In-depth Part 2: Devising the perfect metaverse marketing gameplan
Are brands and marketers prepared for marketing in the metaverse? Marketers and experts are unanimous in their view that brands are yet to comprehend the full potential of the metaverse. It is important that marketers need to have the right understanding of the metaverse and the Web3 ecosystem before they venture into marketing in this brand-new territory.
Metaverse is still an emerging and relatively new area for most traditional marketers, and it is difficult to say if all marketers are fully prepared for leveraging opportunities for marketing in the metaverse as of yet, says Akshay Kapoor, Associate Director – Marketing, Perfetti van Melle.
“But one can safely say that marketers in certain categories like gaming, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion are already on the ‘try-learn-evolve’ curve and will certainly continue to build on the experience so far. However, for traditional marketers, the adoption curve will be different and will have its fair share of challenges. Some of them are: the user adoption of the fast-evolving virtual environment, the user time spent once the adoption rates start to move up, the technical aspects like infrastructure readiness, stability and seamlessness of the platform, the cost of reaching consumers and engagement rates and moreover the application of metaverse technology in a manner relevant to the segment in question. Also, given the buzz and sensitivity around data privacy, and the vast amounts of data that metaverse could potentially generate, marketers will need to tackle this challenge,” Kapoor adds.
Brands and marketers are still in the early stages of understanding metaverse marketing and how it fits into their overall strategy, points out Yulia Aslamova, Head of Asia, DRIM Global. According to her, one of the biggest challenges faced by brands in India and elsewhere is the lack of understanding of the metaverse itself. Another challenge, she adds, is that the metaverse is still a relatively new and evolving technology, and it is not yet clear what kind of experiences consumers will be looking for in virtual environments. She feels that brands will need to keep up with the latest developments and be open to experimenting with different types of metaverse marketing campaigns.
The metaverse with its immersive environment offers an ideal platform for brands to engage consumers, says Yorick Pinto, Creative Director, BC Web Wise. With its 3D spaces and features such as virtual reality and augmented reality, metaverse marketing will play an active role for brands in terms of activities such as product launches, virtual music concerts, online performances, employee training and development, etc.
Metaverse has existed as a technology for more than a decade, but the introduction of Web3 elements and NFTs has added the concept of commoditization that allows them to market their solutions across verticals seamlessly, says Kaavya Prasad, Founder, Lumos Labs.
“Now, it is not just a parallel virtual world, but it is mirroring your real world in a virtual environment and catering to a larger audience pool irrespective of the geographical limitations. While a new tech comes with its own technical understanding, what metaverse marketing necessitates is the understanding of the customer behaviour to tap it effectively into the virtual world. To establish a brand through metaverse marketing, companies have to know the target audience and their usage and understanding of metaverse technology. They also need to be aware of the hardware and software requirements of associating with the metaverse, both for the user and for themselves. As metaverse is still developing, the firm employing metaverse marketing would need to spend heavily on training or hiring,” she explains.
Metaverse as well as Web3 sectors have been trending for a while in the Indian markets, but the technology behind them has been understood by only a few, Prasad point out. “The right understanding of the metaverse and the Web3 ecosystem is necessary to utilise its offerings in an ethical and efficient way. Even though India has incredible internet penetration, there is a big gap between Web2 and Web3 knowledge that needs to be shortened. Lumos Metaverse aims to bridge the gap by providing training, education, and learning opportunities to global developers by leading experts of Web3. There will be hiring and earning opportunities for them as well to sustain their growth in the Web3 space,” she adds.
Metaverse challenges
However, not all brands and marketers are prepared for marketing in the metaverse. And then there are some major metaverse challenges faced by the brands and marketers in India at the moment. Let’s understand them and figure a way out for brands to be metaverse-ready.
Metaverse marketing in India is still a developing field, and brands will need to carefully consider multiple challenges in order to create effective and engaging experiences for their audiences, points out Kunal Sharma - Head of Marketing & Business head, KRBL (India Gate Foods). He lists out five major challenges in this regard:
Infrastructure: Metaverse experiences require a strong and reliable internet connection, which can be a challenge in certain parts of India where internet infrastructure is still developing.
Accessibility: Not all consumers may have access to the hardware or software required to participate in metaverse experiences, which could limit the potential audience for brands.
Awareness: While interest in metaverse technology is growing in India, it is still a relatively new concept that may not be widely understood by the general public.
Localization: Indian consumers may have different cultural norms and preferences that need to be considered when designing metaverse experiences.
Regulations: As metaverse technology continues to evolve, there may be new regulations and guidelines that brands need to follow in order to ensure compliance with Indian laws and policies.
At present, it's likely that many brands and marketers are still in the early stages of understanding and preparing for marketing in the metaverse, says MOI (My Own Internet) Founder Anantha Krishnan.
While there is a lot of excitement around the potential of the metaverse, there are also significant challenges that need to be overcome. According to Krishnan, in India, some of the major metaverse challenges faced by brands and marketers include:
- Cost: Developing and executing metaverse marketing strategies can be expensive, and may not be feasible for smaller brands or businesses with limited budgets.
