PR In A Metaverse Era, By House Of Comms’ Anoushka Talukdar
PR pros are no strangers to change. From the broadcast boom in the 60s to the implementation of the world wide web in the 90s; the advent of social media at the start of the millennium and a raging pandemic almost two decades later to now, the arrival of an otherworldly realm – the Metaverse.
We are constantly faced with an evolving landscape thanks to an ever-changing consumer mindset and consumption habits. However unlike the most recent driver of industry change – the pandemic, which captured the world’s attention overnight and held us hostage for almost two years, the Metaverse has actually been brewing for some time. It follows an avid global gaming culture which has gained a legion of fans in the last two years.
The Metaverse – or Web 3 as it’s also known – has gone from being an “I’ll pretend I know about it but let’s move on” topic, to the word on everyone’s lips. Many marketers are debating it, whilst companies are incorporating it in their business models, fashion brands are styling avatars for it, and consumers are celebrating big occasions in it.
So what is it exactly? According to Merriam-Webster, the Metaverse is currently referred to as the concept of a highly immersive virtual world where people gather to socialise, play, and work.
The name first appeared in the dystopian cyberpunk novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson in 1992, before becoming more familiar thanks to the immensely popular Black Mirror series in 2011, and then the sci-fi action flick released by Steven Spielberg in 2018, Ready Player One. But it was in October 2021 when it actually got people sitting up and taking notice, as Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was changing the name of its parent company to Meta.
As the Metaverse continues to attract great interest around the world, especially here in the region – more and more international Metaverse companies are opening their headquarters in Dubai – and brands invest in building products to be consumed in the virtual world, so too will PR need to immerse key audiences in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences.
So how should we navigate the hype of VR and AR – and capture some of the key learnings into our PR toolbox?
Firstly – for those of you that haven’t already, it’s time to read up on what the Metaverse is all about.
And why is that? Well I’m no expert, but having done some research for this article myself, I was amazed to come across some mind-blowing findings below;
What these stats should tell you right away is that there is vast potential for our industry to make an instant yet lasting impact in the Metaverse.
Following on from my first point, and once everyone has a better understanding of the Metaverse – the more we embrace it, and find reasons to activate ideas in that world, the more we’ll stand out. It’s not about stopping the way we work with our clients and brands, but looking at ways to create more immersive strategies and virtual experiences for our WHO.
For example – starting with the very fundamental PR tactic of product placement. As global brands start to create digital versions of their products and services, us PRs can gift these virtual items — or focus our efforts on the development of greater digital content – to increase their exposure.
What about another essential PR technique – gifting. Blockchain has paved the way for digital currencies, with holders able to monetise and participate in the metaverse’s marketplace. As the hype continues around these ‘gold dust’ non-fungible tokens – how about giving traditional media in the region a piece of the pie through the purchase of their own digital space virtually? Net – it’s time to re-think sending hampers, and start gifting NFTs!
When clients have previously asked for ‘out of the box’ thinking in PR – it couldn’t be more relevant than today – when you now genuinely have to think of out of body experiences for people.
While Zoom, Webex, Teams and Google Meet came alive during Covid – we now need to start convincing brands to elevate the ‘meeting room’ experience with a 360-designed virtual lounge for media, influencers and VIPs. AR and VR headsets are more powerful now – and cheaper – to improve the user experience. Gifting them personalised headsets will enable them to step into a much more immersive launch, press meet or interview than before, fusing the reality of the client’s announcement with their own vivid imagination.
The other fascinating element of the Metaverse is the concept of avatars – made famous by the 2009 James Cameron blockbuster movie in the same name.
With a roster of international retail brands like Prada and Puma creating original avatars to compete with real life influencers in the West – brands here in the region should start to think about using avatars of influencers to tell their stories through social media content, paid ads, and better yet, VR-life experiences.
Now that we’ve accepted we’re in the Metaverse era for the long-run, as PRs it’s time to re-route our brains to think Metaverse first. It’s our responsibility to carve our brands’ place within it, otherwise risk getting left out.
Anoushka Talukdar
Anoushka – or “Noush” as she’s known — has practiced PR in London, NYC and now, the UAE. Noush loves hospitality and F&B, and has extensive experience in retail, tech, and FMCG. She’s the powerhouse of PR and ensures the teams deliver results that make a real difference. Noush is also the agency’s in- house food critic. Want to know where to eat and what to expect? Noush knows.
