The advent of Web3, the metaverse and other immersive technologies arms us with powerful tools to build an emotional connection with audiences all over the globe. Building 3D content to fill entire worlds used to be expensive and daunting, a blocker for mass adoption by marketing teams. But that’s no longer the case. 

AI tools have matured so anyone can create amazing, mind-blowing and unique content. The list of AI content creation tools and use cases across our industry is massive, so I’m focusing on where my passion lies — at the intersection of XR and AI. 

This unbelievable power couple of AI tools like Midjourney and the latest immersive and 3D worlds fuel nothing short of a content revolution. Soon, anyone with the vocabulary to describe an environment or person can produce it in hyper-realistic 3D. No coding is required, just specific, artistic and carefully engineered language. (Finally, a good use for that art history degree!)  

Below I have outlined five specific use cases for this happy marriage. 

1. Exclusible: Using generative AI to speed up the development of XR projects 

Exclusible positions themselves as your “Web3 one-stop shop,” offering services such as:

• Building immersive spaces.
• Creating digital collectibles and NFTs.
• Launching dedicated marketing campaigns to reach the Gen-Z audience. 

They have launched an NFT plug-and-play platform called Highloop which allows marketers to easily create branded collectibles that don’t require coding skills or a cryptocurrency wallet. 

Exclusible helps brands like Hugo Boss, Christian Lacroix and Alpine build experiences using XR and Web3 technology. Founder Olivier Moingeon strongly advises brands not to sell NFTs and instead to consider this emerging technology as a long-term strategy to win the hearts of future customers. 

Moingeon has a long history with luxury brands and is helping them build relevance with a younger demographic. He believes the future of fashion is digital and that fashion houses will be selling digital wearables as their bread and butter within the next few years. Fashion retail brand Zara is already creating digital wearables inspired by their real-world items. 

A great example of Exclusible’s work is the recently launched Spatial.io experience for Hugo Boss, which includes a quest. When completed, the user is awarded a limited-edition NFT from the brand’s spring collection, which can be worn on their avatar. 

The beautifully rendered 3D experience was built in weeks with the help of AI. The Exclusible team worked with Hugo Boss to create mood boards and initial project designs using generative imaging tools, shaving off months of work. 

2. Roblox: Using AI to democratize 3D content creation

I’ve been singing the praises of Roblox for months now. They are founded on the fundamental principles I outline in my Metaverse Manifesto, creating digital spaces that provide users the tools to create the world around them easily. 

Roblox is now building its own generative AI tools to help their community easily bring their visions to life on the 3D platform, according to a recent AdAge report. This indicates that Roblox is playing the long game and valuing their audience above quick wins for investors. 

Building their own AI tools won’t be easy or cheap. However, it will hopefully provide a seamless and integrated way to use tools like Midjourney and ChatGPT to create Roblox content. Many 3D building engines have generative AI apps and integrations with varying levels of success. If Roblox nails this, they will give their community the power to build anything imaginable with a few clicks and clever prompts. 

You might be thinking — so what? Why do I care about Roblox, which is mostly a gaming platform for tweens. Well, it’s more than a gaming platform. With over 200 million active users, many of which engage with brands, Roblox has significant potential.

Brand engagement is among the use cases for the metaverse with the most potential, per a McKinsey study. The same report estimates that by 2030, the metaverse could generate $4 trillion to $5 trillion across consumer and enterprise use cases. 

Nike, Vans, Chipotle and Hot Topic are just a few brands finding success on Roblox. Nikeland on Roblox has hosted over 26 million visitors and sold over $185 million of NFTs for digital footwear and apparel, McKinsey reports. How about that for your ROI of immersive tech?

I realize not every brand is Nike, but you need an immersive technology and Web3 strategy, even if that involves waiting and seeing how this experiment unfolds. 

3. Spatial.io: Bringing the power of generative AI and XR to the masses

I might call Spatial.io the Roblox for adults, as 75% of the platform’s 1 million active users are over 24 years old, according to a recent report. They are doing a great job of building an accessible and intuitive 3D world that can be consumed on a PC, tablet, smartphone or VR headset. This cross-device accessibility and their partnerships with big brands like Hugo Boss and Benefit cosmetics are helping to get the word out. 

Spatial.io has what other platforms are lacking — fun, interactive spaces that house other users and integrations with companies like Ready Player Me that help to remove onboarding friction. At any given time, you can log in to Spatial.io and have a plethora of populated worlds to visit. Whether you visit the Boss Immersive Showroom or the Buddhaverse, there’s something for everyone. 

Spatial.io also makes it easy to create immersive spaces and has a robust creator toolkit that doesn’t require coding. I was able to create a 3D home space in a matter of minutes, and I can also build quests, custom avatars, moving vehicles and other forms of gamification. 

Spatial.io is building tools for its citizens while providing value to brands by working closely with them to provide data analytics, key integrations and strategic guidance for successful activations. 

4. Ready Player Me: Integrated AI tools for speedy personalization

Avatars — and avatar creation — are among the biggest friction points for online immersive spaces. Because these digital versions of ourselves tap into our identity and expression in the world, they can become a focal point for any experience. One key misstep brands make is underestimating the importance of the avatar selection and creation process within 3D experiences. 

