Page 31 - ADNews magazine March-April 2022

www.adnews.com.au | March - April 2022 31
“If your audiences are in this space (and chances are, they are), there are already opportunities for you to reach them in the metaverse.”
Ben Hourahine at AnalogFolk: “Like with any platform there is always a first mover advantage, the chance to create affinity with future audi- ences and sometimes a cost advantage before these platforms become too commercialised.
“On the other hand, it can be easy to get this wrong by misunderstand- ing the environment and the audience’s expectations. It would be nice if in this new wave of the Internet we didn’t default back to another inter- ruption economy again and made brands as immersive as the environ- ments themselves.”
Joe Frazer, Half Dome: “Any good media marketer will qualify an advertising opportunity by the amount of reach potential it has, and the impact that can be imparted on each individual reached. This includes paid media, as well as any potential earned media off the back of that.
“Every single media advertising metric is an attempt to measure these two simple concepts. How many people, and what is the impact? As it stands, metaverse advertising opportunities are admittedly due to one of these two central points of importance not being big reach.
“The exciting thing for early adopters will be monitoring how this reach potential continues to shift, because what the metaverse promises in spades is an interface between brands and consumers that is richer than almost any interface that has ever been created. Including physical product placement.
“Imagine walking into a Nike store and trying on 40 pairs of shoes in five minutes. Possible.
“Attending a Rage Against The Machine concert on the same night as Kanye. Possible.
“With these experiences (slowly) becoming a reality there are undoubt- edly opportunities on the horizon worth keeping an eye on. Today though, the smart marketer is leaving it to the big brands with money to burn, who apart from anything else are relying heavily on the earned media off the back of their paid exploits, as well as the fringe players looking to engage directly with the early adopter, tech savvy crowd.”
OMD’s Alison Costello and Nicky Barton : “Looking at the list of ‘events’ in Decentraland (where virtual plots of land can be purchased), you can see how brands are getting involved in the virtual world. It could be
Decentraland plazas.
“Consumer data is going to be at the very heart of the metaverse. Just like today where we guide brands to future proof their data strategies and create personalised experiences.”
CDDTO, UM, Adam Krass
hosting a housewarming event for their newly created virtual space or branded entertainment venues promising your favourite bar games and photo booths.
“Whilst the metaverse isn’t necessarily creating new audi- ences, it does change the relation- ship dynamic between brands and their customers. The desired immersive nature of the metaverse will only heighten expectations from customers with how they interact with brands and what they consider to be a valuable or meaningful exchange.
“This will of course be under- pinned by how the metaverse sup- ports and champions customer privacy and promotes inclusivity. Some areas have very little ‘meat on the bones’ currently.”
Ben Cooper, M&C Saatchi: “While it’s still early days, both B2C and B2B users are migrating to the metaverse in their millions and we’ll need to join them, taking our clients with us.
“It’s time to be curious again, but there’s also that sense of child- like playfulness and learning that accompanies a new type of toy. Children learn through play and we can too. The rewards will be significant.
“My team and our clients have been spending time diving in... vir- tually... the metaverse. We’ve got our headsets. We’ve got our crypto wallets set up for currency and NFTs and we’ve been on day trips to a dis- tinctly ‘unwalled garden’ called Decentraland. And you should too.
“No matter what, as marketers we must understand the metaverse is not an if or a but. It’s coming and we have to be ready. Just as we did with smartphones, we need to become comfortable using the next generation of Internet hardware and software. Comfortable with new creator ecosystems and decen- tralised commerce. It’s time to take the unplugged plunge and play. It’s time to experiment with experi- ences. It’s time to start creating.”
Zoe Cocker at Yahoo Creative Studios ANZ: “The metaverse is still in construction so the oppor- tunities are endless and only lim- ited by imagination.
“For advertisers that are keen to act now, there are plenty of