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5 Marketing Strategies for Branding on Metaverse

A virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.

How metaverse may look in the future.

Mark Zuckerberg declared his intention to create a metaverse that would serve as “the next internet” when Facebook changed its name to “Meta” in 2021 and declared that the metaverse would be its new area of focus going forward. 

Naturally, as marketers, we started to imagine how digital branding on metaverse might appear in a brand-new virtual setting. 

In the metaverse, Gen Z users socialise twice as much as they do in the real world. Despite the fact that many users are likely young, their influence and purchasing power are only expected to increase in the future. 

Metaverse marketing strategy 1: Gaming

Massive gaming metaverses like those provided by “Fortnite” give you the chance to raise brand awareness in a way that feels natural, real, and fun. 

For instance, the marketing department of fast-food chain Wendy’s came up with a unique strategy to connect with the 24 million daily “Fortnite” players. Players on Team Burger and Team Pizza compete against one another in the video game’s Food Fight mode by removing teammates from their teams. To eliminate all “Fortnite” burger freezers, Wendy’s joined Team Pizza in the battle using its branded channel. The fast-food chain’s main marketing message—that Wendy’s beef is fresh, never frozen—became clear as tens of thousands of gamers joined in to criticize freezers. 

Some companies mimic their real-world marketing strategies in virtual gaming environments. As an illustration, the food delivery service Deliveroo took part in the online game “Animal Crossing” by simulating its actual services. Deliveroo sent virtual riders to the island in the game to deliver packages. In addition to receiving their virtual food, players also received a surprise discount code for orders of actual food. Deliveroo’s in-game engagement increased by more than 3 million user interactions in the first hour after launch. 

By incorporating metaverse games into your branding strategy, you can encourage your target market to engage with your business directly and discover what you have to offer and what you value. 

Metaverse marketing strategy 2: Brand avatar interactions

Imagine having the option to choose the body you want to interact with the outside world with. This is made possible by the metaverse. The digital identity that a user uses to interact with other players in the virtual world, or avatar, is highly customizable. By developing exclusive experiences for avatars, some businesses have benefited from this. 

On the Genies app, more than 2 million avatars have been created, and users can interact with branded design wheels for up to 75 seconds. Users could choose from an array of orange outfits on a custom design wheel made by Cheetos to customize their avatars. Users of Genies devoured the Halloween promotion for the snack company. 

Another illustration of a productive brand collaboration with Genies comes from the fashion industry.

Metaverse marketing strategy 3: Virtual influencers

Popular platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are dominated by influencer marketing. The strategy’s expansion into the virtual world was inevitable given its incredible power. 

Influencers, though, have a new significance in the metaverse. Influencers in the metaverse are digital avatars rather than actual people. Some of these avatars, including Lil Miquela, who has no real-life counterpart, have become well-known. 

The largest Instagram celebrity users, including Snoop Dogg (73.4 million followers), Jennifer Lopez (208 million followers), Katy Perry (161 million followers), and Cardi B (131 million followers), have left their digital imprints on the metaverse. Through its subsidiary Metafluence, the influencer marketing platform Keep face gives brands access to influencers in the metaverse. Influencers with smaller platforms, like Aguselo Halim, can be found here.

Metaverse marketing strategy 4: Interactive live events

The goal of the metaverse is to promote new channels for interhuman communication. Massive Interactive Live Events, or MILEs, which take place in the metaverse and include performances, competitions, and other events, bring people together in actuality, if only virtually. 

After the pandemic forced the cancellation of live concerts, singer The Weeknd used a digital avatar to perform on TikTok. More than 2 million people watched his virtual concert. Dua Lipa attended a runway show as her avatar, and Gorillaz and Post Malone performed in virtual settings via avatars. Rapper Travis Scott’s “Fortnite” MILE in April 2020 attracted nearly 30 million viewers. Some musicians even perform alongside their metaverse avatars live on stage.

Metaverse marketing strategy 5: Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

A non-fungible token is a data object, most frequently a picture, a video, or some audio. It is distinct and non-fungible, meaning that nothing else is like it. NFTs, like all cryptocurrencies, are kept on a blockchain, which is a type of electronic ledger from which tokens can be bought and sold. Due to the limited supply of NFTs on the blockchain, their value fluctuates according to market conditions. 

Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs from Yuga Labs, a blockchain technology company, rose to prominence as the market’s hottest blockchain commodity. Consider luxury clothing company Louis Vuitton as an illustration of an NFT branding strategy that is more understandable to laypeople. The company developed a game where avatars collect clothing using a less complex NFT marketing strategy.

The metaverse is just getting started, even though these five marketing techniques are a great place to start. You have a variety of options for brand promotion, from setting up virtual billboards on digital properties to providing services that are only accessible in the metaverse. Try out various marketing techniques until you identify the one that both in the real world and the metaverse works best for you.