In the "Outfits" option, a new set entitled "Balenciaga Style" will allow the image of Pulgoso, Ramírez, Caballero and Llorona to be redefined. Photo: Taken from the Fortnite website
It is still nothing more than a nascent and fragmented virtual universe, but brands are already present in the metaverse to experiment and gain an audience, but also for fear of being left out.
Brands didn't wait for Facebook's version of the metaverse, which won't see the light of day for a few years, to invest in virtual spaces that are already available on the Fortnite and Minecraft gaming platforms, as well as Roblox.
For companies that exist mainly in the physical world, the metaverse is in principle a huge laboratory, to contact a young audience, very popular with advertisers.
"For many, it's experimentation," says Ryan Mullins, founder of Aglet, a virtual shoe app. "If you can make a few thousand down the road, great (...) but the idea is: here is something new and we want to be there (...), the income will come if this stays."
Also read: Balenciaga brings its clothes to the digital world of "Fortnite"
In cutting-edge trends, fashion was always the first to go, especially now with a Uniqlo digital clothing line in Minecraft or Balenciaga suits and shoes in Fortnite.
Designers are also investing in the field of “NTFs”, digital objects with a certificate of ownership, which can be collected and sold.
Already present on Roblox, sporting goods brand Nike announced this week the purchase of virtual sneaker creator RTFKT.
“This represents a huge opportunity for brands that are going to position themselves first, that they will be able to establish a recurring presence, engage with potential customers or their fans in a new way, on a global scale,” said Christina Wootton, VP of Global Partnerships at Roblox. .
In July, Ferrari released a replica of its new 296 GTB model in Fortnite, which won't be available until 2022 but can be driven in-game.
During the Halloween party, fast-food chain Chipotle opened a pop-up virtual restaurant in Roblox, the first of its kind, offering coupons for a free "burrito" at a real restaurant, as well as virtual costumes to wear your avatar. and a game of clues.
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Chipotle "positioned itself as an innovator on the platform," the food chain spokesman congratulated. "But as we continue to build our strategy in the metaverse, we think there will be opportunities to directly increase our sales," he said.
“Be authentic”: Ryan Mullins
The metaverse is also a mine of data that offers rich information on the perception of a product, even if it does not yet exist in the real world, as well as the effectiveness of loyalty tools.
To fully control the environment in which a brand is introduced, some do not hesitate to create their own version of the metaverse, as Louis Vuitton did.
To celebrate its 200th anniversary, “LV” released “Louis the Game” in early August, a full game in which there are hidden NFTs for players to find.
British designer Burberry also created several games, including the popular B Surf.
The issue of interoperability arises, the absence of which prevents, for the time being, from showing off in Animal Crossing or Sandbox, other games in the so-called "persistent world" (where you can evolve indefinitely), a Gucci bag bought on Roblox.
It is one of the priorities of the CEO of Facebook (now Meta), Mark Zuckerberg, who used the term several times during the presentation of his metaverse in October.
Since the world's first social network revealed its ambitions in this field, "things have accelerated", according to specialist Cathy Hackl, a consultant to numerous brands and managers eager to understand what the metaverse is and what can be done in it.
“Not all brands have to jump into the metaverse”, explains the expert, “but their marketing teams should be familiar with the future and web 3.0″, the new evolution of the Internet, more fluid and individual.
In the metaverse, unless they build their own virtual world, companies must respect the codes of each platform, which often have little to do with their universe of origin.
“You have to show yourself”, but also “be authentic”, commented Ryan Mullins, that is, give the impression of being in your element in that space, something that is not available to everyone.
This may change with the growth of the metaverse and the revenue it generates, but for now, stresses Christina Wootton, it is the brands that serve the platform and not the other way around.
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