Can Brands Make the Metaverse Matter?

Bertrand on Brand

Can Brands Make the Metaverse Matter?

When Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media giant would now be known as Meta, it came as somewhat of a surprise, even to some inside the organization.

Zuckerberg’s now famous keynote address broadcast from a CGI-enhanced metaverse was at times awkward and embarrassing, but it gave insight into the future of social media, and executives around the world were paying close attention, ready to embrace the Metaverse as their new marketing Minerva.

In Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote speech, he announces that he’s already in the metaverse — and soon you will be too.

To date, several dozen brands have jumped on the Metaverse bandwagon, even if most average people don’t entirely get what it is. Those that are capitalizing on this nascent social strategy know that Gen Z is already engaging with the metaverse on one level or another.

Consider that global Gen Z consumers spend 17% of their leisure time gaming — more than millennials (14%), or Gen Xers (11%) and certainly more than baby boomers (6%).[1]

That’s why metaverse gaming company Roblox is getting the lions-share of the virtual branded market. While gaming is just a metaverse entry point, it’s evolving as we speak into much more than that. Indeed, the metaverse is expected to generate up to $5 trillion in impact in the next eight years.

We’ve put together six brands we think are making the most of the metaverse and turning it into a key opportunity for market integration and community-building.

NIKE

Nike has always been at the forefront of digital transformation, starting in the early late 1990s and mid-2000’s when it experimented with Artificial intelligence (AI), e-commerce, and in-store experiential technology. Nike has always treated the world of sport and performance as a kind of supernatural embodiment of the Body as Machine. That cleaves nicely to new technology so it’s no wonder they were one of the first to embrace the metaverse.

Every year, $54 billion is spent on virtual goods, almost double the amount spent buying music. 60 billion messages are sent per day just on the Roblox platform.

In 2021, the brand introduced Nikeland, a purpose-built metaverse using a Roblox platform to allow its loyalists to meet, socialize, and take part in promotions. Here, they can engage with a whole range of brand experiences that simultaneously educate and build community. In our view, this is the purest value of the metaverse beyond its more obvious transactional opportunities.

The concept is clearly resonating with its audience: to date, nearly ten million people from 224 countries have visited Nikeland, a place that allows them to create their own avatar decked out in exclusive merchandise, and compete in games with other players. Does it matter that most of the merchandise is not available in the real world. Not at all. Consider that every year, $54 billion is spent on virtual goods, almost double the amount spent buying music. 60 billion messages are sent per day just on the Roblox platform.

Nike is building loyalty, retention, and amplifying its core brand messages 24-7, around the world.

https://www.roblox.com/nikeland

COCA-COLA

We know that soda brands aren’t winning the war on processed sugar, buts Coca-Cola Corp. isn’t going to take that lying down. They know they need to constantly convert younger and younger customers and reignite the magic that surrounds the brand’s hero beverage.

Enter “Coca-Cola Creations”, the new unit that is the brand’s global innovations platform, charged with building a culture around collaborative product development, loyalty, and community.

Here, virtual experiences are merged with physical ones, but the real emphasis is on NFTs and game-related interaction through celebrity and influencer performances, limited-edition merchandise, and the chance to explore a bespoke metaverse with like-minded people. Like Apple’s approach to making a computer the key to one’s personal creativity, Cocal-Cola is taking a page and making you in control of designing the latest flavor or can design.

Beginning in 2021, the soft-drink giant launched an NFT campaign centered around ‘loot boxes,’ — virtual goodie bags containing a variety of one-of-one digital assets – such as a branded puffer jacket wearable NFT, and other devices meant to showcase the experience of “sharing a Coca-Cola”, further underscoring the brand’s heritage. It was ambitious but not nearly as provocative as 2022’s launch of a new “pixel-flavored” soda that’s billed as “born in the metaverse”.

https://www.coca-cola.com/us/en/creations/thehub

GUCCI

Using the premise of “The Next 100 Years of Gucci”, the brand further cements itself as the ultimate luxury cool-hunter and arbiter of high art, in the form of NFTs displayed in its virtual art gallery, hosted by The Vault.