Providing users with many options and making it easy and intuitive to customize their avatar is a huge deal. Often, a key frustration for users is the inability to take their custom avatar with them to different virtual spaces. Ready Player Me is trying to solve that problem with their universal avatar technology. Spatial.io and other platforms have paired up with Ready Player Me to allow users to bring their customized avatars into each unique platform. 

As with any new integration, there are bugs to work out. However, this is getting us one step closer to a true, interoperable metaverse that allows users to freely travel between worlds using the same language, currency and, of course, the same digital body or avatar. 

Ready Player Me has over 7,500 partners supporting their universal avatar technology. That’s a lot of different virtual spaces, and crafting a unique avatar for each one would be a major headache. 

Ready Player Me allows users to start with a pre-made avatar template or upload a photo of their face. The photo upload feature is creepy and not something I would want to use until the technology improves. I’m more of a fan of creating an avatar inspired by the real me, using these amazing tools to help find new ways of self-expression and empowerment. 

5. Midjourney: AI ‘text to image’ creation platform constructs artwork in seconds

Midjourney is every creative agency’s dirty little secret that’s not so secret anymore. Every creative team I’ve talked to over the last month has admitted to using this image creation tool.

Whether it’s being used to help ideate during the design phase or create compelling presentations and social content, agencies are all over it. Anyone responsible for creating visual content can benefit from this tool, and it’s easy to use and somewhat addictive. 

You simply provide prompts or a string of words that describes the image you want to create, and the tool does the rest of the work for you. The more detailed and advanced your prompts are, the more incredible the resulting images, which has created the skill of “prompt engineering.” 

Using the right prompts for AI-driven tools is one of the key skills we all need to learn to survive this AI takeover, according to PJ Pereira. The novelist and founder of award-winning agency Pereira O’Dell shared his vision on thinking about AI, along with a hands-on tutorial on crafting prompts for Midjourney in a recent XR Pub Crawl. 

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The contestants were UC Berkeley students from various disciplines (plus one or two alumna) and the awards were made by a panel of judges. According to Kuan-Ju Wu, a professor at the Jacobs Institute, the team were encouraged to look at current technology — “at signals from the space” — and then imagine what the future might be like.

Why we care. No, none of this needs to be in your marketing budget for 2024. One thing to understand, though, is that this contest got underway before everyone was talking about generative AI and ChatGPT. Which goes to show that there are many other concepts out there that could significantly change the internet and our relationship with it. Imagine how some of these concepts could play into marketing strategies…one day. “In this society, it’s really hard to determine how fast those ideas could become (reality),” he told us.

And the prize goes to…

Here are the winners in each of five categories.

Community choice and best technical concept: Web decentralization

According to the winning team, the future of the internet is about “creating systems where end-users get closer to the design process. Websites are no longer a form of presenting but also a tool for us to personalize our digital world and experience.”

As Wu described it: “Everyone has their building blocks to create their digital version of their own realm. In this future, it is all connected; they can share, they can transform data. It’s a combination of the new web and Minecraft. They use Minecraft a lot as an analogy.”

Dig deeper: Metaverse, Web 3.0 and NFTs: What marketers need to know

Best inclusive focus: Thought-to-thought

Two teams won awards based around brain computer interface (see the fifth award below) — probably, thought Wu, because there had been a recent conference on the topic. This involves a developing, real world technology aimed at using signals from the brain directly to engage with computers or other external devices.

Wu admits this project was “pretty wild” and one of the most speculative in the contest. “What interests me is that they touch on some ethical elements in this idea, because when you’re sharing your thoughts with other people, you have to build up a trust relationship. You’re enabling people to read your mind.”

Best social impact: Finding heart in Woven cities

Perhaps the cutest element here is the small (and frankly, stealable) robot dreamt up by two architecture students and a computer science student interested in public health. “Basically, the robot is just an agent, just a platform, like a repository for your idea or thought,” said Wu. It can be seen as a mobile billboard.

The robot would roam freely so encounters with it would be spontaneous. The genesis of the idea lay in the isolation of the COVID era and anxiety about speaking with strangers. (Woven City is an imaginary community.)

Most Actionable: Interspace

“Interspace is between intraspace and outer space,” explained Wu. The team were reflecting on the current state of social media that encourages individuals to present an outer face to the world, quite separate from the inner space of their own thoughts and feelings or relationships with close friends and family members.

“Those two spaces can mingle,” said Wu. The final concept was a wristband (inspired by the Tamagotchi device) that easily allows users to toggle between their inner self and outer brand when engaging with others.

Best blue sky: Brain computer interfaces

Being able to detect brain actvity like alpha waves — that’s old technology, Wu said. “I think the newer one will allow you to have a more sophisticated understanding of the signals from the brain and to analyze them.”

The vision here includes the revolutionizing of content creation as well as support for people who are impeded in the use of a normal mouse and keyboard, for example by neurodegenerative disease.

What will digital content look like in the future?

Brandon Watts, a senior manager at Storyblok, explained how this first collaboration with the Jacobs Institute came about. As a headless CMS, Storyblok can send content to all kinds of existing devices and channels. “One of the things we’re most interested in is what type of content platforms are going to exist in the future,” Watts said, “and of course we can speculate all day long, but we thought this was a cool opportunity to partner with Berkeley and get students on the ground to make an educated guess about where things might go.”

