Metaverse. A word with which we could associate an infinity of definitions, an incalculable number of notions and various functionalities. However, we can try to explain what it was, what it is now and what we could envision for its future. When we talk about the Metaverse, we hear
video games, NFT, cryptocurrency, virtual reality,... We especially hear the word “complexity”, mostly because we don’t understand it. Sometimes we even fear it because it constitutes a significant change, a kind of fuzzy
digital revolution that seems to once again upset everything we thought we knew. Yet it is only a revolution if it is sudden and violent. The metaverse, on the other hand, has developed quite slowly, and a bit secretly.
The idea has been lingering in the minds of avant-gardist minds for decades. An
interlacing of virtual universes ? A copy of our world where we could create our
own universe with infinite possibilities ? An
escape from our so rational surroundings?
This subject therefore raises many questions, which we asked ourselves as we gradually discovered what this concept is on its own. It was then necessary to understand how our communication and advertising will adapt to a progressive switch in our link to the virtual. How are brands and agencies going to
adapt, how are they going to
innovate and use these tools and this access to bring
new creative opportunities.
Many questions arose during our research process and we’ve gathered them and their answers in a folder named
Breaking the codes of Metaverse. The following articles have been written by
Ana Alexandrescu,
Lena Baranzini,
Erin De Rouck and
Zoé Guyon. These four Master’s students in Advertising and Commercial Communication (IHECS) will guide you through their discovery journey surrounding the metaverse.
Avatars created with
Ready Player Me.
According to Wunderman Thompson's
"Into the Metaverse" report,
advertising will be one of the sectors impacted by the metaverse.
Metaverse can be a solution to stop spamming consumers with ads and instead offer them an experience with added value and thus create an authentic link between the brand and the consumers.
Eva Devos, co-CEO of Publicis Groupe Belgium, also says in an
previous article around recruiting Web3 talent via analog phone, "Brands and agencies are going to play a critical role in the transition from the real world to the virtual world, especially if they fully understand what drives people into that world."
But what is it really? How are brands appropriating this technology for marketing and advertising purposes?
This new environment leads to new advertising spaces. This is something that brands and agencies are not overlooking. More and more brands are tempted to enter the metaverse and try a different approach. Indeed, the metaverse allows more freedom thanks to its unlimited size and infinite possibilities. The metaverse is another way to interact with brands. This way, brands can add their touch to create a unique experience for consumers. 3D is an opportunity for brands to connect with consumers in a fun and meaningful way. Activations can be more diverse.
But how do you know if it's right for a brand to make use of this technology?
Geoffrey Hennaut, Market & Insights Analyst at Havas, tells us the 4 main questions you should ask yourself that determine success in the metaverse according to him.
The first step is to focus on the why. The brand must really understand its reasons to launch in the metaverse although the novelty is appealing. This reflection will also enrich the strategy afterwards.
Next, the brand needs to look at the expectations. Is this brand expected in such a technology? Some sectors may make more sense to be on the metaverse than others.
Then, the focus is on the experience. The brand must bring additional value to the consumer. It's the truth, people don't particularly like advertising, so the brand must find a way to make it more appealing to the consumers. The metaverse bring a lot of opportunities to make advertising differently.
And finally, the brand must question the process of this approach. This is a point to be made upstream to evaluate the different costs, the number of people needed, etc. It can be a certain investment of money and time. It is therefore important to include these aspects in the reflection and strategy.
These steps reflect a point of view which can guide you in your way into the metaverse. Nevertheless, it allows us to clearly project ourselves into the vast universe of the metaverse. In reality, there are no set rules. Brands have the freedom to launch according to their objectives and expectations.
The ways of thinking and strategizing do not change, but the mediums to communicate do.
However, brands need to adapt their campaign according to the rules and codes of the platform. Like every communication channel, the metaverse has its codes. It is therefore necessary to understand them well in order to use them effectively. Not considering them, may make the campaign miss its objectives.
