The ‘marketing mix’ of a CMO (chief marketing officer) is soon going to be in a flux. In all likelihood, a marketer has been asked whether his/her brand has a plan for Metaverse, along with Web3, NFTs, blockchain, crypto etc with little coherent logic.
It’s normal not to be ready with a concrete plan yet. But, the state of ‘living under a rock’ in the coming couple of years calls for no excuse.
Web3 and Metaverse, the two terms that are generating a lot of hype and excitement in the world of business and technology right now, are related in a few ways but are much different in ramifications.
Web3 focuses on creating a decentralized web with no single entity controlling the flow of information. Metaverse, on the other hand, is built upon the concepts of presence, immersion, and interactivity. It is a fantastic place for brand engagement as it guarantees a thoroughly connected experience to customers while engaging apps and services in a far more immersive way.
Web3 isn’t a distant, imaginary universe
The third major evolution of internet, Web3.0 can also be described as a logical extension of Web2.0 behaviour, especially for brands that need a high-touch digital environment.
Here, the servers, systems, and networks where applications are run from and where data is stored will, in theory, be owned by the users themselves and they would enjoy voting rights over rules and regulations.
According to an IDC report, Web3.0 has elicited significant interest and activity within industry circles which abounds with projects and start-ups spanning diverse components of the Web3.0 ecosystem such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs).
“DAOs will enable content creators, gamers, and social media users to rebalance the power, which traditional corporations that controlled Web 2.0 jealously guarded,” Phillip Silitschanu, Research Director, Worldwide Blockchain, Crypto, NFT, and Web3 Strategies at IDC has recently been quoted as saying.
The global Web3.0 market size reached USD 3.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to register a CAGR of 43.7 per cent to reach USD 81.5 billion in 2030, according to the latest analysis by Emergent Research.
Web 3.0 is expected to introduce digital scarcity and restore the pricing power to creators. With virtual and augmented reality, machine learning, artificial intelligence, blockchains, smart contracts and cryptocurrencies, it is anticipated to completely change the way content is created, ownership is claimed and creators get paid for their work.
Metaverse – a curious universe of possibilities
This speculative scheme of the future is about connecting the digital world with the physical world while bringing people to a shared, virtual space to interact and create.
It was Neal Stephenson’s sci-fi novel Snow Crash published in 1992, where the term ‘metaverse’ was first used to describe a virtual reality world. The concept has since made its way into books and movies like Ready Player One and The Matrix. Slowly but surely, the concept is taking shape with technology and this can be gauged from a survey conducted by Ericsson, where seven out of 10 respondents believed that by 2030 we would be able to enter virtual worlds that appeared to be completely real.
Metaverse, therefore, strives to create a space that would blend ‘virtually augmented physical reality with physically persistent virtual spaces’. It is an integrated and interoperable network of 3D virtual worlds that is not being built by any one person or company.
It is unlike what Meta (formerly Facebook) said it would spend at least USD 10 billion on development in 2021 as it negates the very concept of it being decentralized and outside of the control of big corporations.
The global Metaverse market was valued at USD 40 billion in 2021 and it is estimated to surpass around USD 1,607.12 billion by 2030 with a registered CAGR of 50.74 per cent.
An extensive survey conducted by Microsoft found that 51 per cent of Gen Z respondents expect to be doing some of their work through the Metaverse in the next couple of years. Some 48 per cent of the Millennials also upheld the above opinion.
Further, a Newzoo survey in 2021 across the US, the UK, Germany and France revealed that 38 per cent of respondents had played a Metaverse game such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox in the past six-month. The participants have also been getting younger.
In a nutshell, metaverse will make ‘extended reality’ (XR) experiences more accessible and prominent. This combined with virtual, augmented and mixed reality will help create a world with personal avatars, digital goods and complete experiences.
Save your spot
With marketers on the frontline of this new wave of internet, it has become essential for them to keep a track of new trends and prepare for the new digital consumer landscape. Smart business owners must also find out how Web3 will impact their operations and profits.
According to Statista’s virtual reality facts, the global VR market size is projected to increase from less than five billion U.S. dollars in 2021 to more than 12 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.
With the line between online and offline experiences blurring, investing in metaverse can help businesses grow as it can produce more immersive content. While users can create content, own, control and monetise them through implementation of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, the NFT boom is already generating massive demand for digital goods.
Digital shopping malls, hangouts, travel experiences, parties and entertainment are all part of this new world.
Brands are also looking to trailblaze the domain by acquiring future-looking startups and creative ideas. Nike bought RTFKT, a company that makes virtual sneakers and NFTs in December 2021. More acquisitions could be on the way in the next decade.
It does not end here; digitised launch events and exhibitions have replaced conventional events with the entertaining and interactive world of virtual experiences allowing customers to interact with the products and experience them digitally.
Metaverse would help level up the marketing campaign game by creating an immersive narrative in which users can also participate.
Brands will be able to introduce live-shopping on their social media platforms, along with 3D virtual shopping tours. Consumers can also be rewarded for downloading content and consuming it through bitcoin, any stablecoin or altcoin, own brand’s coin, NFT, or any such token. These disruptions will surely be ones of the most effective marketing tactics that brands can deploy to expand their businesses while achieving unique propositions and differentiations by leveraging Web3 appropriately.
According to a recent Boston Consulting Group survey, 65 per cent of individuals who have already purchased an NFT prefer to be gifted a bluechip NFT rather than a luxury item.
The imminent changes are apparent, so are the opportunities.