Imagine walking on the street and realizing that you need a product. Say your name and suddenly a vending machine appears with that product and its variants. You stop, choose an item (then it will be sent to your home) and keep walking.
Again: imagine two people. One offers to go to the store, the other doesn't remember the name and type of product she needs. But his brain-computer interface remembers it, and transmits the name of the product to the other person's device, along with the stores and aisles where it is located. Welcome to the metaverse.
An alternative digital reality in which people work, play and socialize.
You can call it metaverse, mirror world, AR Cloud, Magicverse, space Internet, but one thing is certain: is coming and it's a big deal.
Try searching online for the term "metaverse" and you will find different definitions, both in English and Italian. Wikipedia obviously mentions Neil Stephenson (the father of this word) and defines it as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually improved physical reality and physically persistent virtual space.
The word “metaverse” is a portmanteau of the prefix “meta” (meaning beyond) and “universe”; the term is typically used to describe the concept of a future version of the Internet composed of persistent, shared, and connected 3D virtual spaces in a perceived virtual universe.
If you're having trouble getting an idea, here's a concept video from Adobe with some examples of what it might look like.
Welcome to the metaverse, the mirror world
Almost 30 years have passed since Neal Stephenson's science fiction novel, and today the metaverse is in full construction. Kevin Kelly of Wired wrote a very beautiful piece in 2019: the eloquent title was "Welcome to the mirrorworld".
In it, he describes how augmented reality will unleash the next big technology platform. In essence, “we are building a 1:1 scale map of the world. Something of an almost unimaginable scale. When complete, our physical reality will merge with the digital universe.”
In other words, prepare to bring your digital twin to live in the “digital twin” of your home, your country, and so on. Or more pleasant versions, who knows. Like “Sims” of colossal proportions.
Where is the metaverse?
Today, the metaverse is a shared virtual space where people are represented by digital avatars (think of the book and/or movie “Ready Player One”). The virtual world constantly grows and evolves based on the decisions and actions of the company within it. Eventually, people will be able to enter the metaverse, 100% in virtual reality or by interacting with parts of it with the help of augmented reality or mixed reality.
Leslie Shannon, trendsetter for Nokia, referred to the importance of the metaverse, or spatial internet, in a recent speech. Shannon said that “Spatial Internet is the culmination of everything that AR and VR are developing today. It's the idea of taking information about historical things, places, or events and actually locating that information out there in the world where it's most relevant. ”
Augmented reality and virtual reality will therefore be the ways in which we will have access to this new information level.
We marketing and communications professionals need to pay attention to the metaverse, because it is the next frontier of online interaction.
The parallel revolution
Just as social media has revolutionized the online marketing landscape, the metaverse will be not a new way, but THE new way. And while we don't currently have a shared metaverse, there are companies that are positioning themselves to create it.
Fortnite, Minecraft e Animal Crossing they are now only formally games. The enormous user base, the detail of the scenarios and the user-generated content make them the heirs of that “Second Life” which made its appearance almost 20 years ago.
Facebook is also positioning itself towards the metaverse with its virtual reality social media platform, Horizon (currently in beta). Niantic, Magic Leap, Microsoft and many others follow at some length.
A small boost to this trend was also given by the pandemic. I've personally attended business and family meetings on Zoom, but I also know of vernissage on Animal Crossing , degrees in Minecraft and other similar practices.
One example of how the metaverse is starting to manifest itself in entertainment was 's recent Bigger Love virtual concert John Legend. 500.000 live participants who cheered a virtual version of the artist and raised money for charity.
How will this trend evolve in the various directions?
Economy
Companies will take their marketing strategies from online ad purchases to existing ones in a shared virtual economy. They will start doing market research on their customers in the metaverse. How people act and what their preferences are in the metaverse could be totally different from the behaviors and purchases they make in real life.
Add to this the ability to interact (in the metaverse will be easier) bots and virtual assistants directly with customers, and you will understand the endless possibilities of these developments.
Yes, of course there will also be advertisements and advertisements in the metaverse, but brands will even contribute to the construction of the metaverse itself. Frederic Descamps, CEO of Manticore Games, said: “Brands and creativity play a central role in Ready Player One too. Companies will have to have responsibility and ethics to avoid transforming that parallel world into continuous advertising." Not easy.
sociability
As in the real world, even in the metaverse people will develop an awareness, indeed: a social culture. In December 2019, the GTA V has released virtual clothes for the characters which looked similar to those worn by Hong Kong protesters.
In the game, players dressed as Hong Kong protesters took to the (fictional) streets of Los Santos. Black suits, yellow helmets and gas masks have staged a rebellion. The Chinese players, in response, dressed up their characters as cops and went .. to crack down on the protesters in the game!
In the metaverse, people won't just wander around alone. They will have friendships, relationships (with other people, or with Bots) that will influence their decisions.
Brands will also have to adapt to relational styles and interactions. The phenomenon of "personification" of brands, today in embryonic form with the moderation of companies on social media, will become even more direct. Three-dimensional, to be precise.
In the metaverse, brands will no longer be able to hide behind the scenes with advertisements, advertisements and pre-made products. They themselves must be nice and helpful.
Shopping
Online shopping is a fact already today, let alone in the metaverse. To the current opportunities we will certainly add the possibility of try on clothes and accessories in virtual mode . Items like homes or vehicles will also have their value. Companies will have to design brands for different people and different wealth brackets.
People who invest in the metaverse will be able to open their own businesses, own properties and make money by driving companies that perhaps will not even exist in physical reality.
Fashion houses and virtual designers will be able to enter a completely new market, which will transform the relationship with our identity in ways that were not previously possible.
Fun
In Fortnite, you can see real-world celebrities playing, and see players becoming celebrities themselves.
People will follow brands in the metaverse if they feel they have a connection, not because of the need for a product or service.
Food fight
In November 2018, the US fast food chain Wendy's organized a “Food Fight” mission in Fortnite and broadcast it live on Twitch.
Wendy didn't appear in the game, but asked players to fight (and devastate) the restaurant featured in the mission. It was called Durr Burger, an obvious reference to a well-known rival brand. With this initiative, Wendy's went from zero followers on Twitch to over 7.400, and recorded approximately 43.500 comments during the game.
Jimmy Bennett, Wendy's senior director of media and social, said he didn't pay to get these fans on Twitch. He believes it is more tiring to seek paid promotions than natural awareness raising actions. “We didn't put a lot of money into supporting it because we were able to organically lean into the experience.”
This is the kind of mentality that brands can / will have to adopt in the metaverse.
The metaverse in a nutshell
a new phase of the internet will be born, and it will have huge implications for society. Marketing and communications professionals will face new challenges but will also have new opportunities. The new era of the metaverse will unleash extraordinary creativity and open new frontiers and horizons.
