Ever since Facebook changed its name to Meta, top global ad exec Nicola Mendelsohn has been showing advertisers what’s possible in the metaverse.
Mendelsohn, VP of Meta’s global business group, has hosted clients on the virtual moon, where they’ve taken selfies with the sun and the earth; she’s had meetings in a virtual office space set to a backdrop of the Himalayas.
The novelty is exciting, but what are the real business opportunities in the metaverse for brands? How will the metaverse be different from AR and VR, which still haven’t moved far out of the hype phase?
In a blog post published on Monday, Meta lays out future business possibilities for advertisers in the metaverse, who will be able to “bridge the gap” between the virtual and reality with immersive shopping experiences or large scale virtual events.
What might feel like “sci-fi” now can translate into larger scale opportunities in the metaverse, according to Mendelsohn.
“Imagine you're an advertiser sponsoring a physical event that only holds 50,000 or 100,000 people. [In the metaverse] more people could come in and arrange to be there with their friends, who would be [virtually there] by their side, amongst the people that are there in real life as well,” she said, adding that social presence feels much more real in the metaverse.
Still, experiences like this might be 10 years out, and Meta advises advertisers “to continue building your business for today’s opportunities” while the metaverse grows among consumers.
But smart advertisers will be thinking about what’s coming, and investing in technology like video, AR, VR and other experiential or immersive experiences now, Mendelsohn said.
Because, according to Meta’s blog post, “as was true with the mobile internet, the business opportunity will follow consumer behavior.”
“The mobile internet enabled a new way to personalize experiences; to meet people's growing expectations for how they want to engage with businesses. We believe the metaverse will enhance this trend,” the blog post reads.