In my original blog post, I wrote about Heineken’s publicity stunt in the metaverse and how the brand launched a virtual beer to bring the community together. After reading about this publicity stunt, I decided to dive a little deeper into the metaverse and what means for us. Currently, we are watching the metaverse blow up, and consumers are absorbing information in ways we’ve never seen before. What’s most fascinating is that the metaverse is a jack of all trades. It’s place to creatively sell your product, create your own AR experience, hosting themed contests, playing games, and so, so much more.

As expected, brands are having mixed reactions to the metaverse, with some diving right in, and others hesitating to enter this new realm. While brands drag their feet, individual users are claiming these experiences as their own by creating Star Wars AR experiences, a personalized Harry Potter sorting hat, and more. The metaverse is serving as a jumping off point for trends that are taking other social media platforms by storm, like creating a 3D rendering of your bedroom or sketching an image of yourself that also becomes your own avatar. Influencers are also hopping on the metaverse train and encouraging their followers to join them for various experiences.

A few weeks ago, Chipotle made an entrance on Roblox, and allowed its customers to virtually build their own burritos. Roblox has over 100 million monthly users, and the majority of its userbase is children. Upon downloading Roblox, you are able to visit Chipotle online and get more information about the company and “walk” to a location through your screen. In the simulation, you are prompted to build your own burrito from scratch, starting with tortilla and all. You can then earn points for your participation and get some rewards.

Whether or not the metaverse interests you, scares you, or simply bores you, there is no doubt of its budding influence. We’re currently seeing trends on the metaverse translate to other social media platforms, which isn’t going to change anytime soon. And, whether they like it or not, almost all brands are in the position where the sooner they decide to take the plunge into the metaverse, the better.

Original source: Waiting for the metaverse? The revolution is already here

My questions:

• How do you feel about the metaverse?
• Has your company talked about a metaverse-related strategy? If so, what is it?
• Do you think the metaverse has potential to do more harm than good? Or vice versa?