Simply put – Metaverse is an enhanced digital twin of your current reality. It’s a collection of virtual spaces consisting of virtually enhanced, digital representations of people, places and things.
And just like the world wasn’t built in a day – the Metaverse and its various worlds are working in progress –albeit with a solid vision – being built by Visualizers, 3D artists, game developers and the like.
Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality powered by rich 3D content and immersive audio are how we will experience Metaverse.
And many parts of the above have already made it into our lives. So in some sense, we are already experiencing the Metaverse in its earliest versions.
3D Objects, graphics, characters and props that you can experience in a real-world environment through your camera are a part of Augmented Reality. Common use cases today are Spark AR based filters on Instagram, Snap Filters, and AR games like Pokémon go. Whereas, Virtual Reality is a fully immersive, 360-degree experience of Virtual Environments and 3D Objects delivered through headsets and using motion-sensing controllers for interactions.
Common use cases are training, games, and immersive storytelling. The extended reality on the other hand is a catch-all term for all types of reality. It also includes real-time immersive video and experiences that blend AR and MR.
One cannot overlook how the Metaverse will impact brands. For the longest time – brands have struggled to make advertising more meaningful to the consumer. To enable consumers to own the brand as their own. Be a part of the brand world voluntarily.
Metaverse gives a brand the opportunity to declutter advertising. And inviting the consumer to be a part of the Brand's world and its stories via rich and engaging 3D environments.
I imagine that marketing in the Metaverse will be led by immersion, gamification and a role that a brand will play actively in the lives of people in the metaverse. Not so much like a display ad or an advertisement. This will be the ultimate goal fulfilled for marketers and brands – advertising that doesn’t look and feel like advertising.
There are also a multitude of high potential opportunities for brands in the Metaverse. For instance, Product Launches can be a space in the Metaverse where, in a branded environment, digital twins of the products can be launched and streamed worldwide on social media, YouTube et al or Meta product twins which let your customers interact and engage with the digital twin of your product – whatever it may be—apparel, accessories, electronics, machines—really anything that can be made in 3D.
Another high potential opportunity is for conferences and branded events to take place in the Metaverse, where the world can attend without needing to travel.
To take this 3D experience a step further, websites can now be turned to Meta sites. Imagine a website as an immersive 3D space created to represent a brand, where the products are in 3D, the people in 3D avatars and a Metasite which leaves people wondering if they visited your office or your website. Consumers can also have capsules of immersive brand experiences on an episodic basis by leveraging AR platforms of FB, Insta, Snap and Tiktok.
Metaverse as mentioned earlier is in its early stages of adoption. One challenge we foresee is content creation and talent. Since it is still early days – brands who invest in Metaverse will be able to learn fast and gain the first-mover advantage. Currently, there is no ready reference for ROI- but it’s expected to definitely create buzz around the brand.
There is no question about whether this is the future. We just need to learn fast, adapt and find our space in the Metaverse.