For Success in the Metaverse, Don’t Get Technical; Get Creative

If somebody asked you to define the metaverse in a sentence, do you know what you’d say? If so, congratulations. As we collectively get to grips with this much-hyped evolution in technology and digital culture, there’s a lot of confusion around the concept, and there’s still dust to settle on a universally-accepted definition.

Let’s be clear – the metaverse is unclearly defined because it doesn’t exist yet. But that doesn’t mean that marketers should remain in the ideation stage. What we do have are emerging technologies that might help us figure out what the metaverse will have to offer for brands. And where most brands are presently experimenting is within what we might call proto-metaverse spaces – open world online games such as Roblox and Fortnite. 

In that context, Nike appears to have set the blueprint to follow. Racing out of the blocks at the end of last year, Nikeland in Roblox has provided a branded space in which audiences can interact, spend time, and engage in Nike-themed activities in a totally Nike-owned digital arena. For marketers, it’s a kind of holy grail - a brand-owned space in which people actively choose to log on and pass their time. 

Nike’s success has been much-celebrated across the media and appears to be a big early influence on the way we think about the metaverse and its potential. These gamified activations and campaigns are setting the tone, with the likes of the Gucci Garden and Verizon’s 5G stadium in Fortnite attracting similar plaudits. 

And so, for any interested onlookers, it looks as though we do have a definition of an early metaverse campaign: It’s essentially an online gaming activation. No wonder, then, that some brands are deciding that the metaverse won’t be for them. 

But there are two huge problems with that mentality: Firstly, not all brands are Nike. And secondly, marketers who are only considering the potential of the metaverse through online gaming are likely to be missing a trick.

Innovative technology - implemented creatively - can be used to engage and bring value to audiences in many ways beyond gaming. Platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite make for great spaces in which to connect with certain audiences. But the metaverse will mean more than gaming.

As a thought experiment, let’s imagine a DIY brand. Their customers, who tend to skew older in demographics, are not likely to be found perfecting their KD ratios in Fortnite or amassing an NFT collection in Decentraland. Similarly, fashion brands such as Gucci and Nike are stylish, internationally-renowned names who can expect to speak to eager audiences actively looking to connect with them - as opposed to our brand, which only occupies its audience’s minds when they need to purchase some new tools. As a result, our make-believe DIY business might conclude that the metaverse will not be the right place for them to expand their marketing presence. 

That might seem logical, but it would also be a mistake. 

With imagination and creativity, any brand can experiment with emerging technology. Rather than setting up a branded store in Roblox, perhaps our DIY brand could look instead at VR. Imagine exploring a digitally-rendered version of your dream home extension or refurbished bathroom, swapping out tiles and wallpaper on the fly. You could invite friends, family members, or construction teams to explore and even edit your designs no matter where they were in the world. Or imagine tapping into AR to summon to-scale renderings of the materials you need to order for any given project, ensuring they’re the right parts for the job before you purchase them. 

The point is that it takes imagination to consider all the ways in which metaverse-type technologies could be used. Clearly, this is something that’s currently lacking - many brands are using virtual platforms to recreate what already exists in the real world, and even Meta’s early version of the metaverse seems somewhat bland. It’s only with creativity that we can start to use existing technologies to explore what we might be able to do in the metaverse. 

The plethora of short-term, PR-focused activations we’ve seen doesn’t negate the fact that it is possible to provide genuine value - over the long term - through these emerging technologies. 

So instead of asking ‘is the metaverse for me?’, brands should be asking ‘how can I use emerging technologies to bring value to my audience?’. The likes of Nike asked that question, and their predominantly young and gaming-interested audience has been enjoying their activations because they are relevant and entertaining for them. 

But setting this as the template for any kind of metaverse success would be extremely limiting - and would represent a missed opportunity for marketers. Any brand will eventually be able to find a home in the metaverse - they just need to be focused and creative in deciding how to build it.