The last twelve months have seen many interesting activities from some of the biggest brands. Here are a few of them:
- In the last quarter of 2021, Facebook announced its decision to change its name from Facebook to Meta and focus its operations on ushering in the metaverse.
- In the first quarter of 2022, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in a bid to penetrate the metaverse.
- In January 2022, Google invested $39.5 M in Foxconn’s private equity funds for metaverse projects.
These three events all point to one thing — the metaverse is coming and it may not be as far off as you think.
In the last two to three years, so much has happened in the blockchain industry. Some, like the rise of outrageously priced NFTs, have been loud and well documented while others haven’t. And yet, documented or undocumented, each of these developments has led us to where we are today: on the verge of the era of virtual worlds.
The metaverse isn’t a new idea. In fact, it’s a very old concept if you consider that it was first introduced in 1982 by novelist, Neil Stevenson. What’s new, however, is the possibility of having a metaverse. With the rapid development of NFTs and as more and more brands begin to adopt them, the closer we collectively get to a functioning metaverse. The conversation no longer centers around the possibility of virtual worlds linked together in one metaverse, but how people, creators, and brands can take advantage of this new reality.
If you haven’t thought deeply about what the metaverse is and how you can join the big tech wigs to monetize it, this article is for you.
What is the Metaverse?
The metaverse is a virtual universe made up of many virtual worlds linked to our physical world. Think of multiple virtual worlds interconnected and linked to our physical world. The idea of a fully functional metaverse is still far off but for now, we have virtual worlds connected by interoperable NFTs. Most of these virtual worlds exist in games like Roblox, SandBox, and Fortnite.
The metaverse might be picking up fast, but it doesn’t take away the fact that it is still a new arena that requires more buy-ins to reach its full potential.
In the meantime, however, brands are not waiting for the metaverse to maximize its potential. The opportunities already existing are endless. Big brands like Gucci, Nike, Disney, Samsung, Coca Cola are leading the charge for brands establishing themselves in the metaverse.
You don’t have to be a million-dollar brand with a heavy budget to monetize the metaverse. Here’s how you too can make the transition today.
How can Brands Monetize the Metaverse?
There are many advantages for brands that establish a presence in the metaverse. They include -
- Increasing audience reach
- Providing new experiences for customers
- Building a community
- Unlocking new revenue streams
- Improved consumer engagement
Here’s how your brand can monetize the metaverse
1. Adopting NFTs
The metaverse would not be possible without NFTs. NFTs are so important that you require them to access the metaverse. In fact, they are referred to as metaverse currency in certain circles.
Another reason why you need to adopt NFTs is that they present a potential for creating huge streams of income. The inherent scarcity and uniqueness that NFTs offer makes them a magnet for revenue. People value rare items. Brands can adopt NFTs today either through digitizing an existing product or designing a new collection of NFTs.
Take a leaf from Adidas’ NFT collaboration with the Bored Ape Yacht Club where they gave NFT owners lots of gifts both digital and physical. Some of the gifts included wearables in one of the top metaverse real estate games, SandBox, hoodies, tracksuits, and an orange beanie.
Just by adopting NFTs, Adidas was able to open another stream of income via selling NFTs.
2. Offering an Immersive Experience
The metaverse presents brands with a unique opportunity to create an immersive experience for their customers. It allows for richer, more meaningful, and more exciting ways of connecting with customers and improving the consumer experience.
Some of the ways you can spice up your consumer experience using the metaverse are:
- Augmented reality shopping
- Virtual Fashion Shows
- Hyper-realistic digital twins with unlimited customization accessories
- Virtual parties, auctions, shopping events.
When it comes to a new immersive experience, fashion brands are great at it. Take a look at Gucci, one of the big brands that have taken advantage of the metaverse to improve customer experience. The SuperGucci collection starred limited NFTs attached to an 8-inch ceramic sculpture designed and made by one of Gucci’s ceramicists. The most expensive NFT in this collection sells for 50 ETH approximately $78k. Other luxury fashion brands offer experiences like augmented reality shopping and exclusive virtual reality fashion shows.
3. Marketing
Marketing is another way brands can monetize the metaverse. Here’s how the multinational fast food chain, McDonald’s, did it.
In November 2021, McDonald’s presented the McRib NFTs, a collection of 10 McRib sandwiches. This collection was a massive marketing campaign for the once-in-a-year McRib sandwiches that were available in the last few months of the year. The NFTs were designed to be a reminder of the McRib in the months when it wouldn’t be on the menu.
The campaign was a success but more importantly, McDonald’s recorded massive feedback in the form of generated revenue as the hype for the McRib rose higher than it ever had.
Brands can learn from McDonald’s and employ marketing strategies that engage the audience while also encouraging them to take a particular action. Here are two things to learn from McDonald’s McRib NFT:
- Pay attention to what your customers want
- Create an engaging marketing campaign that draws in your customers
4. Revenue from Resale
Using revenue from resale as an extra revenue stream isn’t very popular and is used by creators and high-end luxury brands. It is also very effective when physical products are tied to the metaverse twin. When the physical product is sold with its metaverse counterpart, the brand gets a percentage of the resale value.
How to Leverage SOLARR to Monetize the Metaverse
SOLARR offers opportunities for brand owners to participate in the NFT and metaverse virtual economy by opening up new models for business commercialization.
One of the services SOLARR offers to help with this is an NFT marketplace to help brands mint, advertise, and sell their NFTs. SOLARR’s NFT marketplace allows brands to incorporate royalties so you can earn a percentage off the resale price of your luxury products.
Additionally, brand owners can increase the reach of their audience penetration by building communities and delivering unique and exclusive brand experiences to customers, and opening up new revenue streams with sales of digital goods.
Conclusion
The last few years have seen exponential development and growth in blockchain technology and all of its upshoots. In two short years, we’ve seen the rise of DeFi, two generations of NFTs, and now the metaverse. There is little doubt left in the minds of anyone that we are on the cusp of a new era. The only unknown is time and what it may bring.
Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding the metaverse, it is the future and in the words of NFL coach, George Allen, the future is now. This is why brands need to get on the bandwagon and start monetizing the metaverse. If you haven’t made the move yet, you can start today.
