When Facebook rebranded its company to “Meta” in 2021, it announced at the same time that the metaverse would be one of its core focuses in the years to come. Since then, the metaverse has been the internet's favourite buzzword. And more and more brands want to be associated with it, as they see a big opportunity. But what is the metaverse ? And what could it mean for Advertisers?
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse is a virtual environment in which users can immerse themselves using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) devices. You could really compare it to a parallel online world in which you can create your own avatar, a bit like an online video game.
And with a vast number of possibilities at play, the metaverse is quickly becoming an influential platform for creativity, socialisation, business, gaming, music, and many more. This is why Advertisers are becoming more interested as well, as they see the number of metaverse users grow exponentially.
An opportunity for Advertisers
With virtual worlds on their way to become the new advertising frontier, there are some key concepts about the metaverse that an advertiser will want to leverage:
- Scalability : Billions of avatars (users) will be able to coexist in the metaverse
- Accessibility: The metaverse can be accessed by anyone, regardless of their age, background or location
- Cooperativity: Interactive content generated by the users themselves
- Sociability: Possibilities to connect and interact with each other will be endless
And more importantly, the bridge between physical and digital will be blurred, allowing people to interact with experiences, products and services in more engaging ways.
(Future) ways to advertise in the Metaverse
Let’s look at some of the advertising possibilities in the metaverse that we’ll soon be able to or can already do.
Ad placements
This is the most obvious application of metaverse advertising. You can imagine having the same placements as for OOH (out-of-home), such as billboards, signage or posters on Buses, except in the metaverse. This is actually already done in video games such as FIFA, GTA or NBA2K where in-game advertising has long been in place already.
Virtual Experiences
We can expect more & more examples of companies creating virtual experiences in the metaverse to advertise their brand. For example, skateboard brand Vans has created a virtual skatepark in collaboration with Roblox where users can practice their virtual skateboarding skills as well as buy Vans products in their virtual shop.
Virtual Events
The metaverse is already quite known for having hosted the biggest concert ever of Lil Nas X, bringing over 33 million people together, from the comfort of their own homes.
NFT’s
Finally, Brands are also exploring digital products such as NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) that can be purchased, in the metaverse, through crypto exchanges. For example, Nike has recently purchased RTFKT Studios, specialised in creating NFT collectibles. This was already a huge success since they managed to sell 600 shoes of the Nike collaboration in less than 6 minutes for a total of $3.1 Million.
To conclude, we are still in the very early stages (especially in Belgium) of what the Metaverse can offer but we are quite excited about the possibilities for digital advertising. At Semetis we thrive on exploring new ways to bring results for our clients through digital solutions. Let’s make it happen together!
Charlie Deschamps
| LinkedinThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