The concepts may seem ambitious but there’s always a content management element, Watts explained, because the content needs to be stored and somehow delivered. “With Storyblok, it doesn’t matter what platform it is — it’s all API-driven — so we could be communicating through a robot as easily as through a brain computer interface or anything like that.”

The main takeaway? The future could be much more personal and much more inclusive. “Instead of companies blasting out content on a billion different channels, these visions were all very one-to-one. What does that content journey look like?’

The post Beyond boundaries: The future of digital content appeared first on MarTech.

I was hunting down a story on one of the biggest and most notable businessmen in the virtual world. I remember the meeting as if it were yesterday, walking through his expansive, modern, glass building, taking an elevator up to the top floor and sitting around a huge boardroom table. 

My interview uncovered that he had built this entire virtual island and a flourishing business while embedded in Iraq. He explained that the meaningful connections he made in the virtual world helped ease the stress and anxiety of his real-world chaos. I was amazed, and it cemented my belief in the power of this technology. 

This story is not unique. Reporting on Second Life business I heard dozens of similar stories of people getting real-life needs met by virtual connections. Second Life was full of virtual humans — some even run by computers — who immensely influenced others in the community even though there was never a physical meeting.

I quickly learned not to care if the avatar accurately represented the human. Our digital representations afforded us the freedom we couldn’t find anywhere else and a safe place to explore ourselves and our relationships with others. I believe this freedom and the willingness of consumers to let go of the stigma surrounding digital connections are helping to fuel the current trend of virtual influencers. 

Today’s virtual influencer

Fast forward 20 years, and we now have brands and agencies creating virtual humans to help build connections between their organizations and the hearts of their consumers. Wikipedia defines a virtual influencer as “a computer-generated fictional character that can be used for a variety of marketing-related purposes, but most frequently for social media marketing, in lieu of human influencers. Most virtual influencers are designed using computer graphics and motion capture technology to resemble real people in realistic situations.” 

“Virtual influencers are the most human reflection of a brand, in that the brand is required to take ownership of their identity and apply their creativity to bring it to life in the form of a virtual being,” says the leading virtual human expert and “Forbes 30 Under 30 Entrepreneur” Christopher Travers. “For fans, a virtual influencer created by a team who cares about message, craft and creativity is a valuable media experience that can entertain and provide fulfillment in the form of insight, friendship, or just fun.” 

Benefits of virtual influencers to an organization include not paying the exorbitant fees of real influencers, owning the face (in fact owning the whole thing!) of the influencer or spokesperson and removing much of the risk associated with having a mistake-prone human represent your brand.  

Virtual influencers solve the challenge brands encounter when building meaningful connections across social platforms because like it or not, brands and corporations are not people. Crafting a values-driven, virtual influencer offers audiences a relatable and human-centered experience that can help grow brand affinity and relevance. 

Meet the new breed of influencers

There are almost 300 virtual influencers on record today, and the number is growing. Arguably the most successful and popular virtual influencer is Lu. She has a following of over 30 million users across her social platforms and is a new revenue stream for her creator, the Brazilian retailer Magalu. 

Described as the Amazon of South America with brick-and-mortar stores, Magalu has turned Lu into an influencer that can charge advertisers a high premium. Anyone selling a product on Magalu can pay to have their product creatively placed within the storytelling content that Lu is sharing with her 30 million followers.

She is active on all the major platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter. Stay tuned for a more comprehensive case study on Lu and Magalu, as I believe this is the future of advertising. 

Not all these virtual influencers are B2C-focused. Maarten Reijgersberg, CEO of creative agency RAUWcc, crafted Esther Olofsson, a self-described “virtual human created with AI.” 

You can follow Esther’s adventures on Instagram as she explores top tech conferences such as SXSW and The Next Web. Esther got her start as part of a campaign for a Dutch hotel chain, and Reijgersberg decided to keep her alive as an innovation engine and testing ground for new projects. 

Dig deeper: How to become a B2B influencer on LinkedIn

When asked about how he is measuring her success, Reijgersberg quips:

“[She is] successful if my colleagues continue to challenge their generative AI knowledge and if she generates press coverage for RAUWcc. Of course, we are working on more reach and engagement and she will eventually have to earn her own money.” 

Poor thing. Even virtual influencers need to prove their ROI. 

To AI or not to AI? That is the question

The improvements in AI and ML technologies have vastly increased the capabilities of automated avatars since my days in Second Life. At that time, virtual avatars or “bots” could do simple tasks like engage in a one-way conversation, share text-based chat messages and make simple, repeatable movements.

Today tools like ChatGPT, Cinema 4D, Stable Diffusion and a host of others allow teams to create much more life-like human interactions and content with their virtual humans. 

But just because the technology exists doesn’t mean all successful virtual influencers are AI-driven. Lu is crafted by a large team of content creators who don’t use AI tools. 

The benefit is that the brand has 100% control over creative content and output. The downside is that producing social content for millions of followers across multiple channels is hugely time-consuming and resource intensive. AI tools can ease the burden of cranking out content and reduce the required resources, but it increases risk and unpredictability in exchange. 

You can experience this unpredictability by engaging with AI-driven influencers such as Kuki, described as “the world’s most advanced AI virtual model,” or Kitt, an AI-driven vTuber. 

vTubers have taken over Twitch and YouTube and are essentially human-run, animated avatars that stream live content onto streaming platforms. Kitt, however, is completely run by AI technologies and engages her following in animated and unpredictable conversation. You can even pay $25 to have her sing your favorite song, a very interesting monetization model. 

