Branding in the Metaverse

If you are a brand marketer, you're most likely exploring how your brand will enter the metaverse long term and what you can do today to take your first step into the virtual space.?

There is a lot to know about emerging technologies. And while technologies are still in development, let's not forget the importance of branding in the virtual space.

In this article, I dive deeper into your brand's identity and provide guidance on offering your consumers a heightened brand experience with virtual spaces that will get you closer to your goals.

Current Development in Tech

Before we dive in, note that the metaverse is still so early in its development. Currently, we know that metaverse technologies include gaming engines, blockchain, and their virtual spaces, and centralized platforms such as Meta, Roblox, and other young emerging tech companies. The future might predict that more solutions and technologies will come into play to create an echo system connecting social platforms with brand spaces, blockchain, AI, AR, and NFTs: a global social interaction through the virtual space. In conclusion, your audience will expect a heightened digital experience from you today, which satisfies their desire to interact with your brand in the virtual space.

As a marketer, your ability to offer more creative solutions globally and meet the same quality experience in the digital space as in the shop is more important than ever. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, your organization must evolve with technology and innovate your internal processes to keep up with the speedy digital transformation.?

Digital Brand Experience Trends?

Digital Design trends are moving away from 2D experiences, which include UX and UI flat objects on a flat background that might be animated. For you, this would mean firstly exploring the creation of a heightened digital experience for your brand in 3D. My Creative Studio recently launched various of these experiences in hyperrealism. To create the digital experience, remember two things:?

a) Always keep your brand identity top of mind?

b) Storytelling and how it will interact with your audience.??

Storytelling & brand identity are equally essential to engage your audience, as are the technologies. There is so much buzz out there about the technologies that we could easily forget about the branding aspect, how to bring it into your metaverse, and tell engaging stories through your brand's identity and products.??

Branding has been the most critical foundation in every marketing initiative since marketing exists. And today, more than ever, brands stand for much more than just their products. People buy brands that deeply connect with their beliefs, values, and deepest desires. For luxury brands, it would be the elevated experience, passion, freedom of self-expression, and exclusivity. Buying from your brand is an emotional decision. And that is why branding in the metaverse will be as important as in real life. Branding is an experience that creates an emotional connection. ?

Brand & Story-telling through Architecture in the Virtual Space?

Imagine opening a new Flagship Store; you will most likely work with an architect to create the most impressive in-shop experience from materials, architecture, layout, and product merchandising to your staff. It is all designed around your brand and consumers. So how will you re-create this kind of felt experience in the Digital World?

The Virtual Space is not a replica of your Flagship store; it is a matched design that uses selective materials, textures, and architectural elements created around your brand's heritage. And it includes layers on top, which link to your e-commerce site, activate challenges and games for your audiences connecting to your social channels, and display information about your brand and products.?

To begin such a project, you must ask yourself:

1. What are your short-term or long-term goals for creating a space??
2. How does it connect with your digital and marketing strategy?
3. Who's your audience? How do they interact? Where do they hang out?
4. What are the channels through which your audience interacts with you the most?
5. List down the keywords of feelings you want to create in the Virtual Space.

• Try to feel what your brand stands for. Is it warm, loving, edgy, or provocative? What colors represent the feelings of your brand??

*This is one of the essential points to identify. We create experiences for humans. Therefore emotional drivers must be represented as colors, textures, shapes, and within the overall design.

????5. What makes your brand different from others?

My atelier curates a mesmerizing space in hyper-realism and creates an entire story, with elements, challenges for your visitors, and marketing initiatives around it. Connect your channels through interactive experiences.

Creating a Virtual Space is a transformative journey that enables you to have all your digital content created in one place. One Virtual Space allows you to extract your marketing channel's visuals, videos, and 3D Digital Experiences.?

Ultimately you will be able to transform your customer touch point from the landing page of your website to a 3D experience, connecting to e-commerce and social media challenges.?

In my next post, I will cover the implementation of various experiences through the latest technologies. Until then, DM me if you have any questions, and let's discuss together how we will create a more authentic experience to inspire the world with impeccable artistry.

Sarah