality is that advertisers and marketers will be doing business in a virtual world at an exponential rate as seamlessly as they advertise on social media — and very soon. Blending our real and virtual lives has already begun, and the sooner you get on board, develop a point of view and experiment, the better.
Social media is the archetypal web2 application – the enabler of the “user-generated web”. But that doesn’t mean it will die out with the onset of the metaverse and web3. In the metaverse, features and functionalities we’ve all become accustomed to – “liking,” “sharing,” and the “for you” page – are no longer confined to social applications. They are there when we are gaming, working, learning, or whatever other activities we are getting up to within connected, virtual worlds.
And just as social media is one of the foundations the metaverse will be built on, the metaverse, in return, will impact the way we think about and use social media. If you’ve tried Meta’s Horizons, you will appreciate that many of the core features and functionalities of its 2D, blue-and-white predecessor are still very much a part of the platform. Profiles, “like” and “share” buttons, for example, are all still there, only they’ve been given a new, more immersive, experiential lick of paint.
So how can we expect social media to evolve over the next five to ten years as the metaverse begins to coalesce and take hold of our lives? Will the term become redundant – not because we stop using the web to be social, but because everything on the web will become social, connected, and without borders? Or will a backlash against the increasingly ubiquitous liking, sharing, and showing-off lead to more insular internet experiences where we exert more caution and discretion over what we share and who we share it with?
Immersive Social Media
One way to think about the metaverse is as an amalgamation of gaming, productivity tools, e-commerce, and extended reality (XR) – which includes both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR AR-3.8%) and, of course, social media.
Gaming, productivity tools, and e-commerce provide us with activities to keep us busy in the metaverse – working, playing, and shopping. XR features ensure it is immersive and provides us with a heightened sense of “being there.” And elements of social media ensure that the experiences are connected to the real world – because we will be sharing them with real people.
So social media platforms in the era of the metaverse may be more geared towards providing immersive, interactive experiences that stimulate as many of our senses as possible – rather than just connecting us to our friends over 2D web pages.
This means that when we connect for a catch-up, we will meet up in any environment that can be imagined. Virtual reality can already provide us with lifelike sights and sounds, and it’s increasingly able to simulate other senses, too, such as touch and smell. So while texting or a video chat might seem like a nice way to keep in touch with a loved one while we are separated today, in the near future, we may be able to walk hand-in-hand with them across a beautiful meadow, breathing in the scent of flowers as you go.
Augmented Reality
Unlike VR, which involves stepping inside a virtual world, augmented reality overlays computer graphics on the real world we see around us – either via a phone or glasses.
Xone is an example of a web3 social media service – with functionality built around blockchain and NFTs – that leverages AR to allow users to create and share virtual worlds.
Users create and interact in two different types of zones – called xones. Personal Xones fill the function of the profile pages we are used to seeing in “traditional” social media, whereas Community Xones can be used to host events, gatherings, launches, or any other type of immersive social group activities.
I recently spoke to CEO and co-founder James Shannon, who told me that the idea is for every user to create their own immersive, 3D space that they can share with visitors. While hanging out and enjoying the environments available, users can listen to music together and take part in games and entertainment. Many of the features will immediately look familiar to anyone who has grown up with web2-style social media. However, Shannon tells me, “When you first open the Xone app, the first thing you think is that this looks a lot like the apps I’m familiar with. You have a home feed and the ability to Like, Comment … the core difference we introduce is that rather than clicking someone’s profile and seeing a two-dimensional grid of pictures, clicking their profile enters you into an immersive three-dimensional world that you can explore in AR … the content you can explore and visit and share is not 2D content but 3D, immersive worlds you’re sharing through the network.”
Advertising and Branding
Perhaps above all, the metaverse will be seen by businesses as an extension of their ability to advertise and promote their products and services in our lives. Just as new forms of advertising have emerged through web2 social media – think of the influencer explosion that has redefined the marketing industry – web3 will bring new ways for building hype and excitement around brands.
