Marketing in the Metaverse: Time to rely on “emotionally intelligent” strategies for your brand!
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Marketing in the Metaverse: Time to rely on “emotionally intelligent” strategies for your brand!
With 2022 coming to an end, one significant innovation standing strong in the world of technology is METAVERSE. Today, Metaverse is no more just a trend. The flavour of Metaverse is lingering in everyone’s conversations and now has taken the route of ‘existing in reality ‘ and a ‘must-have strategy for businesses’ as well. This month Dave is here to pull the ribbon and present some interesting things about the Metaverse for you to take some inspiration from and escalate profits for your business. There is a high probability of you having met Dave before. But have you come face to face with Metaverse as a ‘profit generating business mantra’?
“It was only a few years back that ‘Metaverse’ was not even mentioned in a strategy discussion for most companies. Today, 85% of the companies that our business teams interact with have a Metaverse project that’s either being developed or is in the plans. This huge shift has happened very quickly as top brands are coming up with interesting applications that directly benefit their bottom line.
When the trend started, it was mega brands that were buying a digital estate in established “Metaverses” and creating digital stores on such platforms. However, that did not catch on as expected. Recently, however, brands have moved away from this approach and are creating their own standalone Metaverses. Companies can create their own, brand-conscious environments where their customers can have a community and interact with their brand in ways that can be tweaked to fit their brand image and interests. Essentially, this space can be hosted on enterprise clouds, created to adapt to the consumer’s needs and to reflect the identity of the brand creatively, while having complete control of data and experience.
Another emerging trend within is ‘Brand Avatars’ or the ‘Digital brand ambassadors’. The use of avatars to represent the brand in the Metaverse has been another common theme adopted by enterprises. Backed by conversational AI, these avatars can communicate with visitors and drive sales and loyalty. Most enterprises recognize that the introduction of the Metaverse will be a disruptor in web-based consumeristic habits. It will create a desire in consumers to be closer to brands in ways that they have never been before. Making it possible for brands, that adapt to the technology quickly, to profit from the consumer’s first interactions with this new digital universe. To be able to bring the brand’s retail space or showroom into the client’s personal home will open a host of possibilities for marketers.
Brands today realize the power of community. As consumers, we utilize the opinions of others to make buying decisions. Technology is attempting to bridge the gap by creating online communities that can satisfy the social needs of the user without pulling them out of their “digital comfort zone”. The first ones to take strides here will ideally end up with an interactive communication channel with their existing and potential customers.”
- Puneet Sharma, Business Manager — DaveAI
What would you prefer, nostalgia, recreated real-world experiences online, or new adventures in the Metaverse?
There are some brands and products that influence your emotions with a touch of relatability. When you think about them even after years, you get filled with nostalgia and you start to reminisce about all the fond memories. Brands are like humans. They have a personality. They make people smile, laugh, cry and even inspire them to add things to the list of achievements in life. Based on the emotions and impact it creates, Some brands take the ‘used to exist? When?’ route and some take the ‘forever and ever’ route amongst the audiences. Today, for brands that have survived years in decades, activating people’s nostalgia and making them go back to the ‘Best days of life’ phase is the most loved marketing strategy; especially for the Millennials as the target audience. Popular brands are using nostalgia marketing in the Metaverse as well to shape brand equity and build trust for new ideas and campaigns.
Cheetos is the classic example!
Recently, Frito-Lay disclosed their modern Cheetos-themed advanced rural neighborhood called Chesterville. Frito-Lay is the subdivision of PepsiCo, Inc. Inside the game, players can participate in various activities that employ a fun take on the theme of Cheetos and its flavours. The objective of this game is to enter a spooky mansion, where users can vote and assist Cheetos to bring back a flavour that they have stopped creating. “Bring back the dead” is the theme. This helps people relive their old memories by tapping into familiar and positive notions from yesteryears. Flavour resurrection options include Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Pepper Puffs, Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Chipotle Farm, and Cheetos Nashville Hot snacks. The brand also wants to give the customers access to how a particular product is created from the resource collection to the final product in the shop for purchase. With Metaverse opportunities evolving and bringing in a larger-than-life scope, building a trustworthy bond between the brand and its consumers with transparency has become easier.
When it comes to the younger audience which includes Gen Z catering to the demands of a generation that is looking for something new every now and then and jumps from one fad to another quickly, keeping the excitement alive has become a must for brands. New adventures in the Metaverse pique curiosity and keep audiences grooving to the rhythm of the brand essence.
Adidas and the adrenaline of new adventures!
Adidas keeps consistently adapting to tech in a bid to be known as much more than a shoe and clothing brand. Adidas wants to drive experiences in the domain of pop culture, athleisure, streetwear, and music for which the need to stay in tune with market trends and prevailing generations arise. So it was no surprise to see that the brand is an ardent and early adopter of the Metaverse as a modern medium for collaboration with the audience that includes Gen Z. Attempting to provide a new adventure for the consumers, Adidas launched ‘Into the Metaverse’, a digital event in collaboration with NFT companies like Gmoney, Punks Comic and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Adidas uses the concept of NFTs as commercials and is leveraging the concept of Metaverse to empower the idea of individualistic taste and creative imagination.
