Metaverse

This is a guide to the digital marketing of the metaverse, including COVID-19 situation analysis and real-life case studies, plus the campaign design for the future. Find out more!

In 2021, Facebook officially changed its name to Meta, which makes the metaverse become one of the most popular buzzwords nowadays. Briefly, the metaverse is a virtual world that can give people a sense of immersion via high technology such as virtual reality and augmented reality. Digital marketing refers to using online platforms to boost sales, increase brand equity, and so on. It includes Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), social media, Email etc.

There were two factors that boosted the development of metaverse digital marketing, and COVID-19 was one of them. The pandemic caused every country to begin blocking its national boundaries, and a series of measures were implemented to prevent the spread of cases, including commercial trading restrictions and stay-at-home orders. Such restrictions have significantly affected people's lifestyles and consumption habits and have led to an increase in screen time, which has considerably amplified the influence of digital marketing. Based on the data from Statista , global retail e-commerce sales have risen to approximately US$4.9 trillion in 2021.

Another factor is the rapidly growing information technology nowadays, the soaring computing power and web3 enabling the realisation of the metaverse. The 5G technology and other network infrastructures (such as the installation of numerous base stations) facilitate digital marketing tremendously. With the widespread availability of mobile devices, companies are able to reach customers in more ways with various channels. Moreover, improvements in technology have enabled advanced VR and AR facilities, the evolution of wearable devices making it easier for customers to get an immersive feel - which is what the metaverse sought.

Many forward-looking companies have started their metaverse digital marketing, and Gucci is a good case. Gucci has partnered with 10KFT to mint their own NFT (non-fungible token) on the Ethereum blockchain. Their NTF project, Gucci Grail, includes a virtual floating "New Tokyo" world, fashion accessories for purchase by profile picture NFT owners and a fictional character named Wagmi-San. Besides, Gucci has recently partnered with animated toy start-up Superplastic to launch a series of 'SuperGucci' NFTs, and those who already own Superplastic's first NFTs can purchase SuperGucci NFTs in advance. Moreover, Gucci is currently developing virtual real estate in The Sandbox.

Gucci's series of metaverse projects successfully matched their target customers who could bring them high profits - the avant-garde fashion trendsetters. The clothing industry was hit hard as the frequency of people going out during the pandemic plummeted. However, the digital campaign launched by Gucci successfully created a new sales area for them and made up for part of the losses. More importantly, at the same time, Gucci has maintained public exposure on social media (an important part of digital marketing), and metaverse technology allowing customers to still get the virtual reality experience of buying Gucci. Such a campaign uplifts Gucci's brand positioning, increasing brand equity and laying the root for future brand metaverse marketing battles.

Another good case in point is IKEA , which has a more practical application of metaverse technology compared to Gucci. IKEA is committed to applying AR and VR to real-life purchasing scenarios for its customers, and its recently launched Kreativ Scene Scanner allows customers to remove their real furniture from an AR replica of a room. Additionally, IKEA has launched 50 3D showrooms that enable consumers to virtually read its catalogue and try out featured products in their AR-simulated rooms.

IKEA's metaverse digital marketing program starts from a customer's actual usage scenario and hits the pain point of the purchase journey. When people want to simulate the addition of a piece of furniture to their house, they will choose to use the IKEA App. It is like the first website on the first page of a SERP in the web2.0 era, and it's obvious that if customer search for furniture in the future meta-universe, IKEA is definitely the one that stands out.

There are two main approaches to metaverse digital marketing in the future, and one is to collaborate with other metaverse platforms, offering sponsorship and marketing in their metaverse. The other is for brands to build up a metaverse themselves and attract customers to their own metaverse and marketing.

The first approach that cooperates with other platforms does not require the brand to build its own metaverse, it just needs to provide sponsorship to the partner, so it does not require a large investment. Nowadays, there are two main types of metaverse platforms, games, and social media. For games, brands can place their products in the game, just like the ads that are placed in the film. Unlike existing digital marketing ads, digital marketing ads in the metaverse are immersive, tactile, and hard to escape. Similarly, in the metaverse of social media, sharing is immediate and immersive. Whereas existing social media can only carry information through text, images, and video, the metaverse encompasses much more sensory. Thinking outside the box, if a brand wants to sell an umbrella and needs to demonstrate its performance, then in the metaverse, they can turn the weather into any rain intensity and let customers experience it by themselves - which is quite challenging to accomplish in real life.

Another approach for brands is to build their own metaverse platform, which requires a huge investment of both time and money for companies. However, it can also bring them an entirely customised metaverse digital marketing campaign. Companies can customise a virtual metaverse factory based on their product line, where players collect raw materials and customise their own products in-game, and then players can decide whether they want to get it in the real world (and if so, companies will offer discounts accordingly). More so, companies can hold product creative design competitions in the metaverse, the popular designs will have a chance to be mass produced in the real world, and the designers will be rewarded. In addition, companies could also build a world of simple collecting games in the metaverse, where players would receive limited edition products after collecting specific products, as well as coupons for real-world products. In turn, purchasing real-world products would also enable players to get more collections in the game. In fact, such metaverse games could be organically integrated with the brand's existing consumer loyalty program to form an integrated marketing plan to enhance brand equity.

Challenges always accompany the dawn of a new era. In addition to those technical challenges, metaverse digital marketing also suffers from the restrictions imposed by privacy policies. In order to achieve an immersive feel, metaverse needs to collect a lot of personal and private information, and the collection and storage of this information will be a big challenge. Moreover, the tokens used for trading in the metaverse will also need to be strictly regulated to avoid being used for illegal purposes.

The metaverse's have opened up a new era for the world, and it is important that we start laying out in advance to prepare for the future of digital marketing in the metaverse. From now on, combine your brand's digital marketing with AR and VR to seize this huge opportunity!