Despite crypto collapses and Meta’s layoffs, many brands will still be looking to metaverse as an emerging channel to connect with younger audiences this year.
While it is still early days, 54% of technology experts surveyed by Pew Research, expect the metaverse will be “a much-more-refined and truly fully-immersive, well-functioning aspect of daily life for a half billion or more people globally” by 2040.
“The market size of the metaverse is huge – $39 billion+ with more than 400 million users,” says Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing & communications officer at Mastercard. “With consumers spending more time in virtual worlds, as marketers, we need to bring our brand into these spaces in impactful ways. The opportunities are limitless, and brands should start investing, planning and experimenting.”
Whether it is Mastercard providing metaverse-based payments, Claire’s Shimmerville game in Roblox or General Mills brand Gushers selling limited edition sneakers exclusively in the metaverse, brands have begun experimenting with the potential of the metaverse as a viable outlet to engage consumers. These interactive environments are less about pushing a message than helping facilitate the fun. While it is still early days, expect brands to continue to dip their toes in the metaverse in 2023.
Kristin Patrick, EVP/chief marketing officer of Claire’s explains, “We try to go to as many places as the consumer is in where they’re shopping so that was really what led to our foray into the metaverse. Our consumers are on Roblox in a big way and so it was almost a natural next extension. When we think about the future of retail and shopping experience, it’s really that crossover in terms of the consumer journey, and linking the physical to the digital world.”
“We’re excited about the possibilities within a mature metaverse for people to experience brands in immersive ways,” adds Doug Martin, chief brand & disruptive growth officer at General Mills. “For now, we see it as experimental. We want to be sure we show up in a way that adds value to a user’s experience. This means taking the time to understand the shopping journey for people connecting virtual and physical worlds before fully jumping into it.”
2023 will likely be a year of trial and error for brands looking to understand these connections and what kinds of interactions make sense.
“The metaverse is still a very new space, so we are testing what does and doesn’t work and learning how our consumers want to be reached in virtual worlds,” explains Rajamannar. “For example, sometimes, we experiment with how the metaverse can help us scale to new audiences. Other times, it’s about complementing and contextualizing that live physical experience. By integrating metaverse pilots naturally into broader sponsorship moments like Pride Month, the Australian Open or GRAMMYs, we are reaching and engaging more consumers than we would have through in-person activations alone.”