Starcom Offers On-Ramps To The Metaverse, Albeit Via Podcasts

Publicis Media's Starcom unit is doing a deep dive into the Metaverse -- releasing a series of podcast episodes as well as a new report discussing how the next new iteration of virtual media might impact brands, as well as the overall media industry.

"The term 'metaverse' represents a vision of the next stage of the internet, where people can meet, work, be entertained and find information either in an alternative virtual space, or via a digital layer over the physical world," reads the report, titled "Future Tensions In The Metaverse," which draws on its seminal science fiction roots -- from Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" to "The Matrix" -- as a point of orientation, but strives to put it into practical terms for advertisers and their brands.

"A decade ago, advertisers had to prepare for a mobile-first world," it explains, adding: "Many can recall the confusion and skepticism surrounding the mobile internet. Today, the call is to prepare for the metaverse world(s). The speed of change is staggering, not only in tech investment and innovation, but also in consumer behavior."

The agency's analysts and the report's authors argue that the shift had already began to accelerate when the COVID-19 pandemic forced "lockdown periods" supercharging the adoption and sophistication of "digital alternatives to real world experiences in all aspects of our lives -- from dining, working, shopping, and socializing," emphasizing: "No advertiser will have an audience that won’t be affected by these metaverse ambitions in someway."

In an accompanying podcast series (see below), the agency's experts offer more guidance, from some basic definitions to projections and scenarios for the meta implications.

"We aim to show how brands will need to adapt the way they communicate to connect in the right ways, particularly through media execution and advertising," says Starcom U.K. CEO Nadine Young.

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