Brands including NikeNKE-0.8%, Gucci, and McDonald’sMCD+0.8% have already begun creating virtual versions of their products that can be sold as NFTs within digital worlds. These can be used to decorate avatars and virtual spaces. Clearly, they are hoping this will lead to the emergence of “influencer avatars” who will lead the buying decisions that the rest of us make as we shop in the metaverse. Creative brands will also lead the way in using metaverse functionality – VR, virtual worlds, augmented reality, for example – to create new and more immersive customer experiences that build brand awareness and identity with the ultra switched-on and connected younger generations.
Will social media be safer in the metaverse?
An important issue that will have to be addressed is the potential for harm that may be caused by social media that’s more immersive, engaging, and quite possibly more addictive than anything we have seen before.
For all the positive benefits it brings to society, such as making it easier to connect with friends and family, traditional social media has also been accused of enabling harmful behaviour such as cyber-bullying, harassment, and the spreading of conspiracy theories and fake news.
A new, more immersive social media – one that’s harder to walk away from simply because it’s so much more engrossing and entertaining – clearly has the potential to magnify these threats. This could make the web3 version of social media a dangerous place. Anyone wanting to explore there and make their mark will need to take care that they understand these hazards and are familiar with the tools that platform providers put in place to limit the danger. Meta, for example, was prompted to add a “safe zone” feature that allows users to instantly create a barrier around themselves when early adopters complained of “virtual groping” and other unpleasant behaviour.
A Whole New World
In many ways, the future of social media is intrinsically linked with the future of the metaverse. One way of thinking about it is that the metaverse simply is the next evolution of social media – just as it is the next evolution of online gaming, remote working, and e-commerce. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are already pulling these different facets of our digital lives together under one roof. The metaverse simply allows us to step inside and experience it all together, immersively, rather than being limited to scrolling through it on a flat screen. Everything we love about social media – as well as everything we hate – will be magnified and intensified because of this, but at the same time it will open us up to a new world of experiences to share with our nearest and dearest. Personally, I can’t wait to see what is in store!
You can check out my webinar with James Shannon, CEO and co-founder of Xone, here, where we deep dive into aspects of how the metaverse will change social media.
The metaverse is definitely an exciting and fast-moving area. To stay on top of the latest on the metaverse and wider business and tech trends, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and have a look at my book Extended Reality in Practice, which just won the Business Book of the Year 2022 in the Specialist Book category.
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things. Why don’t you connect with Bernard on Twitter (@bernardmarr), LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/bernardmarr) or instagram (bernard.marr)?
Look at any Target or Walmart store on a Saturday and watch as customers perfectly dominate the essence of physical-to-physical commerce. In fact, just the experience of being in a physical location leads most customers to make purchases far beyond their shopping lists. That’s the reason why brands spend millions of dollars on physical retail locations because they feel confident they can elevate and capitalize on the on-site shopping experience and the “serendipity” that happens in the store. Whether it’s waiting in a queue to enter the Louis Vuitton Maison Vendôme store in Paris or going down an in-store slide during a Showfields shopping adventure in New York, the world of physical retail has become more experiential and glitzy. It is one of the drivers of BIG retail.
But when we start to think about a brand’s physical footprint in virtual economies, we seem to falter. Does this footprint have a “toe hold” in the virtual world? I say a resounding yes!
As I continue to advise and work with brands in this new space, it is evident from my perspective that new commerce models are evolving, but they have not been done at scale. Even while the Metaverse is in a nascent state, these models will have a significant impact on customers’ choices and purchasing decisions. My advice to you is to buckle up, because we’re about to head into the future of commerce!
