What We Can Learn From Top Brands Already In The Metaverse

It is impossible to look to the future without seeing the metaverse as part of our lives. There are some massive opportunities waiting for those who are willing to adapt and innovate. Perhaps it is too early for most business owners to realize how important the metaverse will be, but I’d like to change that.

Let’s take a look at how some top brands are taking advantage of the power of the metaverse and what we can learn from them. The metaverse is going to lead to huge changes in our lives without a doubt, and the sooner we learn to adapt to it, the better.

 

I’ve listed the brands in no particular order, as they have all approached the metaverse in their own ways. This should serve as a great starting point to learn more about how you can get started in the metaverse with your own business. Keep in mind that many other brands are also jumping into this, but I wanted to mention some of the biggest brands.

 

 

Nike

There are very few sports apparel brands that have grown to Nike’s level of popularity and influence. Last year, the brand decided to create its own world on Roblox, one of the most popular virtual world platforms. It’s called Nikeland, and people can create avatars, play games and interact with each other there. It offers a perfect virtual gaming and social world that revolves around the Nike brand.

 

Adidas

Adidas is another powerhouse sportswear brand that understands the importance of jumping into the metaverse. In 2021, Adidas launched its own NFT drop in partnership with NFT giants such as Punks Comic and Bored Ape Yacht Club.

I think Adidas is doing something very bold by taking on the NFT craze that seems to be so polarizing. The good thing about this is that it gives more people confidence in the value of the metaverse and all things related to it (NFTs being a huge aspect).

 


Coca-Cola

How could you expect one of the biggest and most powerful brands in the world not to get into the metaverse? Just like Adidas, Coca-Cola set its sights on the value of NFTs and the many ways they can be used for brand power. The brand ran an inaugural NFT campaign that offered “loot boxes” containing all kinds of virtual goodies. This gave it the chance to test out the acceptance of the NFT approach with great results.

It is evident that NFTs are becoming a huge part of many brands’ metaverse strategies. Keep in mind that NFTs will be a very relevant part of the metaverse. They will likely be the most reliable way for anyone to prove ownership of anything they showcase within the metaverse.

 

Gucci

Just like Nike used Roblox for its journey into the metaverse, Gucci did the same thing when it sold a virtual handbag there in 2021. And impressively, the bag commanded a higher price than its real-world counterpart. Just imagine how much power the metaverse holds when an item that only exists in a virtual world can be so valuable.

This is a perfect example of how NFTs are very useful and why a virtual handbag is of real value: A virtual handbag can be used by a person’s avatar in the metaverse or it could be sold at a store in the metaverse. This kind of value is why top brands are betting on the value of NFTs.

 

What Do All Of These Brands Have In Common?

One of the main things that all of these brands have in common is their ability to adapt to change. All of them have been around for over 50 years. This means that they have been able to learn and adapt to new and important changes. Any business that is looking to survive and thrive in the modern world needs to adopt this posture.

 

How Can Smaller Brands Start To Adapt To The Metaverse?

It is essential for business ventures of all sizes to be able to understand the value and importance of the metaverse. It truly does allow for a whole new level of engagement.

The first step could be to learn more about how the metaverse works. Once you understand the core functions, you can start to brainstorm ideas that could help your business get involved.

A good way to do this is to learn about platforms like Roblox that offer an experience that shows how the metaverse works as far as the potential to interact with your target audience. You can also take advantage of immersive technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality to enhance the experience.

 

Final Thoughts

I cannot stress enough the importance of finding ways to take advantage of the metaverse. All business ventures, regardless of their size, are going to need to look for ways to adapt to the new era. The metaverse is a vast virtual world of opportunities, and this makes it a very exciting and important consideration.

by geniustech

Five Ways To Incorporate Virtual Reality Into Your Marketing Campaign

 

Virtual reality and 360-degree virtual reality: Everyone seems to be talking about it nowadays. But what is it exactly, and how does it work? First, you must know that there are two sides to the VR coin:

  • Virtual Reality (VR): Virtual reality is computer generated, like a game or a 3D render of architecture. These software-generated virtual images are realistic and can replicate real environments or imaginary ones. In virtual reality, you look around and interact in a computer-generated experience.
  • 360-Degree VR Video: 360-degree video is an immersive experience filmed with several video cameras mounted to capture activity happening all around, creating a spherical video. These experiences are like virtual reality where you can look around and even interact, depending on the platform used. Like panoramic pictures, this gives the sensation of being at the location and being immersed in it.

Virtual reality and 360-degree VR video are still so new that you may not be sure about how to integrate it into your marketing and sales strategy. At my digital agency, we've been working with VR for three years. To ease your way into the world of VR, we created this list of the top five ways to incorporate VR into your marketing campaigns:

1. Create 360-Degree Or VR Content

Virtual reality is the perfect medium to create immersive and compelling content that inspires. The most important social media platforms, Facebook and YouTube, are 360-degree VR video ready. It should not be a surprise that these tech giants are spearheading the VR and 360-degree video movement: Facebook purchased Oculus in 2014 and is heavily investing in VR, and Google just releasedDaydream View (VR headset) and Daydream VR, a mobile VR platform.