The metaverse would become one channel/touchpoint among many others to reach a certain target. For the moment, it is a niche channel, so the audience is very specific. But with the evolution of the technology and new interests emerging (its democratization), newer targets will be available.
But what can brands do in the metaverse?
Well, a lot of things. The options will be based on the strategy and objectives.
You have probably already heard about the concerts organized in the metaverse. They allow us to revisit the way of doing social events. Metaverse gives the possibility to live the experience through an avatar.So if the brands want to make an event or a sponsoring they can now make it in a virtual world.
Some brands blend in with the sceneries of the different worlds. Just as we could find OOH in our world, we can find virtual OOH in the player's universe. This kind of advertising helps to avoid adblockers. Therefore, make it possible to reach a target that would normally not be attainable. Thus, banners or advertising videos can be directly embedded in the universe, especially in the billboards.
Proximus launched Fiber Hyper Run in the game Fortnite to launch its Fiber offer. The goal? The consumer must manage to navigate through a world by avoiding obstacles and climbing levels. Throughout the adventure, the consumer will see Proximus billboards. This case demonstrates the possibility for brands to combine several touchpoints in the metaverse.
Other brands focus on the decentralization of their stores. The idea is to give users the opportunity to have access to your store and brand in the metaverse. This allows consumers to experience the brand in a new way. There is a real possibility to decentralize their physical stores in the digital world. Consumers have then the possibility to buy items in the metaverse and receive them in real life. The items can also be used for their avatars.
According to the study conducted by the Vista Group, 55% of Belgians would like to find the possibility to buy online in the metaverse. Thus, it also emerges from the study that the flourishing businesses will be in the field of fashion (51%), electronic sectors (36%), small grocery stores (29%), furniture stores (23%) and bookstores (23%).
JBC has also not put aside Fortnite by opening a store on the platform. But the brand does not know how to stop there, it has put users to the test. Several missions are set up with V-bucks and JBC gift cards.
JBC does not stop at Fornite, but also launches on Roblox. Consumers are offered a store, several interactive games, a community for children and a stage. The brand has set up a virtual concert of the Flemish singer Camille where it was shown the new JBC collection.
JBC spokeswoman, Katrien Vangrunderbeeck PR & Communication Officer at JBC, expressed the fact that these initiatives were able to reach their young targets, where newsletters sent to parents were not very effective.
This JBC world, developed with the specialized agency yondr, allows a certain potential notably concerning the virtual clothes. Mathias Van Dosselaer, co-founder of yondr also comments that "The metaverse, or rather the three-dimensionalization of our Internet, is booming, especially among the younger generation. Entertainment, retail and advertising are the top three sectors that will be most affected by the metaverse. So from a strategic standpoint, it's a very strong choice on the part of JBC and Camille to present their partnership to their target audience in this way."
The Belgian brand
Les Vilains has also launched into phygital fashion.
Les Vilains offers a showroom in Spatial to discover their new collections. Consumers receive an NFT when they buy a physical t-shirt from the collection. Thus, the brand sees this as a possibility that avatars wear their collections. The NFT also provides a guarantee to consumers by allowing them to have the garments repaired or made into a new piece.
And why not create your own universe?
Some brands opt to create their own universe or games on a platform.
This is the case for
ING and the
Belgian Football Union who have created a red devil universe on
Roblox. This project aims to bring together fans and non-fans around a large soccer stadium, small fields and a concert hall. In it, Users are invited to take up challenges.
During the
MM tech1 event, Frédéric Martins, former Head of Media & Production at ING Belgium, and Sophie Nicaise, Senior Media & Marketing Communication Consultant at ING Belgium, indicated the desire of the bank to accompany the initiative of the RBFA Federation to arrive in the virtual world.
The objective of the Federation was to work on the image of the organization and to connect with their younger target.
Fashion brands are not left out.