- Privacy and ethics concerns: As with any new technology, there are concerns around privacy and the ethics of metaverse marketing, which may deter some brands from fully embracing the technology.
- Legality: In India, the legality of metaverse and NFTs is still developing, and there is currently no specific regulation in place for these technologies. However, the Indian government has indicated that it is monitoring the development of these technologies and is likely to implement regulations in the future. Hence, it is not yet clear.
The metaverse is expected to be a $800-billion market by 2024, and tech titans are already pouring money into making this a reality, points out RS Maan, Managing Director and Global CRO, Codleo. According to him, major corporations and start-ups are both becoming early adopters, collaborating with metaverse companies to create branded activations and other initiatives.
“Another one would be KPIs for measuring performance range from financial metrics like net profit, revenue, and sales to customer-focused metrics like customer retention and satisfaction. To summarise, marketing in the metaverse will not lend itself to many of these KPIs at this stage in the evolution of these infant platforms. The first hurdle is also the most obvious. Contrary to popular belief, the metaverse is not a single location. Rather, it is an ecosystem of immersive virtual worlds competing for users, events, play-to-win games, and everything else that makes these platforms such exciting alternatives and complements to physical reality,” he adds.
According to Yorick Pinto, one of the biggest challenges that marketers face in the metaverse is that of interoperability, which means users need to create separate accounts on different metaverse platforms and cannot expect a seamless experience across them. “Additionally the other challenges faced by marketers would be the lack of sufficient users on the popular metaverse platforms such as Sandbox, Decentraland, etc. Another challenge is that the graphics of these metaverse platforms can be extremely heavy and will not easily render on mobile devices using 3G or 4G connections.”
A large number of businesses and marketers don’t entirely comprehend the potential of metaverse, notes Dhruv Goel, Founder, Brand Catapult.
He doesn’t believe that brands and marketers are truly prepared for marketing in the metaverse as “the understanding of it is vast presently”.
According to him, a lot more education around the metaverse is needed for businesses to fully capitalise on their investments. “I see two major challenges that the brands and marketers could face. Firstly, as I mentioned previously, the lack of proper knowledge of the platform will be a critical challenge for the brand and marketers in India. The other challenge that I foresee is the availability of experienced professionals that can code and work on the technology to implement such campaigns. Those who are available in India, are getting handsomely paid by global businesses, making them out of reach and unaffordable for a lot of Indian brands,” he adds.
For Bhavik Mehta, CEO & Founder of Thinkin Birds Communications, the lack of awareness is a key challenge. He further says, “We, as marketers, are prepared for anything which will take a brand or product to the next level. But being prepared and actually embracing it are two different tangents. With evolving of technology come a few setbacks as well. Most important con is awareness of the existence of the metaverse. Not many businesses are aware and due to this not easily accessible. Metaverse requires a high level of expertise and gadgets to formulate a universe. Even if the brands are aware of this technology, they do not have the investment capacity to fund it. Top it with the issue of cyber security.”
NFTs and virtual possibilities
There are ways in which brands can make the best use of the metaverse, such as promoting both the brand and their NFT assets at the same time as a part of NFT metaverse marketing strategy. And then there are other means, such as using metaverse gaming or avatars.
According to Kunal Sharma, metaverse offers a unique and exciting opportunity for brands to connect with consumers in new ways. Whether brands should go for NFT marketing, gaming, or avatars or virtual environment development in their metaverse strategy ultimately depends on their specific business goals, their target audience’s media landscape and expectations. Each of these strategies can be effective in their own right, and brands should consider which approach aligns best with their target audience, brand values, and marketing goal.
- NFT marketing:NFTs could be used by brands to create unique and collectible virtual items, such as limited-edition clothing or accessories. NFTs may be appealing to younger audiences who are interested in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
- Gaming:Brands could create games or interactive experiences in the metaverse as a way to engage with consumers and offer immersive experiences. For example, a sports brand could create a metaverse game that allows players to compete in virtual versions of real-world sports events.
- Avatars:Brands could create branded avatars or offer avatar customization options as a way to engage with consumers and build brand affinity. This could be effective for brands in industries such as fashion, beauty, or entertainment.
Other opportunities:
- Virtual events:Brands are creating virtual events, such as concerts, trade shows, and product launches, to reach a wider audience and offer more immersive experiences.
- Virtual showrooms:Fashion and beauty brands are creating virtual showrooms where consumers can try on clothes or test makeup products using augmented reality.
- Brand experiences:Brands are creating immersive experiences in the metaverse that allow consumers to interact with their products or services in new and exciting ways.
- Social media engagement:Brands are using metaverse platforms as a new way to engage with their customers on social media, offering behind-the-scenes access and exclusive content.
- Advertising:Brands are experimenting with new forms of advertising in the metaverse, such as product placements and in-game ads, to reach consumers in new and innovative ways
According to Akshay Kapoor, to make the best possible use of the emerging metaverse universe it is critical to have absolute clarity on the ‘why’ on metaverse. The ‘why’ will need to start out from defining a well-defined purpose and reason for being present on metaverse, it could be for promoting products or an impactful product launch or a new product or a service roll-out, or driving engagements or activating a new revenue stream.
