Lindsey McInerney at Anheuser-Busch InBev recently gave 

voice to the enthusiasm

many marketers are feeling for the potential of the metaverse.  She said:

“It’s a really exciting time to be a marketer in this space.  I believe the shift we’re
seeing to the metaverse, is going to be one of the largest shifts we’ve seen in a
long time … we are where we were in social media 17, 18 years ago…

“Marketers like to be where people are …. Where there is set to be new traffic is
certainly a place that marketers need to be paying attention to.”

First introduced in a 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, author Neal Stephenson
imagined the metaverse as a future iteration of the internet where humans as avatars
would interact with each other in 3D virtual spaces as a metaphor of the real world.  

Social gaming platforms like Roblox, Fortnite, Animal Crossing, Minecraft, and Second
Life are starting to show some of this potential at scale, particularly for younger
generations.  Mark Zuckerberg recently framed Facebook’s future strategy as helping
“bring the metaverse to life.”

And as Lindsey put it, “marketers like to be where people are.”  Done well, this is a
chance for brands to experiment with entirely new ways to add value to consumers. 
Done poorly, it could echo Gary Vaynerchuk’s famous observation that “marketers ruin
everything.”

Early branded virtual experiences with branded virtual collectibles like Van’s

World or Gucci Garden generated a lot of interest.  But marketers often go into new
experiences with brand myopia, over-inflating how much people actually want to engage
with their brands.   

Nick Pringle at R/GA London shared this perspective:

“The successful brands will be the ones that don’t simply replicate their current
products and services in the metaverse, but instead think more creatively about
what they can offer…

“For example, a brand making energy drinks in the real world could manifest as a
supplier of rocket packs in the metaverse.  Or an IRL automaker could provide
teleports in the virtual world.  This may seem fanciful, but consider that the next
generation could well discover your brand in virtual space first — so how do you
want to be perceived and what positive values can be transferred to the real
world?”
Fortnite has partnered up with Nike Air Jordans for an in-game collaboration.
The partnership includes branded outfits and the Downtown Drop limited time
mode. 

Nike Air Jordans are now available in Fortnite

The exclusive Nike Air Jordan outfits are available in the Hang Time Bundle
which can be purchased via the in-game shop for 1,800 V-Bucks. The bundle
includes two outfits, called Grind and Clutch, and include the iconic Nike Air
Jordan 1s trainers. Additionally, the skins also come with a challenge pack which
can be used to unlock different colour options.