The Metaverse is a term that refers to a virtual world that is accessible through the internet and that people can visit and interact with in real-time.
Just as social media once transformed the way consumers interact with brands, the Metaverse is leading the charge as the newest and most immersive way consumers can experience the brands they love. One similarity – the hesitancy to adopt.
With an initial purpose of connecting students at Harvard, Facebook has forever altered the way brands market their products. However, businesses weren’t always warm and fuzzy to the idea of investing money into a digital space. At first, corporations were slow to adopt and invest in social media as a marketing tool. The same can be said for investment in Metaverse technologies.
At times, we have been approached by businesses and organizations which are intrigued by the possibilities the Metaverse offers, but are also hesitant to fully embrace this new and unfamiliar technology.
So we’ll simplify it: Brand Extension!
The Metaverse is a new avenue to expand your brand’s digital presence! Here’s a few ways we have already seen major brands leveraging the Metaverse to extend their brand in a virtual space using the Metaverse platform from Get Real’s partner company, Spatial.
- Always On
While live events can be fun and engaging, it does limit your audience size. Having your space be filled with numerous always accessible activities expands the pool of consumers that your brand can engage with. Having a custom, branded environment with various forms of content (images, videos, documents, etc.) throughout the space, gives consumers the freedom to engage on their own time. It allows for repeatable consumption – users can visit the experience as many times as they like!
An example of this kind of activation is the McDonalds Lunar New Year Experience that was recently featured on Spatial.
- Live Virtual Events
Quarterly company conferences, industry events, product launches – these are all common use cases for hosting entirely virtual events. The benefits are similar to the always-on experiences listed above, as they enable more innovative content, expand the attendee pool, while also reducing the costs associated with hosting in-person events.
- Virtual Enhancement of In-Person Event
While the Metaverse is a great way to digitize your events, that doesn’t mean you need to abandon in-person experiences. There are many times where having both an in-person component and a digital component in an event can often lead to even greater success!
Last year we collaborated with Cornett, Keeneland, and Lane’s End Farm to host the first-ever thoroughbred Racehorse Metaverse Auction Experience; the effort had both an in-person and a Metaverse component. Vetted buyers were invited to the Keeneland Sales Pavilion to participate in the auction of a fractional share of Flightline, the 2022 Breeders Cup Classic champion thoroughbred race horse. These buyers were all sent Meta Quest 2 headsets so they could enter the Metaverse experience prior to, during, and after the auction. Virtual attendees were invited to join the digital twin of the Sales Pavilion, hosted in Spatial, to participate in a Metaverse auction experience where they heard live audio from the auction, viewed live stream bid-boards, and were able to see a 3D animation of Flightline. The hybrid model worked great because it allowed those with varying levels of familiarity with horse racing to learn more about the industry in general, and auctions in particular, while enjoying a pioneering use of the technology.
The Metaverse is poised to transform your digital representation of your brand. Get Real is uniquely qualified to help seamlessly adopt these technologies. To schedule your free consultation to learn more, click https://meetings.hubspot.com/eharavon