“The ‘Why’ being well defined and clear, it will be important to define the ‘what’ and ‘how’. This would entail narrowing down on the choice of marketing intervention on meta depending on the ‘what’, this could vary from creating unique and immersive consumer engagements to cross collaborations with other brands, offering hyper personalisation to consumers, activating communities, using immersive gaming as a means to addressing the ‘how’ or leveraging from the NFT assets. All in all, given the well-defined objectives to be met through the metaverse, matched with the segment in question, the metaverse could sure be the answer and the way to go for many businesses that fit the bill and will surely be a space to be watched out for,” Kapoor explains.
There are several unique ways that brands can promote their products in the metaverse, says Kaavya Prasad. The best strategy depends on the messaging of the brand and how their products are best presented. For example, she adds, for a fashion brand such as GAP, having avatars wear the digital replicas of the product might be a great promotional strategy and having the tokenized products are also a necessary branding activity as they can be displayed in virtual retail stores or can be given as gifts.
“Additionally, there are other diverse sectors currently being branded in the metaverse chiefly through gaming and avatar creation as well as having a comprehensive immersive experience. Lumos Metaverse too adopts several educational and developer outreach programmes to mobilize and create awareness for brands and their programmes through its unique interface and environment. Organisations could have their own headquarters in the metaverse and connect with the exact audience that they are looking to associate with while running their own promotional content and other educational programmes through digital billboards, push notifications, virtual advertisements, NFTs, etc. Leveraging the offerings of a metaverse can be done in numerous creative ways as long as the brand knows exactly where and how they want to be positioned and where their target audience is,” she concludes.
There are many ways for brands to make the best use of the metaverse, depending on their goals and target audience, says Yulia Aslamova. For example, she adds, brands can use NFTs to create unique digital assets that can be sold or traded within the metaverse, creating a new revenue stream. “Brands can also use metaverse gaming or avatars to create immersive brand experiences, such as virtual fashion shows or interactive brand-sponsored events. The key is to focus on creating engaging experiences that are aligned with the brand’s values and messaging, and that will resonate with the target audience in the metaverse,” she concludes.
According to Yorick Pinto, brands can look at creating engaging experiences on the metaverse and link it to their branded NFTs, which can be awarded to superfans who participate in branded activities and contests.
Some of the popular activities that can easily happen on the metaverse include: virtual test drives and virtual product demos, customer service, virtual try-ons, virtual product launches, meet-and-greet or masterclass with celebrities, virtual concerts and performances, etc. “Gaming experiences and branded avatars are the most common ways for brands to engage their fans, but additionally brands can look at additional experiences based on their products and services. A cosmetic brand could provide users a virtual trial of the cosmetics, whereas an automobile manufacturer can offer a virtual test drive,” notes Pinto.
“Brands can sell, trade, and buy virtual versions of your products in their world with NFTs,” RS Maan says, adding, “They can display their NFT art in 3D galleries of their own design. Metaverse can also be used for internal brand-building tactics. Training, staff onboarding, and meetings can be hosted in a 3D space for optimal immersion. Rewards and recognition can be given through NFTs and cryptocurrency.”
Brands can make the best use of the metaverse by embracing new and innovative marketing strategies that take advantage of the unique features and opportunities offered by the metaverse, says Anantha Krishnan. According to him, here are some ways that brands can use the metaverse to promote both their brand and NFT assets:
- NFT metaverse marketing: Brands can use NFTs (non-fungible tokens) as a way to promote their brand and increase engagement with customers. This could involve creating unique NFTs that represent their brand or products, and selling these NFTs through metaverse platforms and marketplaces.
- Metaverse gaming: Brands can leverage metaverse gaming to reach a new and highly engaged audience. This could involve sponsoring in-game events, creating branded games, or offering in-game promotions and rewards.
- Avatars and virtual events: Brands can use the metaverse to create virtual events and experiences that allow customers to engage with their brand in a unique and immersive way. For example, brands can use avatars to represent their brand and interact with customers in the metaverse, hosting virtual events and product launches, and creating virtual showrooms.
- Metaverse advertising: Brands can use the metaverse to place virtual advertisements, such as billboards and interactive banners, to reach their target audience.
- Branded metaverse content: Brands can create and distribute branded content, such as virtual reality films, metaverse experiences, and games, to reach and engage with their target audience.
“As the technology evolves, it is likely that new and innovative uses for the metaverse in marketing will emerge, and brands that are able to embrace these new opportunities will have a competitive advantage,” he concludes.
Bhavik Mehta feels that Metaverse presents a unique opportunity to brands to promote their brand and NFT assets as actively as the logistical problems of traditional marketing channels are not really present in this ecosystem. “In such an instance, the ways of traditional promotion still applies to metaverse with the caveat being that all of it can be now done through the Internet, reducing the chance of human error. From organising virtual events, conferences, product launches and virtual stores, to tapping the AI influencer market and creating a unique consumer experience, the opportunities the metaverse holds are truly endless,” he says.
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