The metaverse is on everyone's lips but, at the same time, no one seems to know quite what it is. From scientists prophesying the end of the world as we know it to experts who believe it will be the biggest business opportunity of the millennium.
The truth is that it is still too early to know what it will be. If we can begin to glimpse its full complexity and what the idea is that it is intended to be. metaverse Will it succeed? Or will it end up being a bluff? We are still a few years away from being able to answer this question with certainty.
What we can do now is to begin to understand how it will work and, above all, whether there is a place for our business in this new virtual world. And there probably is. Even if only in terms of advertising.
The advertising in the metaverse is on its way to becoming the new goose that lays the golden eggs. It has already developed this aspect Carlos Arenal in the previous post, our digital advertising expert. Being there will really make a difference.
But I don't just want to talk to you about digital advertisingI want to talk to you about the concept of the metaverse itself and what opportunities it can bring for your company.
What is the metaverse?
To the question of what is the metaverse we can say that it is a new virtual world. A reverse of the digital 100% reality, where you can do any of the things you do in the real world, but without the limitations of the physical world.
The great precedent of the metaverse is Second LifeAnother digital universe where people met, bought virtual houses and did different activities. However, Second Life ended up being a failure.
In front of Second Lifethe metaverse is intended to be a virtual reality much more real. This will be supported by virtual reality glasses so that we can travel through this world in three dimensions and different technological devices that will try to bring the sensations closer to our senses.
Gloves for the sense of touch, scent devices, etc. are already being developed. the experience we have in the metaverse is as real as the experience we have in the real world.. That we can touch, that we can smell, that we can feel, that we can see with no difference to what we would see, touch or feel in the real world.
However, with a big difference that is its great differential value, you can have all this universe right at home.
A world in the image of our own
As utopian as it may sound, don't think of the metaverse as a harmonious, accessible and enjoyable place for everyone. In the metaverse, as already happened in Second LifeEverything is for sale and practically everything is going to cost money.
Don't think about the metaverse as a place to live out the fantasy of being a rich heir to a Central European castle. You can have a castle, you can smell the winter snow, you can wear medieval armour, but you will have to pay for the castle, for the weather and for the clothes you wear.
You can imagine yourself doing snorkelling in the Maldives. But you will have to pay for access to these sensations. Or a completely invented or fictional world, for example, on a planet of Stars Wars or in front of the Game of Thrones.
For the time being, the following are being created thematic areas. There are, for example, areas dedicated to fashion and art. Different galleries and designers are buying space there to mount exhibitions. If you want your house in the metaverse If you have a certain painting, as in real life, you will have to go to the gallery and buy it. If you want a certain garment for your avatar, the same thing.
Being a fully digital worldthe possibilities multiply. You no longer have to worry about raw materials, in the metaverse the only thing that matters is the energy needed to keep it going (and that is the only thing that matters). Nor has it been without controversy).
This problem is already occurring with the cryptocurrenciesThe new currency, which is likely to be the currency operating in the metaverse, but work is already underway to find greener solutions.
How does my company enter the metaverse?
Being more or less clear how the metaverse works (and bearing in mind that there is still a long way to go and that technologies such as touch and smell are still at an experimental stage), it is time to ask ourselves what we can do to participate in it.
The first thing you have to ask yourself is if your product or service has a place in the metaverse. For example, if you are a fashion designer, you know that you can transfer your designs to the digital world. But, of course, you will need an expert to create the metaverse version of your garments.
If you are a TRAVEL AGENCYYou may be able to organise your own journeys through the metaverse, visiting different neighbourhoods and allowing you to enjoy different experiences. And with never-before-seen possibilities. Perhaps a trip around the world, a journey through the desert followed by a trip to the pole or the jungle, or simply through fantasy worlds.
A restaurant, on the other hand, will have to wait for the development of taste technology in the metaverse. It is being tried, will it succeed? We shall see.
If, like us, you are a digital marketing agencyyou will of course be able to make your marketing and advertising campaigns in the metaverse. And with a much wider range of possibilities than ever before.
Advertising in the metaverse for real life
Another way to use the metaverse is to advertise in it for real life. People will continue to work outside the metaverse and will continue to consume outside the metaverse, both products and services.
So maybe those moments when they are in their leisure time in this alternative world are the most appropriate moments to impact them. It remains to be seen what the privacy policy will be and what specific data we will have, but it will probably be possible to carry out very good segmentations.
Being clear about our customer archetypes will allow us to go and advertise in those places where we know they will be. And, there, to be one of the pioneers in offering our advertisement.
If all goes as expected, advertising in the metaverse will be what allows it to function. And even if at a given moment the metaverse advertising will be mostly from the metaverseThere will also be room for advertising for physical or digital businesses that are not there.
Hybrid models
On the other hand, we must also mention the hybrid models. Think of a clothing shop, for example. You can't just advertise the clothes and sell them through the metaverse like you do on Instagram.
You can also, on the one hand, sell the metaverse version for the avatar, but what is much more interesting (at least for our current analogue mentalities), is that you can try on the clothes virtually before ordering your physical garment.
Giants such as Inditex, H&M and virtual marketplaces such as ASOS will be pioneers in this technology, but the idea that they have from TargetThe main challenge for the developers is to make the technology affordable enough so that even small ecommerce can benefit from it.
That would be the success of the project, that you can not only try on the clothes of a big corporation in the metaverse, but also discover new emerging talents with small boutiques located in every corner of the world.
The key to the success of the model is to bring those things closer to you that would not be possible in any other way. For example, you can go to a place similar to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and choose from the comfort of your own home, but live the experience thanks to Augmented Reality.
Only one possibility
The metaverse is proving so popular because it gives people the opportunity to dream. However, it should not be forgotten that much of the technology it needs to be truly revolutionary is still under development.
You can already buy plots in the metaverse, you can already make announcements and you can already start to enjoy this virtual alternative space, but we have to keep in mind that, for the moment, we are facing something similar to what was offered by Second Life.
And we already know that Second Life failed in the face of something apparently much simpler like Facebook. So we must also be cautious. We have to wait and see if the billions of dollars that Mark Zuckerberg is investing in developing the idea have the optimal result.
If they succeed, it is clear that the world as we know it will change. But it has already changed, for example, with the advent of social media. If it is too ambitious and remains a wishful thinking, it will serve as a warning for the future.
Be that as it may, it is a process worth watching, worth participating in and worth discovering each and every one of the ramifications it can have for business. There are only two potential impediments: that it may not be cheap enough to be accessible and that people may not be interested in it.
Otherwise, goodbye world, hello metaverse.
