Commentary

Not Quite Up To Metaverse Yet? Use Web3 Elements Instead

Is it just me, or is the pressure to bring your brand into an augmented, digital universe getting heavier all the time?

My take is that brands need to worry less about rushing to create a presence in the metaverse and instead focus more on the ability to bring Web3 assets into their existing marketing strategies.

Let’s dive into the why -- and most importantly, how.

The current state of the metaverse 

While the novelty of the metaverse and Web3 is appealing, the virtual world itself is still evolving.  

Yet advertising in the metaverse isn’t as easy as developing an ad and placing it on social media, or even buying a IRL billboard to promote your brand or product.

In order for brands to advertise in the metaverse, they can either create their own digital universes, which can cost tens if not hundreds of thousands, or they can create metaverse versions of their ads/products to place/sell in existing digital worlds.

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Entering the metaverse is costly and risky. Many early adopter brands like Wendy’s have created metaverse experiences and have struggled to find their way, but that’s what you’d expect when you navigate uncharted territories.

The metaverse is very much a testing ground where some brands may lean into their investments, while others may pull back and rethink their strategy.

With that in mind, being in the metaverse is not a requirement to keep your brand relevant unless your customer base is already in the metaverse and really wants you there.

Bringing Web3 to Web2 audience experiences

Considering the fact that most of the world is still riding the Web2 wave, there are plenty of ways to bring futuristic, Web3-esque experiences into your advertising strategies that will show both existing and new customers how your brand is keeping up with the times.

The go-to Web3-esque advertising methods brands can bring to Web2 experiences are virtual reality and augmented reality.

One of the best ways we’ve seen this done lately is when Snapchat partnered with Live Nation to bring AR experiences to the Austin City Limits Music Festival. At the festival, attendees were able to use a virtual and immersive compass that helped them find bathrooms, food, stages and water on a real map of the space.

When you offer interactive elements as a brand, you get richer and deeper engagements with consumers.

The overall consensus

Making authentic and deep connections with people through multifaceted digital experiences that meet consumers where they are should be the goal of any modern brand manager marketer.

While we may all end up participating in events and engaging with advertising in the metaverse, how soon that happens for the bulk of advertisers and consumers is still a long way out.

As you consider entering the metaverse or the world of Web3, ask yourself if the move actually serves the mass consumer.

If you answer "no," we suggest you focus more on a blended Web3-Web2 ad strategy and less on entering the metaverse entirely.

Doing this gives you the best of both digital worlds, and with that in mind, you're bound to win.

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