Brave New World: Marketing in the Metaverse

It’s time for organizations to identify ways they can increase visibility in the virtual world through innovative brand partnerships and collaborations. 

In late 2022, Binance US, a popular crypto exchange, announced that they plan to build their own space in the metaverse platform, Portals—recreating a city space that allows users to explore buildings and interactive rooms. This collaboration is a unique and interactive way to reach a new audience and increase brand awareness, enabling Binance to deliver the latest news, charts and events, virtually.

The metaverse is a route to unique brand experiences that go beyond the physical world, as well as opening to the possibility of allowing the customers to try products before buying and supporting the sale of NFTs and real-life products in a new arena.  

For instance, in May 2021, Gucci unveiled the ‘The Gucci Garden’ on the well-known gaming platform Roblox. Modeled on its physical counterpart in Florence, the ‘garden’ showcased multiple themed rooms where users could explore and purchase digital products.

The use of billboards and banners in the metaverse can be a good avenue to subtly showcase ads, helping to increase brand recall value. 

When the U.S. brewer Miller Lite was routed out of traditional TV advertising due to a rival brand’s exclusive tie-up with the NFL, Miller Lite countered it by building a virtual bar in Decentraland, one of the foremost metaverse platforms, with its new ad premiering on the TV screens in the virtual bar.

Instead of replicating physical world marketing strategies, brands can consider a virtual-first strategy offering consumers unique metaverse experiences. These experiences can take the form of shopping in virtual outlets, trying out products digitally, transacting for virtual real estate ownership, taking vehicle test drives or hanging out with virtual avatars of loved ones.   

For example, in 2022 Nissan held a virtual unveiling of the Nissan Sakura electric mini vehicle—a digital version of its brand experience gallery in Tokyo—where fans could take the Sakura for a test drive in the metaverse.

Celebrities and influencers are extending their personal brand into the virtual world; buying land, organizing performances and concerts, selling goods and even building their own metaverse.  

American celebrity Paris Hilton created a virtual island called ‘Paris World’ inside Roblox, replicating the experience of her Beverly Hills estate—including the entire closet, which users can rent and buy for their virtual avatars. Several other performers are also riding the metaverse wave by leveraging their personal brands to engage with fans with Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and others performing live metaverse concerts. The way has been paved for more unique live music experiences.

NFTs are unique data units, backed by blockchain technology, that represent digital ownership of virtual artworks, collectibles, and real estate. Digital collectibles, such as NFTs, can function as a bridge between the real and virtual worlds because they exist virtually and have value associated either with real-world currency or cryptocurrency. 

In 2021, Nike launched into the metaverse with NIKELAND. Hosted on Roblox, the space allows users to enjoy mini-games, parks and courts. NIKELAND offers the purchase of NFTs so players can buy digitized Nike gear and customize their avatars. With this move, Nike firmly established their digital presence, while reaching new users with varied offerings and growing revenue.

The metaverse adds a new dimension to community and launch events. It can help reach larger audiences without geographical boundaries, allowing the guests to interact with each other from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, the virtual reality (VR) technologies used in the metaverse can give users a sense of togetherness.

In 2022, Hyundai held a live event in the metaverse, launching its collection Venue N-Line on Roblox. This allowed potential customers to enjoy an interactive experience while also building hype before the collection hit the showrooms.