While the unpredictability and newness of this technology are extremely captivating, it’s like watching a train wreck.

At one point, Kuki was correcting the grammar of one of her followers, educating him on the difference between “you are” and “your” — not the way to build affinity for a brand. 

Fast forward to the future

Despite the clunkiness and unpredictability of AI-run influencers, tools and platforms are being developed to perfect these technologies and use cases. One day, brands can spin up a virtual influencer that can produce their content, monitor their feeds and build relationships with fans 24/7. In the meantime, brands and creative teams will continue exploring and innovating how virtual influencers can bring value to consumers. 

“Tomorrow, virtual influencers will be as abundant as the JPG, the GIF, or the MP4. In this landscape, the novelty of the medium will fully wane and the most value-adding, artful implementations will reign,: says Travers. “Perhaps some leaders will be entirely generative, perhaps other leaders will be creator-led, but ultimately the barrier to entry will be made [zero] in time, there will be an abundance of virtual influencers and creativity will win at the margin.”

The post Meet 3D virtual influencers, the new breed of marketing influencers appeared first on MarTech.

Why we care. Can marketers or consumers trust CARU’s seal of approval? If we take Walmart at its word — and so far there is no reason not to — CARU reviewed and approved Universe of Play. The retail giant likely thought this would protect them not just from the FTC, but from charges like those made by the consumer groups. 

Those complaints were significant and should arguably have been foreseen. Now both marketers and consumers must wonder if CARU is providing meaningful oversight or just a fig leaf?

What it was. Universe of Play was one of two Walmart marketing efforts launched in Roblox, a metaverse platform, last September. It featured interactive games where users could win virtual coins to buy virtual merchandise. 

The company said the marketing was aimed at consumers between the ages of 17 and 24. However, the key brand tie-ins for Universe of Play were Jurassic World, Paw Patrol and Razor Scooters, which appeal to a significantly younger audience.

Dig Deeper: Walmart launches Roblox metaverse experience 

The complaints. In January, the ad watchdog truthinadvertising.org and several other consumer groups, sent a letter to CARU saying Universe of Play targeted young children and was marketing products without providing proper disclosures that site and its content are actually ads. 

The groups also said Walmart’s use of CARU’s COPPA Safe Harbor Program seal conveyed the message the game was compliant with the organization’s guidelines.

CARU is one of a dozen industry self-regulation programs run by the nonprofit BBB National Programs. In 2001, CARU’s advertising program was the first to be certified by the FTC as a Safe Harbor under the U.S.’s children’s online privacy law, COPPA. Participants who adhere to CARU’s guidelines are considered to be in compliance with the law and protected from any FTC enforcement action.

An unsafe harbor. The consumer groups’ letter also asked CARU to audit Walmart’s Roblox games. The retailer issued a statement saying this had already been done: “In December 2022, Walmart was approved to join CARU’s COPPA Safe Harbor Program after demonstrating that Universe of Play, a new immersive Roblox experience, complies with the stringent requirements of COPPA and CARU’s Guidelines.”

Some time after that Walmart removed the game from the site. Walmart hasn’t responded to a request for comment. CARU has refused to answer questions.

The post Walmart pulls Universe of Play off Roblox platform after consumer groups’ complaint appeared first on MarTech.

The app charged a fee for users to upload a photo of themselves that would then be altered to include the digital fashion item so that they could post it on their social media. This is worthless to me — as I can easily alter an image of myself or snap a photo through an AR lens. Most social apps these days offer similar capabilities. 

However, after more exploring, this digital closet app also sold the idea of being able to wear these digital fashions on virtual dates and in virtual meetings. In my view, this is how I envision a truly digital closet — one you can wear virtually, wherever you are. To get this capability, you needed to purchase an NFT. 

Excited by the idea of wearing a digital, pink feather boa during my next online class, I eagerly attempted to buy a cool NFT. After an investment of several hours and dollars, I’m still unable to wear my digital fashion in a Zoom meeting. This capability doesn’t even exist. So, what gives? 

NFTs just aren’t there yet

Let this story be a cautionary tale. Without the right strategy, you will annoy your audience and might never win them back. There have been many headlines announcing the failure of NFT drops, Porsche being one of the latest casualties. (Yes, Porsche!) This is just the start of NFT woes.

A recent court ruling has suggested that NFTs are securities and need to be treated as such, with oversight by the SEC. This same court ruling now holds the brand responsible for violations resulting from their attempt to reduce friction in purchasing the NFT and provide a better user experience. 

While NFTs may be risky for marketers, the metaverse can still offer brands opportunities to engage their audiences, share digital goods, and build community. And if there’s just one thing I want you to take away from this article, it’s that NFTs, the metaverse and Web 3.0 aren’t the same.

Dig deeper: What is the metaverse and how can we get there?

Metaverse, Web 3.0 and NFTs aren’t the same things

If they aren’t the same thing, how are they related? Why do the media, agencies and industry experts keep bundling them together? 