You have worked hard to establish a presence on those platforms; now is the opportunity to lead your industry by creating VR or 360-degree content. The easiest way is to create 360-degree pictures and videos with amateur cameras, such as the Theta or Samsung 360. The more complex options include high-quality cinematic and computer-generated virtual reality, which can also include 360-degree spatial sound.

2. Give Away Branded VR Cardboards

You’re not trying to attract millennials with coffee mugs and key chains, are you? The VR cardboard headset is the ultimate giveaway because it has a long-lasting “wow" effect. Not only can your potential client enjoy your immersive VR experience with the cardboard, but they can then use your headset to view 360-degree VR video on YouTube. You have just taken that person by the hand and brought them to a new, VR world.

We recently worked on a 360/VR campaign with a client that incorporated branded VR cardboards. The goal was to attract 18- to 30-year-old students to a new concept retail location. The presented problem was: How do we show what the retail space looks like? We proposed creating 360-degree VR video, capturing the new space and adding title overlays as explanations. We published the VR content on YouTube and sent out activation teams to universities for a pop-up shop VR experience. This way, students were able to try a VR headset and see what the space looked like. Once interested, they were directed to a new location and offered a giveaway: the branded VR cardboard.

 

 

3. Use VR At Tradeshows And Events

VR headsets are still a relatively new concept that most people have seen or heard about, but have yet to try. Setting up a mobile VR station inside your booth or at an event is a great way to attract people and attention. Viewers will be amazed, spectators will be intrigued, and everyone will line up to try your VR experience. This will also provide great content for your followers on social media: Write about it, take pictures and create videos.

4. Broadcast Live 360-Degree VR Video

Live streaming video as part of your social media efforts is another cutting edge use of the technology. YouTube allows us to stream 360-degree VR video content that can be watched on a VR headset. This is a totally new way of interacting with your audience, as they are immersed into your live world. In June, we helped a public art festival to broadcast live in 360 degrees: We placed a camera right in the middle of the festival and streamed it live on YouTube.

There is also a premium version that you can offer (pay-per-VR) on your VR app. Live 360-degree VR video streaming of a concert, complete with 360-degree spatial sound, is a beautiful experience. This is also very big for sports broadcasting: This year, the NBA teamed up with NextVR to live stream 25 NBA games on Samsung VR.

5. Develop A VR App

Creating a VR app allows you to have enhanced experiences, such as interaction, movement and calls-to-action. The app allows you to customize the VR experience in ways that a 360-degree VR video on YouTube can't. For example, a real estate VR app could be used to provide interactive tours of properties. In essence, a VR app is a great platform for exclusive experiences that need more than just a play-and-pause interaction.

Conclusion

VR is still new, but it continues to grow. New hardware is continuously being released, and companies like Google, HTC, Oculus and Samsung have joined forces to create the Global VR Association. As a content creator, I am very excited, and see VR as the next storytelling platform.

by geniustech

How Virtual Reality Could Revolutionize The Real Estate Industry

Real estate is an industry that normally moves with the times and adopts technology that can assist in its continued success. However, there seems to be a slight lack of faith in a new technology that presents itself to the industry: virtual reality. This could potentially be a grave mistake by some, and quite the advantage for those who rapidly adopt the technology this year.

Consider the top two hurdles of the average real estate agent:

Agents have to manage the time it takes to go from one visit to the other, dealing with traffic among other elements out of their control.

The most commonly heard phrase in real estate is, “It doesn’t look like the pictures.”

Virtual reality can help immediately resolve both of these issues. It offers the possibility to virtually visit a lot more homes in a lot less time. This will naturally increase sales efficiency, as well as allow the ability to see more potential buyers.

Here are three different options you can explore using virtual reality to heighten real estate experiences:

- Guided Virtual Visits. This is essentially just like a promotional video, except that it is produced and shot in 360 degrees. This method works wonders for existing properties. For properties still in construction, VR will be a groundbreaking tool for real estate agents, as they will be able to show unfinished projects like never before. We produced a virtual visit of a major tower in downtown Montréal but wanted to give it a storytelling touch, so we mixed different types of mediums within the virtual experience, using 360-degree photography, video footage and 3D renderings.

The photography was used at the beginning of the experience to set the tone, with inserts like picture-in-picture and stop-motion graphics. The 3D renderings were used to showcase portions of the yet unfinished project. We produced high-quality 3D renderings in the kitchen and bedroom scenes to give the viewer a better idea of what their future home could look like once completed and furnished. The 360-degree video footage was used throughout to provide an emotional response, which is all about the narration.

- Interactive Virtual Visits. To take virtual visits to the next level, the experience can be made interactive through movement determined by the user. It is simply the experience of a lifetime for your prospective buyer. Considering that most of the population has heard, but yet to actually try out VR, the effect will be mindblowing. This experience needs to be “housed” (pun intended) in a mobile app. Because this experience is interactive, it’s a lot more like a game than a video.

