The virtual and still theoretical metaverse remains a hot commodity in 2022 as some of the biggest and most influential brands turn towards the digital space for seemingly promotional efforts. Look no further than Facebook's renaming to Meta, which no sooner sparked the race into these decentralized virtual spaces.
As it currently stands, the metaverse concept is meant to be a place where the entire internet can live, including even its visitors, as best expressed via a metaverse avatar. Decentraland and the Sandbox are two best examples, highlighting the gamification and real estate aspects that underscore the metaverse's potential.
Such companies as JPMorgan and Gucci have only begun to eye these very same concepts with interests not merely in promotional efforts. While some tend to utilize the space, as well as NFTs, as PR stunts to evoke a sense of brand pride and interest for those not already invested, companies like the aforementioned Gucci and JPMorgan, as well as Coca-Cola, Samsung, andmore are now starting to see the financial benefits of positioning themselves within the virtual space.
Samsung specifically has made waves recently with a live metaverse event-based interestingly inside Decentraland. The company held its event within a sector called Samsung 837X, which takes the guise of its New York-based Samsung center. Unfortunately, Samsung's gig didn't go as planned, but it still proved that interest and fun could manifest through such an endeavor.
To the dismay of some entrants, the digitized building was inaccessible. According to CNBC, various staff "and several other attendees" apparently could not find the digital building in Decentraland and could not gain access when they finally came across it. Despite these negatives, Samsung itself relays in an email to the site: "visitors and the Decentraland community have given us a highly positive response, seeing it as a fresh spin into an all-digital world."
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PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) likewise has entered the virtual space via its own metaverse real estate purchase on the Sandbox ecosystem. PwC Hong Kong partner, William Gee, describes the purchase more so as an investment for its customers over a general promo play:
"The metaverse offers new possibilities for organizations to create value through innovative business models, as well as introducing new ways to engage with their customers and communities. We will leverage our expertise to advise clients who wish to embrace the metaverse on the full range of challenges presented by this emerging global digital phenomenon."
PwC's metaverse real estate purchase price wasn't disclosed, but it undoubtedly was a hefty penny, given the $450,000 one Snoop Dogg fan paid to have digital land next to his musical idol. The plot of land itself now owned by PwC was sold as an NFT, but the boom in digital real estate is only now ever-burgeoning. Both individuals and companies are spending hundreds of millions on virtual spaces, a market that is said to grow 31.2% CAGR from 2022 to 2028.
JPMorgan not only invested into the metaverse but is literally building within it via a fully operational hang-out spot within Decentraland for its customers. Coined the "Onyx" lounge, JPMorgan's metaverse aspirations can be seen as a new wave of customer support, user experience, and communicative integrity. The lounge comes resplendent with a floating picture of Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO, as well as a wandering tiger.
The bank likewise issued a whitepaper discussing how the metaverse can be utilized to broaden business needs and concepts. Titled "opportunities in the metaverse: how businesses can explore the metaverse and navigate the hype vs. reality," JPMorgan's take seems to point to a potential as of yet only lightly itched. One excerpt reads:
"When you think about the economics of the metaverse - or metanomics - there are opportunities in almost every market area."
Despite not necessarily being among the more contemporary metaverse lands, Roblox saw itself as the landmark for Gucci's art installation last year. The fashion brand set up a lookalike of its own real-world Florence, Italy-based art installation inside Roblox for two weeks. Entrants were viewed wearing digitized Gucci clothes on genderless metaverse avatars and, as they wandered about the event, could seemingly "consume" aspects of each area within Roblox.
Like Gucci and its various NFT plays, Coca-Cola has likewise tested NFTs through metaverse integrations. Back in July of last year, the soda brand sought to celebrate the past through a newfound future in the form of an auction. Those invited could bid on a "Coca-Cola Friendship Box," which was essentially an NFT goody bag made into the guise of Coca-Cola's vending machine.
Within each of these boxes, which were designed and crafted by 3D artists Tafi, such NFT surprises included most prominently a "Coca-Cola Bubble jacket," which could be worn in Decentraland. Though not directly tied or held within a metaverse, the event itself proves that more and more large brands are witnessing the possibilities held via metaverse applications.
No sooner will consumers begin to see a rise in such metaverse corporate pushes. We may well even more quickly be working alongside each other in a virtual space, as the real world folds into the digital.
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