The metaverse - a real issue for brands

The metaverse is not a new idea - the term has been around at least since the early 1990s. However, the utopia has never been so close to becoming a reality. Between hopes and fears, all companies are preparing for it.

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Understanding the metaverse

The word "metavers" is forged by the contraction of "meta" and "universe". It is a virtual universe, a world within the world, where our avatars can move, interact and engage in all sorts of activities in 3D virtual spaces... Described in this way, the metaverse appears to be the continuation of online video games for the general public (a perfected version of the famous Second Life), and some people already present it as the future of the Internet.

There will be not one, but several metavers proposed by different economic actors, public or private. Today, the company that seems to be the most ambitious in this field is Facebook, with its "Horizon Worlds" project. For the moment only available in North America, this metaverse should arrive in France before the end of 2022. Facebook believes so much in this concept that the company has changed its name to "Meta". In parallel, the French company Jamespot has launched its own professional metavers. And this is just the beginning...

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A new horizon for luxury and fashion

Fashion show, boutique, press conference, presentation of a new product or a new collection... Any element of our real world can have its equivalent in the metaverse... and even more! Because in the metaverse, the constraints of the physical world no longer exist. Brands will have to learn to master these infinite possibilities, for example by inventing new forms of communication. In the metaverse, advertising is not limited to billboards. Your brand's image can be defended by a character, a specific place (like a virtual store), a playful event in which your customers can take part...

Finally, metavers offer possibilities of concrete trade since monetary exchanges are generally allowed. Moreover, it is in metavers that NFTs (unique virtual products, impossible to copy) take all their meaning and value.

For consumers and brands alike, this is a new playing field.

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