H&M invests in Roblox with Loooptopi. The brand offers an immersive experience to consumers by putting in place several activities such as games, styling sessions, etc. As Linda Li Steiner, Head of Customer, Marketing & E-Commerce at H&M Americas, explained in a
previous article, "People who buy and wear H&M clothing are increasingly spending time in virtual spaces and digital worlds. In the coming years, H&M will continue to break into this rapidly expanding space." This proves the importance of this channel to reach an increasingly connected target.
This freedom leads to very successful cases but also to bitter failures
Some brands or organizations have taken the plunge and ventured into the metaverse. But it has not necessarily been a great success.
Let's take the example of the European Commission which opted for the realization of a platform and a virtual party in a virtual world. The idea was to reach out to young people by offering them a place to think about big issues. But the project, including the concert, was not a great success. This was caused by the lack of added value offered to the user. The users had the possibility to choose an avatar and walk around the island with some interactions with information about the European organization.
This is also the case for Carrefour, which bought a piece of land in The Sandbox video game. It is far from being the only one to have settled there. Adidas as well as Warner Music also have parcels of in the game. Each brand can decide what to do on this site. Carrefour has decided to set up a recruitment process through this universe. But the initiative of Carrefour has raised a lot of criticism and has not really caused a great interest of the users.
How is the allocation of advertising space done?
For the time being, it is the platforms that take on the role of gatekeeper to avoid too much advertising. This regulation allows not to hinder the good experience of the users and to avoid spam.
For now, this technology is still new. Therefore the prices to realize a campaign is still relatively low. Few brands are in this technological field, so there is still a lot of space available. The supply is therefore greater than the demand, this dynamic is advantageous for the brands.
Launching into the metaverse can only be positive because it creates awareness and buzz around the brand and its project. By taking the initiative to implement themselves in the metaverse, brands are showing that they are still innovative. Pioneering brands will benefit from a choice of place and positioning, and will also be able to establish their expertise.
But do many brands take the plunge?
Geoffrey Hennaut, quoted above, also clarified the landscape of the brands present on the metaverse. A lot of brands are questioning themselves and are hesitant to embark on this adventure. For the moment, it's mostly big brands with a certain budget that have launched themselves in this direction.
For example, many fast-food brands have not hesitated such as KFC, Burger King. These sectors do not hesitate to offer fun experiences that match their tone of voice. The idea is to match their brand identity but offer a different experience.
Luxury brands are also very present. Trendy brands such as Nike or Adidas are also trying to establish their expertise.
The Belgian sector is more reluctant to embrace new technologies. But agencies are discussing and informing different companies about this new technology to work on potential new projects.
How do Belgian agencies position themselves in the face of the emergence of the metaverse?
Most agencies are informed about its progress and are ready to discuss this broad topic. The idea is to start the conversation to attract interested brands. Others who have already taken a head start or were already focused on gaming have more expertise on the subject.
Then, we wondered if a lot of brands were coming to the agencies for more information.
Havas informed us that on their side not a lot of brands come to ask questions . But the agency has organized events to inform about the metaverse and its possibilities. And from these events, the interest, and the attraction that brands have for this subject is clear. However, brands do not take the first step by themselves as they do not master the subject.
Publicis Groupe has enlarged its team with the
avatar Leon having the role of
Chief Metaverse Officer. He will be present to best serve Publicis clients and employees.
Arthur Sadoun, CEO of Publicis Groupe expressed in a
previous article : "The metaverse is not an end in itself, it is a real-time learning experience for everyone. It requires questioning, learning and experimenting. We accompany our clients in this discovery to help them understand the opportunities offered by this new universe, by bringing them all our expertise in Web 3.0 data, media and technology. Leon, our avatar, will help our clients navigate this virtual world and understand it a little better every day.” It is a way to bring a different and enriching support to customers.
The metaverse is therefore intriguing. Now the future will tell us what turn it will take for the various Belgian brands.
Written by Erin De Rouck,
Master's student in Advertising and Commercial Communication (IHECS)
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