These terms are often intermingled because of a lack of historical perspective and the belief that all digital goods ownership begins and ends with an NFT. This isn’t the case. You can own a digital item, digital land in the metaverse and not get anywhere near an NFT or the blockchain. Let me try and offer simple definitions of these terms through a marketing lens. 

If you are old like me, you remember the promise of Web 2.0 and the excitement around turning passive internet users into active creators. Tools like WordPress, YouTube Studio and others allowed anyone to create web content. Social platforms allowed communities to come together like never before and offered a framework for those communities to share product reviews and recommendations. 

Smart marketers were not only excited about these innovative technologies but quick to adopt them themselves and begin exploring their new capabilities. I see Web 3.0 in the same way. 

The promise of Web 3.0

The common definition of Web 3.0 (or Web3) often includes technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency. However, I choose to define Web 3.0 more broadly. The future of the internet is spatial and I see Web 3.0 as referring to this new 3D version of the internet. 

Immersive spaces aren’t reliant on the blockchain or cryptocurrency and it’s misleading to suggest otherwise. I also feel that a component of Web 3.0 is moving users from creating 2D elements such as images and videos to creating 3D content. 

Whether this 3D content lives on a decentralized network is yet to be determined. To recap, Web 3.0 is a broad term referring to the future of the web as being spatial, which may or may not include emerging technologies such as NFTs, blockchain and cryptocurrencies. 

Metaverse or virtual world?

The metaverse commonly refers to virtual spaces where users will spend time. Here, the promise of Web 3.0 will come to life and provide the infrastructure and framework to support these interoperable and immersive spaces. I believe the metaverse exists, yet it’s an aspirational vision of what we can achieve in the future. We all have a role to play in shaping it. You can read my take on how we get there in my Manifesto for the makers of the metaverse. 

Today, we have a network of private clubs or walled gardens (I would call “virtual worlds”). They have different languages, rules and currencies, making navigating from one community to another difficult. 

This also challenges brands looking to build a community in one of these immersive spaces. In the same way you carefully choose where to place your media spend to reach your target audience (i.e., CIO.com, Wall Street Journal, CNN, USA Today, etc.), you need to hunt down your audience across these virtual worlds. 

You can identify the right platform with the help of this report, which shows the size, demographics and technology behind all the major virtual worlds, including Roblox, Second Life, Decentraland, The Sandbox and hundreds of others. 

Digital ownership is not new

So now that we have a working definition of Web 3.0 and the Metaverse, how do NFTs fit into this mix of emerging tech?

A non-fungible token (or NFT) is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership.” If we remove the bit about blockchain, then the virtual world of Second Life has been offering NFTs for over a decade. 

Second Life was forced to solve the issue of digital ownership back in 2006 as content creators on that platform were selling their virtual goods. Initially, the Second Life platform didn’t have a framework to prevent users from copying virtual items such as clothing, skins, furniture and buildings. The creators of this content couldn’t “own” their creations. The developers quickly created a system of permissions that allowed a content creator to designate if the item could be copied or transferred to another user.

If the creator wanted to make a one-of-a-kind thing, they could. But it was more common to sell multiple versions of the item that were non-transferrable, more like buying an item of clothing off the rack. I could only wear that item if I purchased it from its creator. This system allowed many Second Life designers to earn significant dollars in real life, with the virtual world’s first millionaire, Anshe Chung, being announced during that time. 

Does it solve an actual problem? 

One of my major problems with NFTs is that I don’t see the problem they solve. You can create digital ownership without NFTs. Their value is positioned as allowing for true ownership of a digital good through a decentralized platform instead of relying on infrastructure provided by a big tech company. And this may be true, but right now, that benefit is exactly what makes them risky and difficult for consumers to engage with. 

I have had a digital closet in Second Life since 2006, and I still “own” every item in that closet. I can even wear them today on the platform. This is an amazing statement, given the shifting landscape of the metaverse and immersive worlds over the last 20 years. I predict that NFTs, as we know them today, will go away and this technology will morph into something truly valuable — but not for years to come. 

What’s in store for the metaverse, Web 3.0 and NFTs? 

The promise for the metaverse, Web 3.0 and NFTs is a world where I can wear every item in my digital closet anywhere. The promise includes immersive spaces for work, for play and even for navigating around the real world with the use of AR eyewear — and a persistent and interoperable digital layer that interacts with real-world and virtual worlds. This vision will become a reality. We’re just not quite there yet. 

The post Metaverse, Web 3.0 and NFTs: What marketers need to know appeared first on MarTech.

In-game advertising merges ads with the game environment seamlessly. Imagine seeing billboards while racing through the streets or branded in-game products you can purchase. These ads are more powerful and effective than in-app advertisements — those annoying pop-ups or banner ads you commonly see in mobile app games.

With nearly 3 billion games worldwide, in-game advertising can give brands incredible reach. From virtual billboards to branded experiences, video games have become a marketer’s paradise for reaching the coveted gaming demographic.

This guide covers the basics of in-game advertising, including common ad types, available targeting options, associated costs, challenges and best practices.

Types of in-game advertising

Before exploring how to take advantage of in-game advertisements, let’s review the most common types of game ads.

Static in-game advertising

These ads are directly hardcoded into the game. Since the ads can’t be changed and will exist in the game ad infinitum, rates are expensive and charged on a fixed-fee basis.

