The emergence of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), IoT, Robotics, machine learning, big data, 5G, and XR are paving the way for a new era of digital transformation. The metaverse, or the virtual world, is also part of this new age. The metaverse, which will be accessed through VR headsets, augmented reality, mobile phones, and computers or laptops, will be a significant shift from the current web as we know it. Developers and creatives are already discussing the potential, purpose, and outcome of the metaverse, but one fact remains: it presents tremendous opportunities for businesses.
Previously, businesses were limited to physical locations for their operations and customer engagement. Now, with the emergence of the spatial web, businesses can create digital twins, which are three-dimensional versions of their store or venue, on platforms such as Roblox. Customers across the globe will able to access these digital twins. Businesses can also create virtual replicas or extensions of their products and offer them alongside physical items or even create entirely digital product collections.
Despite the rush for digital real estate, creating and building for the next web isn’t just about replicating physical spaces and products. At Magnopus, we believe that businesses that focus on transforming passive observers into active participants in new forms of brand and customer experience will thrive in the metaverse.
Let Customers Live Your Brand
The shift from the current two-dimensional (2D) web to the next three-dimensional (3D) web is a transition from a series of connected pages to a series of connected spaces that lay the foundations for the next internet. This transition opens the door to create brand worlds where customers can immerse themselves actively.
When customers actively participate in your world, they have agency, which means they have a sense of control or power to shape and direct their experience. This sense of agency can create a more engaging, personalised, and emotionally positive experience, increasing the likelihood of conversion and long-term loyalty to the brand.
However, it isn’t enough to create a world without considering the type of engagement that businesses provide to customers. It could be achievements, access, or experiential rewards, but ensure that participants have a role within the space and a way to express themselves. Empowering people to experience their own stories within your world is the key to conversion.
Superseed What is Possible in the Real World
The experience economy is fuelled by consumers’ increasing desire to seek out unique and meaningful experiences with the rise of technology that makes it easier to create and share these experiences. It is a shift away from the traditional focus on commodity-based products and services towards a more experiential and emotional approach to consumption.
In the 3D internet, the experiences possible can exceed what businesses can achieve in the real world. Without worrying about technical, logistical, safety, and security elements, more attention can be paid to the actual experience and making that stand out as much as possible for those viewing or interacting with it.
For example, at Magnopus, we created the Madison Beer Immersive Reality Concert, which aimed to capture the authentic atmosphere of a real-world live show, but blend it with the possibilities that virtual concerts can create. Through photoreal recreations of a real venue and an ultra-realistic digital avatar of the singer, the show felt real, but the effects were dialled up to create a spectacle that wasn’t achievable in real life, like a ring of raging fire around Madison.
In similar fashion, businesses can move beyond a waterproof jacket displayed on a store clothing rack to show how the product can be experienced in its proper context, like on a mountain bike track, giving customers a sense of adventure. By taking advantage of the opportunities in the metaverse, businesses can create entirely new virtual expressions of the brand and customer experience. Ultimately, this can result in loyal customers who feel a sense of ownership over the spaces they frequent.
Build Community
Platforms like Fortnite and Roblox are social experiences; they’re not the same without the presence of others. Therefore, it’s essential to consider any virtual space as a social space and develop real-time interaction and presence. Individuals tend to share new discoveries, which are more meaningful when shared with others, making the experiential aspect of 3D spaces an ideal environment for social engagement.
For instance, for the Jaguar I-PACE launch, VR hubs in Los Angeles and London connected groups of 66 guests inside the concept car. By allowing guests to interact with each other while experiencing the concept car in virtual reality, the event became more than just a product launch; it became an immersive and interactive experience that created a sense of community and social engagement over a shared experience.
Over time, as businesses create spaces that foster a sense of shared purpose, customers will naturally gravitate towards them. When people feel comfortable expressing themselves in these spaces and are rewarded for doing so, it helps to build a culture of engagement and inclusion.
Personalise
The 3D internet offers businesses the ability to create highly immersive, personalised experiences. This means that businesses can design virtual environments that adapt to the preferences of customers in real-time.
AI can play a crucial role in creating these immersive experiences. It can be used to generate dynamic content, adjust lighting and sound effects, and create realistic animations to make the experience more engaging. Furthermore, AI can analyse customer data and utilise machine learning algorithms to understand customer preferences and behaviour patterns, informing the type of experience that is created right from the outset.
As technology continues to evolve, 3D worlds are becoming more prevalent and accessible than ever before. Organisations are beginning to realise the vast potential for engagement and meaningful experiences that 3D environments offer. Unlike previous forms of media, 3D worlds empower users to fully immerse themselves in a virtual environment with others and actively steer their own narratives in gaming, socialising, education, or commerce. The opportunities are plentiful, and businesses that take advantage of them are poised to reap the rewards.
