Metaverse – The Future of Digital Marketing

“Metaverse” the word that is taking the world by storm in the 21^st century. The term Metaverse has become a incredibly popular during the pandemic, specially after Mark Zuckerberg changed his company “Facebook’s” name to “Meta”. Everybody has been talking about this phenomenal technology and tech giants and top investors from all around the world like Microsoft, Mark Cuban, Google, Apple etc. are pumping in millions of dollars to make this technology a mass adoption for everybody on the globe. Experts envision this technology to be the evolution of internet. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 25% of people will use the Metaverse for at least 1 hour everyday and that by 2026, 30% of businesses will have Metaverse compliant products and services. this means that with the volution of internet, the world will also witness one of the biggest evolution in the marketing landscape. We have all seen the transition from physical marketing techniques to digital marketing techniques, and with Metaverse picking up pace, we are sure to see the next evolution in the marketing history known as “Metaverse Marketing”. We can in a way say that withing the next decade the world will already be consuming data and content via Metaverse technology and Metaverse marketing is going to become a norm for most businesses around the world.

The Metaverse is predicted to be a USD 800 billion market by 2024, and businesses will leave no stone unturned to make the most of this platform to reach out to their audience and connect with them in the most modern and technologically advanced manner possible. The heap loads of opportunity this technology has to offer is seemingly endless. Although, we cannot rule out the fact that this concept may seem to be mysterious and unexplored by many, with the rising trend we cannot differ to say that it has caught the attention of people from all over the world and currently it is in the limelight not only amongst tech enthusiasts but also others around the world.

Let’s dive into understanding what the Metaverse is and how it is the future of digital marketing.

The term “Meta” is a Greek abbreviation for above or beyond and “Verse” means the universe, together the Metaverse means above of beyond the universe and staying true to its meaning this technology is indeed bigger and greater than what any of us can ever even imagine. The Metaverse is predicted to be a platform where people can carry out their daily activities like working, attending class, socializing etc. all on a virtual immersive set-up. People can enter the Metaverse with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) wearable devices and lead a life parallel to their real world life. As compared to Web 2.0 where interactions are 2 dimensional, the Metaverse offers its users 3 dimensional digital interactions. Yes, here people can see and feel objects and other people around them like they would in the real world. This platform doesn’t limit its users to use it only when they want to have digital interactions, instead, it gives its users and opportunity to simply exist on it. Here, people can buy land, build their home, buy vehicles etc. in the form of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and also trade them. This means that people can and carry a virtual life based on their imagination in its true essence.

Now, since the Metaverse is going to be a platform where people spend equal if not more time on a daily basis as compared to social media (which itself has high engagement hours) it is evident that businesses are going to turn their head to this platform to reach out to their audience in every way possible. Businesses would not miss out on the opportunity of reaching out to a large pool of audience from different demographics of the world saturated on one single platform. With this comes the evolution of digital marketing, businesses will go to ends to leverage this platform and extract the most from it.

Brands like Gucci, Zara, Adidas, Nike, Balenciaga, Tommy Hilfiger etc. has already made their debut in the Metaverse. Metaverse fashion shows have seen millions of foot fall in the past 2 years and couples have got married on the platform too, this has indeed become a rising trend for people from all over the world irrespective of whether they are tech savvy or not.

Case scenario – Imagine if you could order the famous Turkish ice-cream on your fingertips… Oh wait, you can still do that with the existence of Swiggy and Zomato.. But now imagine if you could walk through the street of Turkey, buy your Turkish ice-cream from a local shop, get it delivered to your physical address, without moving from the comfort of your couch! Yes, this is the power of Metaverse technology, you can explore the world and experience all that it has to offer in an immersive 3D environment without really stamping your passport.

The intensity of this case scenario is immense because this paves way for new, revolutionized ways of digital interactions. It will change the face of business-audience interaction for generations to come. And this is exactly what the brands will leverage to reach out to their audience like never before. Businesses will increase their visibility in the Metaverse in the form of 3D hoardings, logo placements and much more. Below mentioned are the top 3 benefits of Metaverse marketing:

1. Purpose built event venues

Businesses can innovate and create event specific or brand centric spaces to engage with their audience, making the                entire customer-businesses engagement more personalized and exclusive.

2. Enhanced data driven approach

Advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Machine Learning (ML),           Blockchain etc. power the Metaverse and these technologies are considered to be superior in terms of capturing user                 behaviour, pattern, interaction accurately, resulting in more data driven strategies and approaches.

3. Improve brand accessibility

The Metaverse is not demographically limited, this means that people from different parts of the world can conveniently             connect with each other in an immersive 3D real-world like environment without the barrier of boundaries.

In conclusion,

The Metaverse is here and it is happening and is a becoming a band wagon for businesses that wish to strive and succeed in this competitive technology driven ecosystem. Brands are already leveraging this platform to make an impactful presence on this trending platform and we can without a doubt say that the Metaverse is indeed the future of digital marketing and digital interactions for generations to come.

 

Written by

Jay Anthony,

Marketing Head, TECHVED Consulting