Dynamic in-game advertising

Dynamic ads can be replaced quickly and deployed instantly. These ads can appear in different places and formats (display and video ads are the most common). The 2008 billboards from Barack Obama in Need for Speed: Carbon are a great example of this ad format’s simple yet powerful use.

Sponsored game content

Sponsored game content involves integrating a brand or product into the actual game content, making it even more tangible and visible to the player and engaging them with the brand.

Dig deeper: PepsiCo’s strategies for marketing via online games and esports

KFC did this exceptionally well when it partnered with Nintendo to create a virtual island in the popular game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The island was designed with KFC-themed items and decorations and even allowed players to win a voucher for chicken in real-life.

Advergames

Rather than integrating the ads into an already existing game, advergames are games specifically designed to promote a brand or product. They provide a fun and engaging way to interact with a brand and can effectively build brand awareness and loyalty.

Chex Quest, made by Chex, was the first video game ever to be included in cereal boxes as a prize. It was a top-to-bottom conversion of the popular game Doom but adjusted it to be family-friendly. The game was a hit among consumers and even won several awards.

Activision Blizzard Media has recently created many Playables — branded stand-alone mobile app games.

Product placement

The classic advertisement method still works. Advertisers can put their products directly into video games to guarantee players see the brand and “use” the products.

I remember playing Mario Kart 8 on the Nintendo Wii and unlocking the Mercedes-Benz cars. This made the branded products more exclusive since they had to be earned.

Targeting options for in-game advertising

The other unique benefit of in-game advertisements are the targeting abilities. It starts with choosing the right game (or games). Advertisers can focus on consumers based on demographics, geolocation, device type or platforms. However, integrating these traditional targeting approaches with behavioral targeting makes in-game advertisements even more effective.

Behavior targeting uses the actions the player has taken (or has not taken) to create an ideal segment of users to reach. For example, an advertiser could target players who have demonstrated a willingness to open their wallets by spending money to buy items in a game — or players who have reached a certain level and are, therefore, more engaged.

Combining these different ways of targeting and deploying them across various games that reach consumers on multiple platforms (gaming consoles, computers and smartphones) makes in-game advertising extremely powerful. With abundant reach and powerful targeting, brands can build awareness, drive engagement and boost sales quickly and effectively.

How to buy in-game advertising

Getting started with in-game advertising will ultimately depend on the types of games you want to appear in and your budget. 

When selecting an approach to buying in-game advertising, consider the specific goals, budget and target audience of the campaign. 

Game publishers

• Example: Activision Blizzard Media

You can work directly with game publishers to create custom ad campaigns within their games. This approach provides more control over the creative content and targeting and a deeper level of integration with the game environment. 

However, it can be more time-consuming and expensive than other options and may not offer as much scale or reach since it is limited to a single game.

In-game ad networks 

• Examples: Admix, Unity Ads

Ad networks connect brands with multiple game publishers, providing access to a broader collection of games. They offer greater scale and reach and more efficient pricing and targeting options. 

The downside is that you have less control over the creative content and placement. Some ad networks are not as high-quality and have limited targeting options. 

Programmatic advertising platforms 

• Examples: Bidstack, Anzu

Programmatic platforms use data and algorithms to automate the buying and placement of in-game ads across multiple publishers and platforms. This approach can offer greater efficiency, scale and advanced targeting options based on user data and behavior. However, programmatic platforms may have less control over the creative content and placement and may require more technical expertise.

The costs of in-game advertising

How expensive are in-game ads? It depends, but it’s only going to get more expensive. In-game advertising pricing can vary based on several factors, including the type of game, ad format, targeting options and the size and scope of the campaign.

CPM pricing is the most common approach, and rates can vary widely based on factors like ad format and targeting. The average CPM for in-game display ads ranges from $10-20, with video ads from $15-30.

These numbers will vary dramatically depending on the audience, game, targeting and ad formats. For example, CPMS for in-game ads targeting Gen Z and Millennials were 30-50% higher than those targeting Gen X and Baby Boomers, according to an Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) study.

You can also expect CPMs to continue to rise with the growing popularity of games and the high demand to reach gamers who are otherwise difficult to reach. Other in-game ads follow a flat-rate pricing model, especially static ads or advergames.

Challenges and best practices

It’s all fun and games until your campaign stops performing well. In-game advertisements come with their own unique set of challenges — and fatigue is a real concern. 

• Players can quickly become bored or annoyed by seeing the same ads repeatedly. Be sure to monitor frequency and refresh creative as often as possible.
• Players will also be upset if ads are intrusive, distracting, or disrupt their gameplay in any way. This isn’t commonly an issue, but it’s an important consideration.

As with any advertising, targeting is critical. It’s best to use non-intrusive creative formats to engage users. If possible, rewarding users with in-game currency, items, or exclusive content can increase engagement rates and brand affinity. The aforementioned example of being able to earn Mercedes-Benz cars in Mario Kart is a simple but effective model of this in practice.

What’s in store for in-game advertising?

In-game advertising is a powerful way to reach a highly-engaged, lucrative and fast-growing audience. There is no shortage of different types of games and no reason not to try in-game advertising.

Mobile games and handheld gaming platforms like the Nintendo Switch make it even easier for brands to stay connected and engaged with users even more than ever before.

New technologies like virtual reality and the Metaverse will bring more gaming environments, unique experiences and even more diverse opportunities for advertisers to explore.