As a IMPORTANT note, we can all acknowledge that the Metaverse has serious implications for society. For example, one of my previous articles from August 2020 explored ethics and privacy in the metaverse. The article you are reading right now is specifically written to explore and present new commerce models, and should not be interpreted as the only thing of importance as we build the Metaverse. The intention of this article is to shed light on these new commerce models to create awareness and explore the possibilities of how commerce will transcend eCommerce and physical retail and also give professionals the nomenclature they might need as they explore these new spaces. These new commerce models should be approached delicately and with community and value creation in mind, for many of us, the hope is that potentially a web3 ethos of openness will also be adopted.
Virtual and Physical commerce collide as we enable the creation of the Metaverse. These new commerce … [+]
For centuries, the only viable marketplace (except for a “Sears” catalogue back in my parents’ time) was physical-to-physical (P2P). Customers went to a physical location, selected a product and exchanged physical “fiat” money in person for the material goods they wanted.
The dawn of the internet introduced new marketplaces for exchanges starting with social media apps and eCommerce. In the dawn of the metaverse and the coming era of web3, commerce will evolve and with this evolution, new models will emerge.
The marketing strategies, and even the products that brands will sell, will be different as we head into the successor state to today’s mobile internet, the metaverse. Whether the products are physical or virtual, professionals will have to consider demographic and psychographic data, skill-building and gamification, user interaction, events/experiences, digital twin technologies, and creating a unified commerce front…all with the intent of encouraging engagement with a product or service. Then add a layer of complexity to the mix when you factor in the importance of community, fandom, and authenticity and their impact on a fan and/or customer’s choices in the physical and virtual realms.
Many professionals use the term in-person shopping to differentiate it from virtual. I would suggest that all shopping is in-person, even if it’s done on a virtual platform or for the benefit of an avatar or a virtual home. There is still a human behind the decision making and the final purchase! (at least for now)
Is the Market Ready? Are You?
Direct to avatar was just the start. getty
According to a recent BigBusiness blog, “brands that do want to spend some of their marketing dollars on Metaverse tech should look for things that already work and then figure out how to make them even better with immersive tech.” Moreover, brands should start this process as soon as possible since the “new” costumer is already there.
A recent survey conducted by Zipline (one of the world’s largest delivery drone companies) suggests that 85% of Gen-Z respondents, 75% of millennials and 69% of Gen-Xers responded that they would be interested in hybrid shopping experiences, which include using mixed reality in retail stores and for online shopping. “The key is to engage consumers with entertaining and accessible digital content that lowers the barriers to entry and meets Metaverse users where they already exist,” said Zipline cofounder and CEO Melissa Wong. This might be in a popular game or in a physical store where people mingle in the flesh. Just don’t expect to get much out of spending millions on the next deserted island. Too many times we see brands build experiences that are brand driven instead of creating them with the player in mind, and then they wonder why no one came.
Of course, gamers are at the core of all this new activity. They are already in tune with this new reality and are this brave new market. A study from Newzoo found that gamers had higher-than-average positive attitudes toward brand names than non-gamers. They surveyed 75,000 respondents online from 36 markets worldwide and found that gamers hold a significantly more favourable attitude toward brands in sports, cars, drinks and fashion.
Making It A Reality
Augmented Reality Shopping With Garment Visualization Simulation Technologies getty
Current shopping models are Physical-to-Physical, Digital-to-Physical, and Virtual-to-Virtual. But what about going the next step and making the sale from Virtual-to-Physical and Physical-to-Virtual? When your customers are in the Metaverse, it’s virtual first. However, what happens when they want to purchase something physical in-game or in-world? Or when they are at a physical location, whether a store or a music festival and something they acquire at the location can unlock something else for them in the virtual world? We will dive deeper into these models later in this essay and in future ones.
In the Metaverse, there is an emerging business model focused on providing new products to digital twins of the customer, which would be the person’s unique avatar. This is called Direct-to-Avatar (D2A), a term that Ryan Gill, CEO of Crucible, and I first explored back in July 2020 in a highly cited article. D2A bypasses traditional marketing by focusing on in-game personas to sell virtual goods, physical items, or real-world experiences. D2A may sound counterintuitive, but it is becoming a fast-growing market segment with an increased sense of connection to purchase digital goods that may or may not come with real-world counterparts. D2A can be leveraged by brands to sell V2V, P2V, and V2P.
