Metaverse, 7 applications that are already a reality

Since Mark Zuckerberg announced it last October, the conversation around the metaverse and its possibilities has not stopped growing. At the moment, the bulk of the debate is reduced to that: to the possibilities, to the theory.

From /Boost, a unit specializing in strategy and digital marketing of the technology consultancy firm Stratesys, they have drawn up a list of applications from the metaverse to experiential marketing that are already possible and measurable.

“At the moment, at /Boost by Stratesys, we feel more comfortable exploring the development of experiences in controlled environments and projects, where we do not face the fringes that still remain at the level of legislation and taking advantage of partnership models with developers who have time designing platforms and environments for digital interaction”, explains Zahira Tomasi, Associate Director of Creative Strategy at /Boost.

Metaverse and real applications

Market studies suggest that 70% of brands will have a presence in the metaverse in one way or another in a period of 5 years. The 360º connection model towards which they are walking involves connecting physical reality and digital reality on two levels: experience and business.

The reality that has already been taking shape in recent years -paying to enrich the experience in digital environments- means that the former has a certain advantage over the latter. Stratesys presents 7 applications that are already a reality:

• Real-time event upgrade: It consists of giving a physical event a digital dimension, either to enjoy a live performance by a musician who is actually remote, or to purchase a digital product (art exhibitions linked to the event).
• Positioning strategies: The current paradigm of product searches, with the prominence of voice and text, could take a turn towards greater relevance of visual positioning. Visual search is a content search modality in which images are used as inputs instead of texts. Thus, a user can upload a photo, screenshot or any generic image to a visual search engine to find related content.

Metaverse and marketing: 7 applications that are already a reality

• Promotional actions: Again, integrating the 2 worlds. A common use case is to use promotional codes redeemable in the real world and vice versa (physically generated and redeemable on the platform).
• Content Marketing: Development of specific actions linked to new virtual content and its consumption by different types of users.
• Influencer marketing: There are already companies managing the relationship of brands in the metaverse with digital influencers who will have their ‘virtual twin’ at the service of the needs of these macros. When there is a significant audience, this will be a common model.
• Ad hoc campaigns: Again, algorithms will play a fundamental role in drawing advertising in the metaverse. But, initially, the appearance of advertising and banners integrated into the experience will be the norm.
• D-commerce strategies (decentralized commerce): In the end, the metaverse will be a new stage for d-commerce. We will be able to acquire services and products directly on the platform / experience without the need to be redirected to a purchase platform to use.

Nikeland Roblox

To understand how many of these applications work in practice, we can look at Nikeland, the immersive experience that Nike created on the Roblox platform in 2021. The brand offered an immersive digital experience with virtual items capable of enriching it.

In addition, it connected the digital environment with real life by promoting physical movement, collected through hardware to complete the virtual experience. On the other hand, it offered a new consumption model: D2A (Direct-to-Avatar) with a digital showroom with Nike products for your avatar.

And, again, it went from the virtue to the physical bringing the Nikeland experience to its ‘Nike’s House of Innovation’ through augmented reality