Time to enter the Metaverse: Here's how brands are deep-diving into Web 3.0

Indian brands are experimenting to reach the new generation of consumers through virtual worlds, NFTs and immersive metaverse experiences. We take a look at how brands are using the metaverse

According to research by Bloomberg, the metaverse will become a nearly $800 billion market opportunity by 2024. Said to be the next big technology platform, it is now attracting online game makers, social networks, and brands of all sorts to capture a slice of what is the next evolution.

While globally brands including Disney, Nike, Hyundai, Gucci, and others have experimented with metaverse to create highly immersive individualized 3D virtual experiences, Indian brands and publishers are following the suit too.

Although it is yet to understand how it will present an opportunity to capitalize on new revenue streams, brands are certainly going gaga over this to engage with their audiences cohorts.

Social Samosa lists the themes of brands using metaverse:

Brands Using Metaverse For Romance

The Coca-Cola Company

In the Metaverse - YUG, an Indian couple got married recently and the same was sponsored by Coca-Cola India alongside other brands.

Virtual stores were set up by the brand inside the platform, where any guest can come to the storefront and buy any item of their choice directly, without leaving YUG. The guests also received discounts and gift cards as return gifts.

Guests who joined had a lot of fun activities to choose from and enjoy virtually. The digital avatars of the couple had their ceremony hosted on a scenic beachside venue where the guests also joined in via their digital Avatars.

ITC's Fabelle

ITC’s luxury chocolate brand Fabelle has reportedly become India’s first luxury chocolate brand to be present within Metaverse Weddings. Fabelle was an integral part of two weddings hosted on the Yug Metaverse and the TardiVerse platforms.

The groom gifted the bride a metaverse version of Fabelle Trinity Truffles Extraordinaire. The brand further integrated a metaverse version of the Fabelle Chocolates cart, where guests could choose from an array of luxurious chocolates that would be delivered to their doorstep for a delightful offline experience - weaving their metaverse activities with the real world.

The elements of brand integration were conceptualized and deployed in association with Wavemaker India, the agency partner of ITC.

Metaverse Valentine’s Date

Mondelez’s brand Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk this year had technology at the heart of its marketing campaign for Valentine’s Day.

Cadbury Silk had introduced a real-time personalization of the Augmented Reality experience, enabling consumers to unlock a secret message sent by their loved one and view it in a grand way on any Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk ad. Consumers could also experience an immersive 360-degree virtual environment that quite literally took them over the moon. Using WebAR, consumers were able to step into a portal and walk around on the Moon, where their secret message would be revealed in a romantic setup.

The team made Valentine’s Day super special for a young couple by inviting them to enjoy a dinner date in the Metaverse.

Also Read: Road to 2022: How can brands prepare for the Metaverse

Brands Using Metaverse For Virtual Real-Estate

United Colors of Benetton 

United Colors of Benetton has announced to transform one of its stores, Corso Vittorio Emanuele during Milan Fashion Week, aligning it with the brand’s new shop in the metaverse, which will open at the same time with the same experiential look and feel.

The store in the metaverse will, however, take a fresh approach. ‘Visitors’ will not buy clothes but will instead participate in gaming experiences that will allow them to accumulate QR codes, which can then be used to make purchases in physical shops. In this manner, the brand creates an additional touchpoint with the consumer, enhancing its omnichannel strategy.

Metaverse For Launch Campaigns & Tokens

Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans, the Indian Premier League team has launched its team logo in the Metaverse on Spatial.io. With this, it also launched its own space in the virtual world – “The Titans’ Dugout”.

ALTBalaji

Meanwhile, OTT platform ALTBalaji has launched a metaverse token for a reality show.

A new reality show Lock Upp, which will stream live on ALTBalaji (and MX Player) has revealed a Lock Upp Token for Nisha, one of the contestants. This signals the launch of the Lock Upp metaverse, where viewers can interact with the world of the show and share a connection with the contestants. Viewers can own their own tokens, which are collectible cards that can be won by completing in-game tasks or bought on its marketplace.

Chingari

Chingari, the short video app has launched its revamped mobile application featuring the native $GARI token. The launch of the $GARI ecosystem will enable the app users to create sub-economies within the platform, ushering in a new Web 3 metaverse in the video creation industry.

This will allow content creators to interact with their fans, sell merchandise, and mint unique short videos as NFTs. Lastly, the economic ecosystem incentivizes curation on the platform by rewarding the best content creators for their work, or users for watching and sharing the videos.

And Hail NFTs...

While some brands are building their own virtual worlds leaning into AR and VR experiences, others are tiptoeing into the space of metaverse by selling NFTs—Non-Fungible Tokens bought and sold on blockchain technology allowing people to own digital items like images or videos.

Viacom18

Viacom18’s Youth, Music, and English Entertainment (YME) cluster has launched its NFT marketplace Fullyfaltoonft.com, which has been set up by GuardianLink.io and has 3013 tokens. The marketplace has been designed to offer ‘fully valuable’ digital art conceptualized and created by the Viacom team in India.

Free Press Journal

The Free Press Journal (FPJ) too has plans of launching a special series of NFTs later this year. The NFTs will be made available on leading NFT marketplaces closer to Independence Day. The same will commence with cartoons from FPJ’s archives, which include the creations of Shri Bal Thackeray, who worked at FPJ for many years.

The NFT project of FPJ is being operationalized and taken to market by Rediffusion FutureTech, the digital arm of the ad agency.

Zee Studios

ZEE Studios partnered with NFT marketplace, NFTically for the launch of a NFT Collectible based on a Marathi film. Directed by popular Marathi film auteur Viju Mane, Pandu, its NFTs along with its theatrical release. The collectible in concern was a custom-made original GIF from the film minted on Polygon MATIC blockchain.

The alliance was facilitated by Mumbai-based marketing dignitary EMC Worldwide.

Media Companies & Agencies Buckle Up For The Meta World

Apart from brands utilizing the meta world, there are media companies and agencies who are ramping up their offerings, while prepping up for the metaverse.

Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment have joined hands to offer actors, musicians, sportspersons, gamers, and content creators in India opportunities for co-ventures and metaverse solutions. Similarly, Rediffusion with its FutureTech subsidiary will work in the domain of Metaverse, NFTs, Blockchain.

Havas Group similarly announced owning a plot of virtual land in The Sandbox video game where it plans to inaugurate its first virtual Village (the 69th Havas Village). The Group will organize conferences, events, concerts, client presentations, product launches, and more.

The new virtual Village will also include a recruitment service. Last year, the Group launched Metaverse by Havas, a new consulting, creative, and media offer, dedicated to brands that, in the metaverse.

Similarly, Hogarth, WPP’s specialist global creative content production company, announced the launch of The Metaverse Foundry - a global team of over 700 creatives, producers, visual artists, developers, and technologists who will deliver – from design to execution – brand experiences for clients in the metaverse.