Metaverse Marketing: 4 Trends That Big Brands Are Already Testing

According to Gartner, by 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaspace, visiting virtual shops and classes, as well as working, communicating, and having fun.

The emergence of the metauniverse is very similar to the rise of social networks in 2008-2009 when marketers were just beginning to realize the power of their impact on consumers. Now you can easily manage the whole team with a RevenueGrid salesforce inbox for outlook. And although the meta world today is just an idea that will take about 5 years to implement, many leading brands are already seriously considering what place they will occupy in the virtual world. Here are 4 marketing strategies for the meta world, including marketing for construction companies, that are already testing brands.

# 1. Getting to Know the Brand Through the Trade of Virtual Goods

People are willing to spend money on self-expression in the metaverse, as in real life. Direct-to-avatar (D2A), or the economy of direct access to the avatar, is a new business model that allows brands to sell their products to digital people or in the form of NFT.

Companies can use virtual versions of flagship products or “feel the ground” by introducing new products in the meta world, and after assessing virtual demand – launching into real production. This is a great chance for the fashion industry to become more environmentally friendly and not produce products that will deliberately be unsold.

The Roblox platform is a major player in the D2A market. Roblox has a trading platform where users can sell virtual items: accessories, clothes, and hairstyles. In 2021 alone, Roblox bought more than 5.8 billion such objects, and users updated their avatars more than 165 billion times.

In May 2021, the fashion house Gucci organized for Roblox users a virtual analog of the real installation of Gucci Garden Archetypes, which was presented in Florence.

Visitors to Gucci Garden dumped the avatars they used in the game and turned them into neutral mannequins. It symbolized the beginning of life when we all come into the new world like a blank canvas. During the walk around the location, the mannequins absorbed the elements of the exhibition. As a result, each visitor received a new, unique avatar in the style of Gucci. The location worked for 14 days.

# 2. Interaction with the Audience – as in Social Networks

The Roblox platform works like a social network – users can communicate with each other and interact in all games.

Brands looking for their place in the meta world should treat it the same as a social network. That is, to attract people and seek to interact with them. Users who play games create their own experience. The task of marketers is to introduce the brand in such a way that the person feels like the main character.

In September 2021, the Vans sportswear brand launched the Vans World virtual skate park in Roblox. The space is based on real locations – House of Vans in London and Vans Off The Wall in Huntington Beach, California.

Visitors to Vans World can perform skate tricks and get coins to buy exclusive digital items. When players return to the virtual skate park, gifts are waiting for them. For example, on the eve of Christmas, everyone who completed the quest from Santa received a gift in the form of a holiday hat.

# 3. Organization of Virtual Events

Events in the meta world allow a huge audience to interact with your brand: a virtual concert of American rapper Travis Scott on the Fortnite platform was attended by 12 million people.

However, an unlimited number of participants is not the only possibility. In the metaverse, you can embody any creative ideas, giving consumers an unforgettable experience. But if the event is not aimed at the right audience, most likely, it will not achieve the desired goal.

Russell Holly, a CNet journalist, attended the Samsung event in the meta world, but he and many others had to face difficulties: users could not log in to the Samsung 837 before the event because the store door did not open in time for all platform servers.

Most of the space was dedicated to the quest – and most people were there for that reason, not through the Galaxy S22. According to Holly, for those who regularly visit Decentraland, the novelty of the place was more important than the presentation of the phone. The brand did not provide opportunities to get advice from employees, review a novelty or order it for cryptocurrency in a virtual store.

# 4. Parallel Marketing Strategy

Marketers face a difficult task: in the meta world, it is necessary to be natural, otherwise, the audience will reject the brand. Parallel marketing can be a good starting point when the meta-universe already has the equivalent of an industry in which a company advertises in the real world.

A good example of this approach is AB InBev Corporation, which in 2021 signed an agreement with the digital racing platform Zed Run, becoming one of the first companies to support sports in the meta world. AB InBev has long sponsored sporting events: the corporation’s Stella Artois brand is the official sponsor of premium racetracks, and Budweiser has been named the king of advertising during the US Super Cup.

Zed Run users can buy digital horses using NFT, breed them, sell them and, of course, take part in races. Initially, virtual horses cost $30, but now the price can reach $165 thousand.

In partnership with Zed Run, the Stella Artois brand has provided users with a range of exclusive NFTs – a set of unique breeds with branded skins, as well as a three-dimensional racetrack. NFT Stella became part of The Life Artois’ marketing campaign in the virtual world.

According to Lindsay McInerney, global head of technology and innovation at AB InBev, the partnership with Zed Run is a logical step for the company. If Stella Artois consumers are in the meta world, the brand must also be part of this world.