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Marketers might be feeling the pressure to develop a
presence in the metaverse, and that means getting to grips with Web3. In many
ways the interconnected virtual worlds of the nascent metaverse are an
evolution of existing experiences between brands, artists and audiences. But of
course, it is also more complicated than that.
“Web3 is compelling enough to command attention but daunting
enough to stall many efforts before they even start, especially for brands that
are tasked with other strategies, executions, and KPIs,” says Cathy Hackl,
a tech futurist writing at Forbes.
Although storytelling remains the primary link between a
brand and its audience, Web3 does throw a few wrenches into the works.
Alongside Jeremy Gilbertson, who describes himself as a “Metaverse
Methodologist,” Hackl offers a framework to help brands understand Web3 and
create an informed position to develop and deliver tangible ideas in the
metaverse.
“The most difficult part for brands is trying to take a
stance on something that is being built in real-time by the entire community,”
says Gilbertson.
Here are the three major considerations Gilbertson and Hackl
outline within their brand framework to help marketers claim a stake in the
metaverse:
Define the Metaverse for Your Brand
Define what the metaverse actually means for your brand.
Gilbertson explains, “while there are many interpretations of the metaverse,
the most important definition is the one created by your team. Blanket
definitions can serve as inspiration, but it’s not as simple as grabbing pieces
of existing copy.”
To get to this point it is advised that marketers build “a
nimble, interdisciplinary, internal Web3 team.” Although, that is surely easier
said than done.
Buy or Build?
Decide whether to buy or build a metaverse platform. That’s
because a core part of what Web3 means is the migration of ownership from a
platform to the creator.
“Instead of populating platforms with your intellectual
property, you now are the platform,” says Hackl. “You can control your instance
of the metaverse by building your own experiences or buying that ability from
instances that already exist.”
Gilbertson advocates a strategy that combines both buying
and building. For example, brands can launch pop-up experiences on metaverse
platforms like Decentraland or The Sandbox.
“Compelling experiences require a community of users
interacting in interesting ways, and unless you have a deeply engaged community
eagerly awaiting your next project, you should meet the users where they are,”
he says. “I like a hybrid approach of creating pop-up installations in these
worlds to experiment and build community before driving traffic to your own
presence in the metaverse.”
One of the main challenges facing marketers and the
metaverse is an audience not in the least savvy with Web3 protocols. For
example, majority of any non-Web3 native brand’s audience doesn’t have a wallet
for crypto which is necessary for trading within a Web3 economy.
“Is your audience Web3 curious or are they Web3 averse?”
poses Gilbertson. “By understanding this, brands can create strategies that
align with their audience’s fluency in Web3, and they can be an onboarding ramp
authentically through their activations.”
So instead of approaching Web3 as a money grab or to combat
an instance of FOMO, brands could help educate people about Web3 within a
branded project.
“Think about how you can engage them through traditional
channels as a bridge while teaching them about security and how to avoid
phishing scams” advises Hackl.
“The first step in the journey could be to set up a wallet,
and once completed, the brand unlocks gated experiences as a reward.”
Plotting Outcomes
Another plank of the brand framework for Web3 is to plot the
outcome. Apparently, this takes quite a bit of thought to get it right.
“For some, it’s profit-driven. If so, is it an extension of
an existing line of business or an entirely new product?” questions Hackl.
“Others see an opportunity to expand their audience, deepen the connection with
their existing audience, or activations, while authentically extending brand
presence into this new realm.”
Then there’s the hardcore tech part — the bits that actually
connect a brand to the technical infrastructure of Web3.
“Even if brands don’t want to get too far into the weeds, a
high-level analysis for types of blockchains, levels of interoperability and
decentralization, user security, and environmental impact is a great place to
start,” said Gilbertson.
For example, if one group in the organization creates an
idea that serves the goals of their department but requires a technology that
is difficult to integrate into the company’s overall technology stack, it may
never come to life.
Similar to a traditional real estate model, brands will need
to evaluate ownership in or access to the metaverse.
“While some ideas will be compelling enough to dedicate
resources to alleviate these complexities, other nascent ideas will be
discarded before they become compelling because they are not aligned with the
company’s current technical capabilities,” says Hackl.
In other words, it’s all an experiment. But getting into the
sandpit is the first step to learning how to play well with others.
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