The interactive experience is created with hotspots that appear in your field of vision when you turn your attention from one direction to another. By keeping your sight on the hotspot, you are transported to where the hotspot is located, allowing you to do a virtual walk-through of the property at your own pace.

- Virtual Commerce. Take the interactive virtual visit described above and add the ability to make custom changes to the home, just like e-commerce except this is now virtual commerce. The real estate industry should be the first to jump at the chance to adopt this: The interactive virtual visits, because of their technological requirements, need to be housed in an app.

Using virtual reality does not have to be synonymous with heavy-duty computers and complicated materials like motion sensors. Do not let the technology overtake the most important part of this endeavor: the prospective buyer’s experience.

The technology has made leaps and bounds in the past year, and we believe the future of VR is mobile, through apps. The great news about this is that real estate agencies that already have mobile apps can very easily incorporate a VR section via API.

VR is an exciting new technology that allows the real estate industry the ability to tell a story like never before, as it is a technology that doesn’t require breaking the bank and can be easily integrated into the existing platforms -- all while increasing sales efficiency and without having to hire more staff.

Virtual reality technology is finally ready; the ball is now in the real estate industry’s court.

by geniustech

DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS: UNDERSTANDING THE FINE BALANCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR BUSINESS

This year’s C2 Conference in Montréal touched on many hot business points through its diverse range of topics. And with Montréal being a hotbed for artificial intelligence, it was no surprise for the subject to be front and center.

Artificial intelligence has become quite the buzzword, albeit a divisive one. There are folks who don’t believe it's as advanced as most claim it is, and there are those that evangelize its abilities as the driving force behind Industry 4.0. I stand closer to the latter, while still seeing tons of room for improvement.

What concerns me is feeling like most businesses are still very far behind in understanding AI’s current abilities, thus failing to use a phenomenal tool. It’s like watching someone hitting a nail with the butt-end of a screwdriver while a perfectly good hammer is lying on the floor next to them.

Think about it: You and I have been working with data for a long time. AI is just a new term for the evolution of what we’ve been doing for so long. The key component is to understand the data analytics and make decisions based on that data.

AI Is Not Only Meant For Major Corporations

Because the media has made such a huge deal of AI, it's made most folks think that it's not an attainable solution for them -- as if it was something only meant for major corporations. AI is not just meant for tech companies or the majors -- there’s a level of solutions for all. You just need to ask the right person to guide you.

If hiring an agency is not in your budget, consider low-hanging fruit. Incorporating a customer relationship management (CRM) tool should be among your first steps. HubSpot and Salesforce are two great examples to look into.

Chatbots are also becoming more popular. During their F8 Conference this past May, Facebook spoke at length about the importance of Messenger chatbots. Our company uses Chatfuel, a platform that allows you to build a bot without coding. Chatbots can be integrated into your website, freeing your inbound customer service people to handle the more pressing and complicated client requests.

If you do want to hire an outside service, I want you to look at AI the same way you look at asking for help with marketing. Your small business may not be able to afford the services of a big agency like a Sid Lee or Ogilvy, but has that ever stopped you from getting great work from a smaller agency?

Use A Balanced Approach

Don't rely on data to drive all of your decisions. Data can’t accomplish everything on its own, and a human can no longer function without proper data. We need to envision AI as an ally. Keep in mind that this ally is still quite young, and just like a young human prodigy, AI still needs its fair amount of mentoring. Kind of like a rookie entering the NFL, it is a raw prospect that needs training. With the proper training, it will become one of the star players on the team. This star elevates the rest of the team and yet cannot do it all on its own.

Start by gathering your team and analyzing your business needs and goals. What data-related tools could you use to be more efficient and to help make better decisions? Are there any marketing/sales automation tools that could help your team perform at a higher level?

Define what results you want from the data before you let it roam freely on the field. But while you define these, you also need to leave space for human perspective as well as the unexpected. There may be answers you weren't even looking for to questions you hadn’t even asked. That’s the beauty of AI and the reason why the media makes such a huge deal about it.

One of the better examples of data-driven creativity comes from Netflix. Most of you have seen the House of Cards series, starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. What most of us don’t know about the series is that it was almost entirely created thanks to data.

Netflix has been collecting data on its clients since its days as a DVD rental company. The data revealed that people who watched a Kevin Spacey movie watched every single movie he was in. The data also highlighted that anyone who watched a David Fincher-directed film watched every single film he directed. You see where this is going. But as the good old infomercials love to say, “But wait! There’s more!” The data collected from the British version of House of Cards also revealed the one-sitting, binge-watching habits of the great majority of viewers.

The Netflix case study has been used in business schools for the past years to remind marketers that it is easier to understand consumer behavior through data and then give them what they want, in comparison to trying to change the consumer’s existing behavior.

Data Is Great, But It Still Needs Great Humans To Process It

In order to get the best out of AI, you can’t just feed it data. There needs to be a purpose behind it. This is is the part where humans with great vision come in -- those who can see behavioral patterns in numbers and interpret them, only to turn them into potential solutions or decisions. Like with any other technology, the trick is to understand the tool you have in hand while never falling back on it as a crutch.

by geniustech