- The global metaverse market is expected to reach $280 billion by 2025.
- In these worlds where anything is possible, Marketers need to deliver experiences that transcend the barriers of the physical realm.
- There are multiple entry opportunities into metaverses: owned experiences, partnerships, collectibles.
- A successful metaverse experience is one that ties to the experiences the brand delivers in real life.
INSIGHT
Metaverse – the term – has recently been hurled into such wide and varied use that it has come to mean something no more specific than the future. Indeed, the metaverse is tough to explain for one reason: it doesn’t necessarily exist. It’s partly a dream for the future of the internet and partly a neat way to encapsulate current trends in online infrastructure, including the growth of real-time 3D worlds. Epic Games, Roblox, Meta, Snap, and many others are racing to develop virtual communities, content, assets, fashion, art, and experiences in those worlds. While customers are prepared to trade their time and attention for experiences, marketers will have to move the conversation from what is to what could be in a metaverse where anything is possible.
MARKET ANALYSIS
According to Strategy Analytics Inc., the global metaverse market is expected to reach $280 billion by 2025, a more than six-fold growth compared to the $46 billion in 2020. The metaverse brings with it a host of opportunities for companies of all sizes – branding and marketing opportunities, new partnerships or collaborations, market expansion, customer diversification, and new product opportunities, to name a few.
EXAMPLES
1. Owned Experience:
Stella Artois worked with Zed Run in June to create a Tamagotchi-like experience crossed with the Kentucky Derby. They did this because Stella Artois is big on sponsoring sporting events, in particular horse races. Hence, creating an online platform where non-fungible token (NFT) horses are traded, raced, and bred seems like a natural entry point for them.
2. Partnerships:
The popularity of video games has made them a prime medium for luxury companies looking to connect with young shoppers. One brand that acted on this insight is Balenciaga who worked with Epic Games (Fortnite) to launch a dystopian future clothing line to the game. This is the launch of an ambitious push into fashion for Fortnite.
Other luxury brands that have newly tapped into this market are: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and Marc Jacobs.
3. Gaming for Good:
Beyond gaming, art, fashion, the metaverse could also bring people together for a good cause. When Susan G. Komen reached out to us at RedPeg to build awareness around their mission on Giving Tuesday, we conceptualized, developed, and executed the first ever “Ribbon Race”, a digital Fortnite speedrun map based on SGK’s Race for the Cure. Our Game for the Cure resulted in 11.2MM Earned Media Impressions and 7.2MM Social Media Impressions.
OPPORTUNITIES
A successful metaverse marketing experience is one that ties in with real-world experiences or parallels what the brand already does in real life. Offering branded installations and events that users can interact with, as opposed to just placing simple ads should be the entry point for any brand looking to foster its own metaverse community. Generally, people are opposed to advertising. So, while brands try to penetrate the metaverse, it’s important to not just be there, but instead create experiences that transcend the physical realm.
