Many of the marketing actions in the metaverse are linked to games. That’s because, in games, it is necessary to choose an avatar to participate in the activity.
Knowing this, companies started offering unique accessories, such as clothing, which allow you to customize avatars or create their own games stores like Fortnight, Roblox, and Sandbox.
Luxury brands seem to have been the pioneers in activating marketing actions in the metaverse based on games. The Balenciaga brand, for example, developed four virtual outfits that could wear avatars in Fortnight. However, the company was not restricted to the virtual. The brand took the opportunity to launch a physical collection based on the game that included pieces such as hoodies and hats.
Another way of marketing activities in the metaverse is through sponsorship of sports games. Beer brand Stella Artois, in the real world, already sponsored premium sports events. Online, it teamed up with the horse racing game ZED RUN and supported one of its environments, called Racing in the Life Artois.
Gucci made a similar move with the Tennis Clash game. In addition to creating costumes for the characters, the brand sponsored a court where disputes would be held during the tennis game.
Another way of marketing in the metaverse is through virtual influencers. It is worth noting that Brazil is the second country in the world that most engages with virtual influencers. Big brands, like Magali, its influencer Lu, or celebrities, have created their avatars.
For example, the virtual influencer of presenter Sabrina Sato was created with 3D technology. In addition to the possibility of generating new types of engagements and experiences with followers, the character also serves commercial purposes. Its partnerships already include brands such as Coca-Cola.
In this type of metaverse application in a company, in addition to defining issues such as personality, lifestyle, and appearance, to create virtual influencers, it is necessary to work on modeling in graphic design programs and 3D CAD software.
Metaverse In E-Commerce: New Ways To Buy
The metaverse in e-commerce can be an ally of multichannel sales. The expectation is that the technology will create virtual environments of shopping centers, where consumers can test and try products, choosing which ones they want to buy.
Currently, brands already employ more immersive experiences, which involve the use of virtual reality or augmented reality. An example is the virtual fitting rooms for clothes or glasses. Through these virtual environments, it is possible to experience products more realistically, in 2D or 3D, improving the shopping experience.
In terms of virtual tours, some brands invest in a reality close to the experience Google Street View provides. One of the brands that opted for this type of activation was the North American American Girl, which created a digital version of its physical store.
Something similar was done by the carioca brand Farm Rio with the Farm in the Cloud project. With the store image, the user can walk around the establishment, like an actual Farm store, and click on icons to view the clothes, find discount coupons and finalize the transaction right there.
The metaverse, however, would make the shopping experience even more interactive, improving the graphical and immersive aspects of an online store experience.
Unlike the companies mentioned above, the chocolate brand Lactam, in its Christmas campaign, created a 3D digital version of its store, where consumers could buy different types of chocolates. It also implemented gamification by challenging consumers to find hidden truffles and, through them, receive a discount coupon.
The Gucci brand, on the other hand, adopted a different strategy. The clothing brand has created a version of a sneaker that doesn’t exist in the physical world to be worn exclusively online. Footwear works as a kind of filter.
Metaverse And The Games
Undoubtedly, the sector in which the metaverse currently exhibits a more active presence is the games industry. It is not uncommon to see products being launched and actions being taken in the virtual world of games like Fortnight or Roblox, for example.
Perhaps because a more simplified type of metaverse has been around for quite some time in games, the 2003 virtual world platform Second Life is often described as the first metaverse, as it incorporated many aspects of social life into a persistent three-dimensional world with the user represented as an avatar.
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