The post In-game advertising: A marketer’s guide appeared first on MarTech.

Papa Johns and Netspend recently plunged into augmented reality (AR) through an eGift promotion in partnership with Shaq’s Fun House presented by Netspend. Consumers learned about the campaign courtesy of the Instagram hub hosted by basketball great Shaquille O’Neal.

The AR experience began when users pointed their phone camera at a dollar bill. As a result of the WebAR technology developed by Videobomb, the image of the dollar bill connected users to the promotion, which invited them to sign up and receive a $10 eGift discount for Papa Johns.

“This was a new venture for Papa Johns,” said Jaclyn Ruelle, VP head of brand at Papa Johns. “We had not yet gone deep on AR experiences with our fanbase for no reason other than we just had not played in that space yet, but this definitely gives us great hope that there could be a future there for our fanbase.”

The promotion launched the Friday before the Super Bowl, a busy weekend for food orders. By Saturday morning, 5,000 eGift codes had been claimed.

This was the first AR activation for Netspend, and it was facilitated by Nashville-based agency FlyteVu, who recently launched a web3 practice.

Why we care. Ease-of-use is a question for any emerging technology, not to mention the wow factor of new AR experiences. When these bars are cleared, it’s worth marketers’ attention.

The Videobomb technology allows brands to make any object in the physical world become a digital billboard ad on a consumer’s mobile screen. It’s a peek into a future where products for sale on a store shelf or purchased items in a home all have a digital component accessible by phone.

Dig deeper: Experience, ecommerce and transformation for marketers in 2023

Easy to use, easy to launch. Because the Papa Johns/Netspend promotion used WebAR technology, consumers didn’t have to download an app to trigger the augmented experience. They also didn’t need any additional hardware, like a VR headset. They see the dollar bill come alive directly on their phone screen.

On the back end, marketers are given access to a no-code setup where brands upload the common object they want transformed, as well as the ad the object triggers. Videobomb founder and CEO Chad Marcum said the process is no more complicated than updating a photo on Facebook.

Democratizing AR. “Every brand has a story to tell,” Marcum said. “AR is the best way because it’s changing the way we interact with and look at the world around us. Every surface is an opportunity for advertising, education or providing more information.”

He added, “We can wrap a video around a product in a matter of minutes, and there’s no coding or app required. You select the trigger image you want and the video.”

The video then includes a call-to-action to drive the desired consumer behavior. And on the other side of the action, the Videobomb platform generates analytics so marketers can measure conversion rates and ROI.

“Any brand, with any budget, can create their own campaigns in literally minutes and for a low monthly fee,” said Marcum. “Our platform is focused on engagement and ROI — not just entertainment.”

Brands adopting AR. “I think there’s a level of legitimacy and authority gained from tapping into innovations like AR as a marketer,” said Diana Holgate, senior vice president of marketing at Netspend. “We continue to explore new ways to bring users and consumers into our product cycle, and frankly, as a payments company, showing our capabilities through new technologies and approaches is an angle we’re eager to continue pursuing.”

She added, ”As technology continues to proliferate into the hands of our target audiences, it is exciting to test new and innovative ways to grow engagement and visibility for our brand.

Celebrities accelerate tech adoption. Another key component for the Papa Johns and Netspend promotion was the partnership with Shaquille O’Neal’s IG hub. Brands often look to sports and music stars when pioneering new tech, as we saw last year with Under Armour’s Web3 efforts centered around their Curry Brand and Stephen Curry’s record-breaking on-court achievements.

“With a pre-existing relationship with Papa Johns, we know and value the impact [O’Neal] brings to our customers and in cross-collaborating with him across his social properties and showing up at his events,” said Ruelle. “Shaq’s fan following is one that is rabid and loyal and we continue to see great benefit in partnering with him long-term.”

Agency guidance and support. Although Videobomb’s technology is designed for easy adoption across brands and agencies, it was FlyteVu who brought in the tech for this promotion.

“Brands have to find ways to engage consumers where they are — on mobile devices — and in ways that keep their attention for longer,” said Laura Hutfless, co-founder of FlyteVu. “AR allows for a longer, more engaged experience and a deeper connection between the brand and the consumer. The Papa Johns and Netspend campaign was a success because we were able to create a unique, compelling experience that engaged consumers where they were (on Instagram) beyond just viewing content.”

She added, “AR should only be used when it can help a brand accomplish its KPIs better and faster. If you remove the AR component and still get the same results, then don’t use it.”

The eGift campaign went live at 7:12pm on February 10 and all 5,000 codes were redeemed by 8:19am the following morning.

The post Papa Johns and Netspend adopt augmented reality for eGift campaign appeared first on MarTech.

When users scan the QR code they can see a 3D rendering of the new car on their phone screens, placed in the context of their immediate surroundings, which are captured by the phone’s camera. They can interact with the virtual car by rotating the image, changing the car’s color, zooming in and getting behind the wheel for a test drive.

Why we care. Buying a car is a big decision relying heavily on in-person sales interactions. For automakers, augmented reality (AR) can act as a digital bridge allowing consumers to find out more about the product and how it looks.

It’s one thing to see a detailed 3D image in a neutral setting on a website. AR goes a step further by allowing users to see the 3D image in the buyer’s environment. As a result, a buyer doesn’t have to imagine what the car might look like in their driveway. They can point their phone at the driveway and see what the car looks like in that setting, or any other context.