With D2A becoming a new model for D2C, this in itself signals a new frontier for B2B and B2C paradigms which will be impacted not only by gaming but also by AR and voice.
Discerning The Metaverse Through “Metaverse Moments”
Culture is being created in virtual spaces. getty
While the Metaverse may not be fully understood by many business professionals marketers, and communicators, many believe and agree that it is part of the future. Some companies are advancing into Metaverse markets, while others are stumbling into them. Separating impactful, meaningful activations from publicity stunts and teasing the real value of the Metaverse out of the hype can allow businesses to make rational decisions at this crucial state of the opportunities that are emerging. At the end of the day, what is the value you are creating for your community or your fans?
Right now, there is no universally agreed-upon definition of the Metaverse. While there are a few common criteria, most people have their own ideas about what the Metaverse is, or will be. And that’s okay. But, for the sake of common understanding, the Metaverse in this article does refer to a further convergence of our physical and digital lives.
As our current societies and economies are populated and shaped by individuals; the Metaverse is populated and shaped by our digital lifestyles. It’s about digital identity and ownership feeding, and being fed, by a new extension of human creativity. Additionally, culture is being created in virtual spaces, and that culture, in turn, impacts fashion, entertainment, and more.
The digital lifestyle isn’t new-we’ve been living it on phones, tablets, computers, increasingly in VR headsets and soon in AR glasses and other emerging display systems that bring our digital lives up to our physical lives. So, to what extent do we live party in the early glimpses of the Metaverse already?
The Metaverse that many imagine is still a long way off. But, the Metaverse isn’t (just) a virtual place at which we will someday arrive and will include our physical world. It’s an evolution. The Metaverse reveals itself more and more everyday in glimpses – “metaverse moments.”
While it’s important not to confuse these metaverse moments for the actual arrival of the Metaverse, we can learn from them about what the Metaverse will look like, and how we can build it, and build in it, successfully.
Pure Virtual Markets
Gaming economies have been thriving for decades. getty
Commerce is evolving into more virtual spaces and experiences, including experiences shared virtually through augmented reality. The world of the previous century was driven by physical-to-physical commerce – economic activity in the physical world buying experiences and items in the physical world. The Metaverse is driven by virtual-to-physical, physical-to-virtual and virtual-to-virtual commerce.
Virtual-to-virtual commerce has been happening in games for decades. This kind of commerce involves online economic activity buying online experiences and items. We can also call this the “direct-to-avatar” model – similar to today’s “direct-to-consumer” model but emphasizing that the “consumption” is taking place virtually.
According to Statista, in-game purchases alone accounted for over $61 million in 2021, with the total virtual goods market expected to reach nearly $200 billion or more by 2025. That’s possible, especially considering other kinds of virtual-enabled commerce, which is also growing in scale through app and hardware adoption. This is presenting huge opportunities for companies exploring these concepts – particularly at this early stage of the market.
V2P And P2V
There are activations and economies in the Metaverse beyond the virtual-to-virtual model. These are virtual-to-physical and physical-to-virtual.
Virtual-to-Physical activations involve purchasing a virtual good or making a purchase within a virtual-first marketplace or a gaming experience that may have some virtual benefit but that also allows some kind of physical product or experience. Physical-to-Virtual markets involve purchasing a physical item or experience that also “unlocks” some virtual component.
Some Virtual-to-Physical commerce activations are relatively simple, like making purchases through an AR or fully-virtual storefront. There are dedicated companies making bespoke virtual marketplaces that integrate directly with a retailer’s existing 2D eCommerce solution.
Many online retailers have also seen success creating immersive shopping experiences through applications like Snapchat. Parent company, Snap Inc., has been making eCommerce through the platform easier and more enjoyable for users as well as more efficient for retailers for a while now. And that’s just in time since a recent study found that over 90% of Gen-Z want to use AR for shopping.
