Metaverse is already here and has been for some time. Obviously not to the extent presented by Marck Zuckerberg’s, now famous, presentation, and all the materials looking into the future that followed. But it’s here. There are already virtual environments that are co-created by its users, allowing them to interact with other people from around the world and present themselves using avatars that they can shape in any way they want.
The biggest difference between the metaverse of today and the one that awaits us in the world of tomorrow is the current lack of augmented reality, and that in most cases we still view it through a 2d screen rather than a 3d headset.
Since the revolution is already happening, rather than waiting for it to reach its peak, it’s worth jumping on the metaverse train as soon as possible. Especially, along with the changes that metaverse brings, and will bring, come changes in the marketing world, that we can already profit from, thanks to the advancements brought by web3.
At Adshares we’re not only already providing you with the best solutions that the web3 protocol brings for marketers, but are also looking into the future to find the best ways in which we can help you reach your clients and monetize your goods and services
Let’s take a look at some of the novelties, that marketing in the metaverse might bring.
ADS display in the metaverse
Those of us who are dealing with online marketing are well aware that one of the most valuable resources for businesses is data, which helps you reach your target audience. It is maybe still too early to say that the times of billboard campaigns towering city centers are long gone, but the way marketing is developing, we might anticipate that soon we might be saying “goodbye” to solutions created to reach wider, but unspecific audiences.
Of course, web3 along with metaverse might breathe new life to outdoor campaigns, as long as we consider the space in virtual reality being outdoor, and projections of augmented reality in the real world as being a part of it.
What is the billboard campaign’s biggest flaw? That is aimed at everyone and no one at the same time. No matter how good your copy and creation will be, in the end, most of the consumers that will see your ad won’t be interested in the product. But with virtual reality and augmented reality we can display targeted ads in a way that we know from billboards, with all the pros of an outdoor display and without the cons. How would that look? Let’s take a quick pick into pop-cultural references as we did in one of our previous blog posts.
Think Blade Runner 2049, when the main character sees ads with his “wife” in them, or “Minority Report” when the character played by Tom Cruise is identified by an ad in the subway, which speaks directly to him, using his name. Of course, we do not necessarily want to go to such extents, but those examples were supposed only to give you a vague idea of what we’re talking about. We would be probably more interested in displaying to our future customers’ products and services that they would like to buy, rather than personalizing something that they have no interest in. However, with augmented reality at our disposal, such solutions would be possible.
Just imagine all the customers potentially interested in whatever you’re selling being able to see large format advertisements after logging into the metaverse, or being projected onto their wearables! The potential for such campaigns is endless. You could, for example, target your augmented “billboards” so that they would pop up in metaverse users’ headsets of those people that are interested in products from your offer and find themselves within a specific distance of your location. This, for instance, would be a great solution for bars, coffee shops, restaurants, and other businesses dealing with providing leisure activities.
Of course, this would require us to have access to the data that would help us prepare an offer, tailored for our future clients. Fortunately, the distribution of information is another aspect of marketing that should change for the better with web3 technology in the metaverse.
Data Security in the Metaverse
Let’s be honest — very few if any of us can say with absolute certainty that we know all the subjects on the internet that have our data. That is not only due to us not being careful, but because businesses that are supposed to store and protect our data are either not treating their duties seriously, or can at any moment fall victim to hacker attacks. This includes the data that we choose to share, like our contact information and identity that is required to proceed with online transactions, as well as all the data that various subjects gather about our customer habits.
Fortunately, web3 brings a solution to this problem. Blockchain gives its users complete power and control over their personal information. You, as a customer, might choose whom to share your data with, what kind of data is this going to be, and for how long will it be available to businesses. This will profit both parties in the long run. The customers will be less unwilling to share their information, knowing that they have full control over it. Marketers on the other hand will be able to get more, high-quality data about their prospects, and therefore will be able to prepare a better offer for them, increasing the possibility of closing a successful sale. What is more, such information might prove to be very helpful not only while preparing an offer but also might help you develop your product, so that it could be a better fit for your future customers. Data protection that blockchain offers might bring us the targeted ads that we would like to view, that companies like Google or Meta promised us for so many years.
Digital Twins and authenticity in Metaverse
As technology and metaverse will develop, there is a high possibility that our real and virtual lives will become more and more intertwined. Digital twins are a response to the demand created by such circumstances.
It was already revealed that Nike has applied for patents allowing them to sell virtual sneakers, which started wide speculations, that while buying the footwear giants’ products in reality, we will be at the same time purchasing their virtual counterparts, for metaverse avatars. And they surely are and will not be the only ones. Providing customers with digital twins of the products that your company offers and doing it smartly, might become an important part of the marketing in the near future.
Especially, when you realize that with blockchain and web3, you can always be sure that you have the real deal.
One more thing that makes the web3 metaverse great is that you will never have to worry that the product that you just got, either as a real bargain or as a serious investment is just some cheap fake.
The net that blockchain provides serves as the best proof of authenticity, so you can rest assured that you got your money’s worth.
Live shopping in Metaverse
A new trend that comes from China that might become a real big deal in the metaverse is live shopping. It’s basically something that we might call a variation on infomercials, but although it might sound unappealing at first, the numbers say otherwise and make it impossible to ignore this new trend.
According to Mckinsey, the live — commerce market has grown by 280% over the course of three years, and its value is expected to reach $423 billion by 2022. Currently, it combines the power of influencers and live selling, not only using the power of creators being popular on their platforms but also often creating their own stars.
The format is influencers presenting products during live streams, testing them, and answering questions that consumers might have about the items, while at the same time making the product available for purchase.
Now just imagine combining the power of influencer marketing, that this format is already harvesting, combined with the ability to “take a look” at the product by yourself in virtual and/or augmented reality, or better yet, add a thoroughly thought through content marketing to the equation…again, the potential for campaigns that one could create seems limitless. You could present your product in a way that your customers might test it while being assisted by their favourite online personality and in an environment carefully crafted by your team, that would make it shine. Sounds promising, right?
Threats of marketing in the Metaverse
As mentioned many times in the above article, the times of metaverse might be great for both consumers and marketers.
We, as marketers, already have tools for providing great solutions for our business partners and their customers alike. The development of virtual reality and augmented reality will unlock a new level of possibilities for our creativity and an era of fantastic experiences for consumers. We might say all kinds of different things about advertisements, but we can’t imagine someone not having a favourite one. Now imagine that you could be a part of it. Metaverse users will have that chance.
And there’s only one thing, one word that we have to remember while thinking about marketing in metaverse:
Restraint
Having all those possibilities to integrate our marketing campaigns in the metaverse, what we have to have in the backs of our heads is not to overdo them and to make ads a fun part of this new reality and to cover it with them.
About Adshares
Adshares is a fully decentralized ads marketplace and RTB successor. It’s a Web3 protocol for programmatic advertisements with over 200 Million impressions per month (and growing), with 500+ publishers.
Adshares is the future of Web3 advertising. Adshares Adserver platforms allow users to rent space inside Metaverse, blockchain games, NFT exhibitions and websites. One protocol to monetize them all.
