JP Morgan bets on the metaverse and calls it a $1 trillion annual opportunity in a recent report – and it puts its money where its mouth is, opening the first ever bank in the virtual world. It is a strong indicator of the opportunities for brands and businesses in the growing decentralized metaverse economy as they strategically enter this new space.
What does that look like? Yonatan Raz-Fridman, CEO of Supersocial and host of the Into the Metaverse podcast, sat down with Marty Berman, vice president of North America/LATAM for LandVault to explore what this means for brands now taking the step to attend. to be in blockchain-based metaverse-type platforms – from gaining a foothold to developing a long-term metaverse strategy.
“So many brands now see the metaverse as an extension of the Internet, the next version of the Internet, but it’s just not there yet,” explains Berman. “It’s not a scale-and-reach capability right now. There are not 70 million consumers there. It’s about quality over quantity – it’s about inviting consumers to experience your brand in a new and exciting way, which you just can’t do in other media.”
The decentralized metaverse, which includes platforms such as Decentraland, Sandbox, Somnium Space, TCG World, and more, is all about community and built on blockchain ownership. They are digital experiences that initially emerged from gaming spaces like Minecraft, but have come to embrace a variety of social worlds and events, whether you’re using a VR headset or in a browser.
Decentrally, the metaverse consists of a wide range of platforms and the number of platforms will only increase in the coming years. What’s happening now is an opportunity, within those ecosystems, to determine how much land is available for companies to buy or lease, and then build value on that piece of virtual real estate.
It’s important to understand that these are real economies, Berman said, and land values will fluctuate, especially here in the beginning. That’s why brands should consider land as a long-term asset, or consider leasing short-term or long-term for testing and learning. Leasing also means brands are not locked into one platform as the market grows and new platforms are launched. LandVault gambles in the long run by buying and leasing land, confident that land ownership will ultimately generate value from an economic point of view.
Best practices for brands ready to take the plunge
What does a metaverse brand experience look like? Rather than replicating real-world encounters in the metaverse, it creates what Berman calls “digital experiential.”
“From a best practice perspective, you have to take that web2 lens off and really look at it from a web3 perspective: what is the platform capable of?” says Berman. “The question is how can we push the boundaries of technology and the capabilities of each platform to take advantage of and leverage these new experiences?”
It takes a deep dive to find out what your platform can do and how you can take advantage of it to represent your brand. You need to figure out how to measure this in terms of success within that web3 lens, how to leverage current initiatives within that space and bring them to life in a way that illuminates your brand in a three-dimensional way.
Brands can engage consumers in brand new metaverse opportunities, such as reward quests, a place to earn or buy wearables or NFTs, a place to socialize and play with other fans of the brand. It is especially important to always keep the end goal in mind while building: what will keep users coming back after their first visit? From that perspective, it’s about pushing the boundaries of technology and the capabilities of each platform to find brand new ways to excite a visiting consumer.
One of the most successful strategies for leading consumers to new metaverse experiences is to build them as part of an ongoing initiative. Berman pointed to the success of Pride Plaza by Mastercardwhich was hailed by Ad Age as one of The Best Metaverse Builds of June 2022.
Why brands should start now
Establishing a presence in the metaverse is a longer-term commitment, Berman said. It’s also a brand new challenge. You go from a consumer selling point of view to an invitation to connect in a whole new world, building an interactive story rather than a one-way conversation. That takes time to click.
“As I like to say, aim small now and miss small now,” Berman says. “Right now is the opportunity to get in and for the consumer. Think of it as an 18-24 month journey that you will take with your brand and your team to understand what consumers are interacting with. Before this kicks in, you want to be able to understand what’s on your consumers’ minds so you can iterate and test and learn as you build on the experiences.”