NFTs Could Play A Role
While both of these examples are exciting, it is true that they are versions of how some eCommerce already happens. Nevertheless, there are more technologically advanced options with even more potential to reinvent business models and present new ones. Consider those that involve the purchase of non-fungible tokens.
NFTs represent and allow ownership of digital goods. But, through the magic of blockchain, they also allow the minter of the NFT to grant exclusive boons to the holder. Consider a restaurant that hasn’t opened yet but sells NFTs allowing exclusive access to owners when the restaurant does open. If done properly it becomes a new way for start-ups to generate capital, for example Fly Fish Restaurant which opens in 2023 in New York.
Some might think that the use of an NFT in this way is gambling. (In the example above, will buyers get enough use out of the restaurant to make up for their initial purchase? Will the restaurant ever actually open at all?) However, it’s more appropriate to think of this kind of use of NFTs as “crowdsourced corporations” earning start-up money in much the same way that a new corporation would make money by selling stocks.
Just like a corporation selling stocks, a startup selling NFTs can grant holders exclusive benefits including helping to make decisions about how the project is run. This can go as far as “decentralized autonomous organizations” that are run completely by the people that run the digital infrastructure supporting a project. But, that’s a conversation for another day.
First, we need to look at some forward-thinking companies that are making major strides in using the NFT option as the marketing hook. London-based, Auroboros, which was recently featured in a Netflix documentary, for example, is a Metaverse native luxury fashion house that is creating for both the physical and digital markets.
Highly successful, the founders seek to embrace the art and fashion worlds merging them into the Metaverse. They are being aided in this task by using Boson Protocol which is a decentralized Web3 marketplace that allows a marketer to sell physical products in the Metaverse as NFTs. Future commerce will run seamlessly with the company promoting its products while having direct access to its data to determine future sales.
Some consider Boson Protocol a new form of “banking” platform by eliminating intermediaries expediting sales, a belief recently supported with its partnership with MasterCard. Its appeal is far-reaching with Tommy Hilfiger, Hogan, Cider, IKKS, Anrealage, Deadfellaz, SSIAN and others partnering with Boson.
It isn’t stopping here. Last year, Balenciaga partnered with Fortnite, the world’s most popular video game, to promote the fashion company’s high-end fashion. Albeit an interesting match for a high-priced fashion company to team up with a game that teens and young adults prefer, it is certainly the beginning of partnerships that may eventually increase brand recognition and eventual sales for brands. Time will tell but companies are eagerly exploring these possibilities.
Enter Physical-To-Virtual
There is also a lot of work being done in activating physical items or experience purchases to enable virtual benefits. These transactions are simpler for people that aren’t (yet) into crypto and NFTs, and it gives them the comfort of having a physical item or experience regardless of whether the virtual benefit materializes – or even in the event that they choose not to interact with the virtual component at all.
One example from last year’s holiday season came from toy company MGA Entertainment teaming up with Ioconic to create NFTs and virtual experiences that were launched from QR codes in the packaging of the L.O.L Surprise! toy line. This was in keeping with the spirit and business model of the line, which already involved collectability. It also added fun new components without replacing the existing model.
This example was relatively limited in terms of scale – only select retailers were involved and not all purchases from within those retailers included the QR code to the experience. Some of this is because blockchain and NFT activations can still be relatively expensive – particularly at scale. It’s also because companies are still learning how these emerging technologies fit into the customer journey.
Regardless of these concerns, the companies that are using brand activations are creating sensations wherever they play out. The result is greater brand awareness, more positive impressions and more customers which equals more sales. According to product>lead,a brand activation strategy marketer, companies are finding great results with their brand activation efforts, such as Revolve using an annual festival to combine experiential and influencer marketing tactics driving 70 percent of its annual sales, or Top Line makeup developing a Shop Your Mood interactive feature to increase conversion rates without damaging their reputation, or even Samsung encouraging users to use Samsung Galaxy s9 smartphone to take photos in any condition using the #reimaginemuseum hashtag.
