Brands need to explore joining the metaverse, including the world of NFTs because that is where the next generation of consumers is engaging with brands. NFTs, sometimes known as digital collectibles, offers brands new opportunities for collaboration, engagement, and activation. Web3 is forcing brands to take a new look at the value they offer their customers. At the D2 Summit, a panel of marketing experts look at the way Web3 is transforming how brands interact with their customers, and how it is changing the customer experience.
How the Metaverse & NFTs Change the Customer Experience
The D2 Summit assembled a panel of experts to discuss how the metaverse is changing the customer experience. Facilitator Alicia Esposito, vice president of content for Retail TouchPoints, was joined by Chris Silver, cofounder of Bambumeta, and Patrick Lowe, head of partnerships for LaLiga, the top professional division of the Spanish soccer league.
Silver kicked off the discussion by detailing the unique connection Web3 provides brands to their customers. The metaverse, says Silver, offers retailers a huge new opportunity for building communities, relationships, and collaborations. “It’s a new channel that we must explore because that’s where our customers are spending a lot of time.” He says the metaverse falls within three categories for brands: It could be a digital twin of your store or your experience, a game where things that have a start and an end, or a virtual life where people are recreating their everyday lives.
Silver also points to new relationships and communities, such as product collaborations, shared value or rewards through NFTs, and access for loyal customers to online events or activities. However, he warns that brands must also be mindful of the challenges this new platform presents, namely the perception of non-sustainability, the blockchain “war” (which blockchain is best), integration, activation, and customer service.
Panel Highlights
Bringing Marketing to the Next Level:
“We’ve heard time and time again as experienced professionals, as marketers, be where the customer is. But I feel like Web3 and specifically NFTs and these gaming communities kind of bring that to the next level,” says Esposito.
“For us, [joining the metaverse] really tied back to our fandom,” says Lowe. “One of our goals is we want to connect with our fans in every corner of the world, not just geographically, but where they live,” says Lowe.
C-Suite Buy-In:
Lowe says that his team knew a large portion of their audience was already in the metaverse space, primarily in North America and Southeast Asia, and so the C-suite knew they needed to be there as well. “At the C-level after we had beat the drum and there was buy-in, it was then doing the due diligence of who we wanted to partner with to make sure the customer experience was top-notch,” says Lowe.
The Future of Marketing Opportunities:
“This is at the very, very beginning stages,” says Silver. “The brands we work with, they’re trying to connect loyalty to their customers’ everyday lives. [Web3] allows you to gamify the everyday world.”
Driving the Next Generation of Loyalty
“[Web3] is forcing brands to come up with conversations of ‘We value your loyalty; we value your relationship over the years. Let’s make something that’s a cohesive story. It’s showing brands that you need to value your customers….We can give value that actually means something to each individual consumer on the personalized level.”
To hear more and learn how some of the top brands are taking advantage of this marketing frontier, watch the panel discussion here.