Being known as the largest restaurant chain in the world by revenue comes with consistency, dedication, and let’s not forget — popularity. With people showering love over decades, the acceptance of what the brand has been doing over a period without losing its mark in the market speaks volumes. So it makes sense to give people what they love even if it means taking the whole experience online — in the Metaverse. Recreating real-world experiences on the digital front allows people an assurance of convenience, 24/7 availability, and ease of access.
McDonald’s is keeping its popularity alive with recreated real-world experiences online!
It has been reported that McDonald’s is in the process of developing virtual restaurants. By taking the classic real-world dining experience online, McDonald’s wants to make consumers explore their regular visits to the restaurant from any place and time without relying on any old or new themes for the Metaverse experience. The relevance of the online world is increasing in our day-to-day lives and today the younger generation can be seen spending more time on devices and technology rather than in the real world. Teenagers prefer to chat with friends, play games, and even order food through digital platforms today. So this brand wants to create a virtual space where people come and socialize, place an order for items on the menu and ensure the theme for “entertainment” is virtual. McDonald’s also has made plans to sell clothes and accessories for customer avatars in the Metaverse. This brand is also looking at an investment in NFTs for marketing.
Mass marketing- Curating a strategy that delivers the right impact in the entire market. If it is a brand that has sustained the industry and its demands for a long time, promoting the strengths the brand has and acquainting people about the services makes this blend a part of people’s memories for ages. It makes older generations remember the essence of the brand fondly and makes younger generations know about the brand and its offerings seamlessly. Advertising to the widest possible consumer base becomes reality.
Wendy’s strategy is digitally mirroring the strengths of the brand to be the perfect combination of old and new!
Fast food restaurant chain Wendy’s has witnessed success in the Metaverse venture as it was quick to get in the game. Wendy’s has deployed its own game, called ‘Food Fight,’ in which players have to discard frozen beef. This game was created to promote Wendy’s modus operandi of serving beef-friendly food and acquainting more and more people about their services. An excellent marketing strategy, this game raised curiosity around the products and services and proved profitable by creating the right kind of brand perception in the market.
Dave says,” I love residing in the Metaverse. No matter what kind of marketing a brand is using, it is important to have my human-like presence and a conversational AI-powered sales brain to authenticate the essence of the experience a brand wants its audience to perceive. May it be nostalgia marketing, transporting the real world experience online or a new adventure that the brand is exploring, I am capable of adapting to the requirements of the brand to make sure the customer has a satisfying Metaverse experience with the company.”
NFTs in Metaverse Marketing
The market for NFTs is booming alongside the rise of Metaverse and is a popular strategy used by brands for marketing. Different kinds of NFTs prevalent today are:
- NFT Avatars: People owning NFT avatars use them as profile or display pictures on social media to interact with different communities.
- Collectibles: Collectibles are products that can be collected by investors, traders, or just enthusiasts. These items have value in the market. Sometimes businesses create brand-specific collectibles to promote their products, ideologies, or even presence. The collectibles can be a part of any industry like sports, fashion, etc.
- Art: Amid the stamping stage of NFTs, makers can divide their artwork into different versions which will vary in creativity and ownership on the blockchain. This implies diverse versions of the same piece that seem similar to the eye but have distinctive versions of token IDs. Another form of art NFTs is generative art. This art is popularly created with the help of AI. A venture for the writer’s community is making headlines in which NFT merchandise is being made available for writers to give them a leeway into this world.
- Gamified NFTs: An NFT-driven play-to-earn game also known as a P2E game is the most sought-after brand strategy for marketing today. Gamified Metaverse experiences that are in tune with what the brand has to offer are a match made in heaven and creating NFTs for players in this universe complements the Metaverse strategy perfectly. Players can be owners of digital accessories and virtual land in the Metaverse and earn rewards by trading these digital assets.
- NFT Tickets: NFT ticketing empowers holders to utilize tokens as entry passes for live and virtual get-togethers, events, exhibitions, concerts, meetings, and much more. This can be used for brand advertising, giveaways, discounts, etc.
There are other types of NFTs like photography NFTs and music NFTs but the use of these NFTs is minimal in Metaverse promotional activities of the businesses as compared to the other types mentioned above.
Editor’s Note:
Hello readers! Dave Tales is back with another edition and it gives us immense joy to see so many of you subscribe to read and climb your way to the top spot of technological awareness. Since Metaverse is not going anywhere and is here only to rise high and high in scope, opportunities, and profits for businesses, I would like to recommend a ‘WHAT NOT TO DO IN THE METAVERSE AS A BRAND’ guide that has been curated by considering the experiences the DaveAI team came across while formulating Metaverse strategies for renowned brands in different industries. This guide is perfect for you to consider important strategies, avoid mistakes, and burst common myths for greater customer engagement in the Metaverse.
Thinking of taking the ‘Metaverse’ leap? Here’s what you should NOT do with your brand strategy!
See you all next month!
- Jui Bagul, Executive Content Writer — DaveAI
