Imagine being asked to build a new world. That’s quite a challenge in terms of creativity. How do you avoid sticking to a pale copy of our own? And how do you avoid the temptation of ‘plan B’ – creating a haven in which life is all sweetness and light?
But, actually, building a new world offers us the opportunity to test, to progress, to change the game.
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At VO, we see the metaverse as a parallel and complementary world rather than a replacement world. This is how it can come in useful for citizens, and this is also where it becomes interesting for businesses – through the concept of the digital twin.
Testing without limits
We don’t replace, we superimpose. We duplicate. In a parallel world, we simulate a factory’s production line, a city’s road traffic, a region’s water consumption, a new hydrogen-powered aircraft, or even a heart to be operated on… all using data from the real world.
This is how new technologies can be tested, delicate procedures can be taught, and production processes can be rethought, all while significantly minimising costs and risks.
Thinking outside of the box
The metaverse offers such possibilities that it constantly requires us to be imaginative. Here’s an example, in retail. You are a manufacturer and distributor of tennis racquets. Instead of sticking with a simple virtual racquet, offer your customers two training sessions with Roger Federer’s avatar, suggests Nicolas Marullo (Cinco). [+ link to video]
Here’s another example, in the world of the arts: if you have a choice between attending a concert by your favourite artist in the real world and transporting it into the metaverse, naturally you will choose reality. “Because the appeal of a concert is the experience of the crowd, the sound, the togetherness of the audience and the uniqueness of the moment,” stresses Fabian Vanhouche (Head of Creative at VO). “On the other hand, if you can’t attend the concert, you’ll be interested in the metaverse version. This opens an opportunity to really switch things up. You could be offered a simple substitute: your avatar is immersed in a crowd of avatars, in a virtual concert hall. But I doubt you will be tempted. Or we can think differently and manage to surprise you – for example by offering you a seat on stage, right next to the DJ.”
Combining the two worlds
The metaverse gives a new lease of life to the phygital: you can create events where your guests (their avatars) will have experiences that are impossible to achieve in the physical world.
You can reward your customers for their loyalty in your physical shops by offering them experiences in the metaverse. Or the other way around. You can give them access to exclusive content, create temporary partnerships, gamify your communication, find new brand ambassadors…
You can underline your values by supporting a (real) cause that is particularly important to you – as Guerlain did by launching a series of CryptoBee NFTs to benefit biodiversity in the Millière Valley nature reserve in the Yvelines.
Another example of engagement: Entourage, an association that combats the exclusion of homeless people, launched the first “homeless person in the metaverse” on 31 March – the day winter ended. Named Will, he was created in Decentraland to raise awareness of a real-world problem that is still relevant today.
Beware of denial: the metaverse is not an option
If someone had told you 15 years ago that our mobile phones would only be used to make phone calls in a tiny percentage of cases, would you have believed it? And yet… this is probably what is going to happen with the metaverse: we have not yet realised how important it will become.
And last but not least, it is teenagers who are crowding the metaverse. The main targets are 12 or 13 years old today – an extremely difficult audience to reach! In 10 years’ time, they will be adults, they will have grown up with the metaverse. Adoption is slow, but seems irreversible.
On this subject, last June the firm McKinsey unveiled the telling results of a survey conducted among 1,000 Americans aged 13 to 70. To the question “How many hours a day do you think you will be spending in the metaverse in five years’ time?”, the youngest answered… 4.7 hours!
To take your first steps in the metaverse, take a look at our 2022 white paper.