The Wave Of The Future Is Coming To Shore
Metaverse online shopping experience in virtual reality environment. Young woman shopping in … [+]getty
The time has come for business professionals to recognize that they have two options: they can stay entrenched in the traditional paradigms and strategies of consumer purchasing, shopper marketing, and customer experience or they can fully embrace new user journeys in the virtual spaces and in turn the Metaverse. Change and evolution in customer behaviours are not going away and will be further impacted by Gen-Alpha’s reality which further blurs the physical and virtual divide.
While there is still no perfect roadmap for marketing in the Metaverse, there are now sufficient examples of initiatives from which we can learn to help us move forward. Through a holistic strategy that has clear goals and that is flexible change you can eventually build the confidence to put your toe in the water so to speak. No one is suggesting that you go full-blown into the abyss. Taking measured steps is the realistic way to start. With each of your own successes, you will be able to close the gap between the physical world and the virtual world. When you do, you will be amazed at the results.
In the next article in this series, we will dive deep into the Virtual-to-Physical commerce model. This will include its current state, what a current customer journey looks at all the stages of the commerce model from pre-purchase to post-purchase, as well explore the impact of player actions, touchpoints, pain points, solutions, and challenges.
Cathy Hackl is a globally recognized Metaverse / Web 3 authority, strategist and tech futurist. She’s a business executive, keynote speaker and one of the most influential women in tech and is considered a leading management thinker by Thinkers50. She founded the Futures Intelligence Group, which was acquired by Journey, a new design and innovation consultancy. At Journey she leads the Metaverse Studio. Hackl has worked for some of the biggest names in tech including Amazon Web Services, Magic Leap & HTC VIVE.
The market size of the metaverse could reach $5 trillion in value by 2030. according to a new report from international consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Based on this projection, McKinsey indicates that the consumer spending in the metaverse will most likely be divided into five fields: socializing, gaming, fitness, commerce and remote learning.
E-commerce will be the primary cash generator in the metaverse, McKinsey predicted that consumer spending in this sector could reach $2 trillion to $2.6 trillion of by 2030. Virtual advertising will be another major sector, with relevant revenue expected to make up another $144 billion to $206 billion.
Gathering survey from 3,104 consumers across 11 countries, McKinsey said that early 60% of all consumers surveyed prefer at least one activity in the virtual world compared to its physical alternative.
Among those consumers that are currently active in the metaverse, 79% of consumers have already purchased virtual goods in the metaverse. 78% of consumer have already attended virtual social events or playing social games.
The report also highlighted that companies, venture capital, and private equity firms have invested more than $120 billion in the metaverse in the first five month of 2022, which is more than double the $57 billion invested in all of last year.
The report also showed that 25% of all executives on survey said they expect the metaverse to drive 15% of their organization’s total margin growth in five years.
Metaverse is a technology term originally from the 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash by science fiction author Neal Stephenson. The term describes an all-encompassing virtual world where people can play, socialize and interact with one another by using avatars.
The idea behind it is that people can walk around and inside of virtual world where they can interact with one another in real time.
The metaverse is the convergence of lots of technologies and express how they all interconnect.
As 5g and even 6g rolls out, it’ll increase internet speed, which could enable a seamless link between our real world and the metaverse. Software, device makers, tool builders like game engine companies will benefit from Metaverse going forward. These companies are typically fast followers on the latest trends as they raised large chuck of company from venture capitals and big tech companies.
Web3 could revolutionize the relationship between brands and their customers. Here’s an introduction to what marketers need to know.
When the internet first went live, publishers would create content and users would consume it – a period known as web1. A decade or so later, web2 took over with the emergence of web apps and social networks, which made it easy for everyone to create, share and engage with content.