In conjunction with Discord (which bills itself as “the House of Web 3.0”), the brand offers even more exclusive experiences in Gucci Town, with limited-edition merch available for purchase via digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu.

Gucci Town marks the brand’s move into gaming with its own global gaming academy in collaboration with Faceit and the World Health Organization. Gaming — at least for now — is at the heart of the metaverse and a critical strategy for Gucci to continually expand its customer reach. Keep in mind that a large portion of Gucci fans can’t necessarily afford the merchandise — but that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to in the future.

https://blog.roblox.com/2021/05/gucci-garden-experience/

HYUNDAI

Korean car brand Hyundai was one of the first automobile companies to invest in new tech, transforming the brand into a large-scale mobility company, or “metamobility”, as they call it, marrying smart devices with virtual environments.

“Robots will act as a medium to connect the virtual and real worlds.”

The brand’s move into AR is built into Hyundai’s mandate for the future, and it’s ambitious to say the least. They envision a car that doubles as both a vehicle for transportation and entertainment; a place where you can have a meeting room or settle into some 3D video gaming. With AR, users might make interplanetary visits thanks to their avatar robot, or simply “see” their final destination on an earthly voyage.

“Robots will act as a medium to connect the virtual and real worlds,” says a spokesperson, and already the brand has introduced prototypes. Hyundai has made deep investments in the development of flying cars (with Uber as a partner) as well as an entire division dedicated to robotics. In fact, robotics will be key to their global manufacturing strategy, enabling them to communicate with robots on assembly lines and make quick changes without ever having to travel to the assembly line.

Hyundai recently announced it would invest over a $5 Billion in the U.S. market, so our bet is that we’ll see even more bolder developments transforming the role of the metaverse in mobility with robotics, AR, and autonomous driving solutions.

https://www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en/brand/hyundai-metamobility-universe

MEETKAI

The key to any AI or AR solution is in its success in marrying the real world with the digital, in a way that’s seamless and practical at its core. While gaming will continue to be instrumental in training consumers to engage with the metaverse, more and more we will see concepts that trigger people to use their mobile technology to connect with their real-world environments. Take MeetKai, whose goal is to map the real world’s physicality with an AI-enabled virtual world.

MeetKai launched with a massive billboard in New York’s Times Square, where pedestrians can scan a QR code and simultaneously explore the exact same location physically anddigitally, while exploring MeetKai’s metaverse. Their metaverse enables visitors to earn NFT’s like exclusive “keys to the City” and gift cards that can be used in both their real and AR worlds.

And that’s just the tip of the metaverse iceberg. MeetKai claims it’s end goal is to build a democratized and inclusive metaverse that will connect people to meaningful experiences — not just games or marketing ploys. Powered by AR, their vision emphasizes things like wellness, fitness, and cultural experiences, environments that “add value to day to day routines.” Who doesn’t want that?

https://meetkai.com/vr

MOXY – MARRIOTT HOTELS

This summer, Marriott Hotel’s Moxy brand launched “Moxy Universe – Play Beyond” for the Asia-Pacific region, which includes 12 properties in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines. The AR experience begins with the guest’s phone, as they create personal avatars and then interact with the hotel’s various game-related exercises within its real, built environment within their hotels, from “grab and go” snack stations to the hotel’s bar. While not the most innovative use of the metaverse, there is still a lot of ground to break for hotels using AR, so Moxy gets kudos for being the first to enter the Great Beyond.

The fact is, the hospitality industry is ripe for AI and AR, but our vision is a bit different than Marriott’s strategy. What if I am able to see and customize my room before I even get there, adding or removing a host of amenities until I’ve created a distinctly personal experience? With AI, there’s the opportunity to build a highly-detailed travel experience and establish a preference history that can easily be transferred from one property to another. With AR, one can participate in social gatherings in the hotel’s metaverse, perhaps meeting other guests who will be staying at the hotel at the same time as I am. And that’s just a small portion of what’s possible. We’ll be sharing more in future posts.

https://www.moxyuniverse.com/