Fast forward to today, and the novelty of web2 has largely worn off. Some of the most impactful web2 companies – such as Meta (Facebook), Google and Apple – have made a killing by leveraging user-generated content (UGC) to engage consumers and create unique profiles for each of them, only to turn around and ultimately sell that data to third parties for advertising purposes.
The worst part? The vast majority of those users had no idea this was taking place – and none of them gave their permission to allow it to happen.
If advertisers want to rebuild trust with consumers, they need to take an open, transparent approach and ask their audiences for their permission to collect data. And this is exactly what the web3 opportunity – a new era of the internet characterized by decentralization, transparency and autonomy – enables.
What are the core principles of web3?
Ask 10 people to define web3, and you might get 10 different answers. But at a high level, web3 is a new iteration of the internet powered by blockchain technology and token-based economics, and it’s also governed by three central tenets:
Decentralization. In web2, companies own platforms. In web3, platforms are decentralized. No organization has control over any content; users do
Transparency. Thanks to blockchain technology, all users on peer-to-peer networks and decentralized apps (dApps) will share open, unalterable databases that they can verify with their own eyes
Autonomy. Ultimately, users will be able to control their own digital destiny and have the final say in whether their data is collected and how it’s used
According to a recent study, 96% of consumers don’t trust advertisers. This is exactly why brands should be incredibly excited about the web3 moment.
With the right approach, digital advertisers can rebuild the trust they’ve lost during the web2 era – connecting with consumers on a meaningful level and in an open and honest way.
Web3 is here – it’s time to prepare for the tectonic shift
Though we’re still early, the web3 moment has already arrived. Unfortunately, advertisers that wait to adapt to this reality will learn the lesson the hard way.
In the not-too-distant future, users will demand a cut of the revenue generated from the data they create. As an internet-native currency that is incredibly divisible, crypto is the easiest mechanism to deliver incentives that users can immediately put to use.
As the world gravitates toward the web3 standard, user data will increasingly be held on the blockchain or in decentralized storage solutions, which will give users more power over their data than ever before. As a result, they will be able to choose exactly which brands they consent to share data with, what data they wish to share, and for how long.
Advertisers that don’t prepare for this tectonic shift and adapt their methods to offer a real value proposition in exchange for interacting with user data will be left behind.
By offering tokenized rewards – whether that’s fungible crypto coins or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), an on-trend, blockchain-based, one-of-a-kind digital asset – advertisers can tap into the web3 ethos while exciting users about what they have to offer. Plus, they get to take advantage of the magnificent properties that come with blockchain technology, such as:
Immutability, or the permanent, unalterable nature of a blockchain ledger
Validation, or the way in which users can verify transactions are legitimate
Disintermediation, or the absence of intermediaries between advertisers and users
Profound security, made possible by cryptography and decentralization
Ease of transfer, which makes it simple and quick to send and receive tokens
How crypto can help advertisers thrive in web3
One of the easiest ways to reward users when they give their permission to share their personal data or perform specific actions is by issuing crypto rewards. For example, you can give them rewards when they watch videos, view personalized ads and opt to receive content from brands.
By offering an opt-in value exchange – where they’re willing to part with their data or their attention for tokens – advertisers can begin building long-lasting customer relationships and regain trust while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Though cryptocurrency remains in its infancy, adoption continues to increase; today, some 27 million Americans own crypto. With steady growth over the last decade, it’s only a matter of time before crypto usage reaches critical mass. The sooner advertisers embrace the inevitably of crypto, the faster they’ll be in a position to capitalize.
Since the future of digital advertising will be fuelled by permission and digital rewards, brands need to start looking for a purpose-built crypto-rewarded advertising platform that will guide the journey ahead. Strategies that enable aligned incentives – where all participants, including users, advertisers and the platform, benefit from the permissioned sharing of data – will lead to victory in the web3 era.
With the right approach, the lopsided relationship between brands and consumers suddenly evens out, and both parties engaging with each other is more of a partnership than anything else.