Dig deeper: Why we care about AR and VR: A marketer’s guide

Multi-channel campaign. In addition to DOOH ads, the Toyota Crown campaign also uses display banners and connected TV pre-roll ads.

“Identifying innovative ways to bring our digital marketing to life plays a crucial role in our campaign strategies, especially when introducing this new sedan,” said Angie White, senior manager, media, Toyota Motor North America, in a company statement.

Value of AR. “The Yahoo AR partnership helps drivers discover the Toyota Crown in a meaningful and interactive way,” White added.

Car shoppers get value from the AR experience by being able to closely see the car from all angles in a way you can’t on a website.

Tapping the driver’s side car door brings the viewer into the car, behind the steering wheel, to find out what it’s like to test drive the car. Users can tap on other icons to pull up additional “educational hotspots” that further educate the consumer about the Toyota Crown’s features.

Toyota partnered with Yahoo Creative Studios to create the AR experience, which uses the 8th Wall WebAR platform. Toyota is the latest carmaker to use a virtual experience for marketing. Last year Acura had a campaign on Decentraland featuring a virtual showroom and NFT promotion.

The post Toyota launches AR experience to support 2023 Crown appeared first on MarTech.

Shlomi Ron, founder and CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute, first explained NFTs and crypto to MarTech almost two years ago. (See “A Guide to Visual Storytelling” Part I and Part II.) We thought it would be a good time to talk with him again to gain a better understanding of how NFTs, crypto and blockchain work together to propel Web3.

Step 1: Crawl

NFTs and crypto are each hard to understand when viewed in isolation. They must be taken together to see how they work. As Ron put it, “[They] are like the building blocks for Web3 technology.”

“Think of NFTs as one-of-a-kind treasures, like rare collectible toys, that can’t be replicated or traded for anything else. They help keep track of who owns unique digital things like digital art and in-game items on the blockchain,” he said.

“Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are like digital wallets filled with virtual cash. They help make payments and transactions on the blockchain secure and trustworthy,” Ron continued.

“Both NFTs and cryptocurrencies help Web3 work smoothly and securely, like puzzle pieces fitting together,” he said. “You can pay with crypto currency to buy NFTs in order to buy goods, services, and other digital assets.”

Step 2: Walk

Which leads to the tangible rewards Web3 must deliver. The whole point of this technology package is to engage customers in such a way as to increase brand loyalty. Just remember that the reward cannot be commonplace, like a coupon or a free pizza.

The NFT/blockchain combination can be crafted to deliver a customer reward that cannot be copied or faked, Ron pointed out. “By offering exclusive rewards, brands can encourage customers to engage with them and develop a sense of loyalty as they receive rewards that are otherwise unavailable.”

“Think of them as the evolution of the good ol’ loyalty points that airline companies offer but with a long-term ownership benefit,” Ron said. “[B]y using blockchain technology to track and reward customer engagement, brands can provide a sense of security and trust, which can further increase loyalty.”

Dig deeper: Web 3? It’s the web we hope for, not the one we know

Step 3: Run

Some brands are already trying out Web3 solutions, with varying degrees of success. Ron listed a few such efforts.

• The Gap used the Tezos blockchain platform to launch its own NFT program. NFT owners got a limited edition hoodie.
• Gucci turned to the Roblox platform to launch its “Gucci Garden” for a two-week period. “It attracted 20 million players despite being open for just 2 weeks,” Ron said.
• Gucci Town was the permanent follow-up, launched last year. “It sold one NFT accessory for over $4,000, exceeding the price tag of the physical version of the accessory,” Ron noted.

A more extensive use case popped up last December, when The Art Basel Miami art show saw a number of brands tried out their Web3 offerings on the public. “Phygitals (Rtfkt’s Nike co-branded Space Drip sneakers), distributed NFTs as a reward for doing something, such as attending a fashion show (Altuzarra) or being a member of a special app (Adidas),” Ron said. “Token gated entrances allowed NFT collectors exclusive access to events by DressX or Bored Ape Yacht Club.

“But it doesn’t end there. After people attended these exclusive events, they received NFTs called POAPs (Proof of Attendance Protocols) – paving the way for future rewards.” Ron added.

Step 4: Fly

Web3 is a promising start set against the dismal background of the “Crypto Winter”.

“The key triggers include an overvalued market, with some coins like Bitcoin reaching all time high $65k in Nov 2021.”  Lack of regulation and rampant speculation fueled the chaos. Follow this with “the crash of the Luna and Terra stable coins, [and] the FTX’s crypto currency exchange bankruptcy. Last year’s volume of crypto abuse didn’t help,” Ron said.

A few things must happen to build public confidence in NFT and crypto if Web3 is going to succeed. “The public needs to have better understanding of how these technologies work in lock step with better usability,” Ron said. Right now, these processes are disjointed. “People need to be sure that their transactions are secure and the NFTs they buy are authentic,” he said.

“In short, to cross the chasm from the recent Early Adopters stage to Early and Late Majority, we need better usability, security, regulation and stronger utility,” Ron continued. “Embedding crypto and NFTs in everyday use cases that will drive perceived benefits.”

Ron reminded us that we are still in the early days of Web3. That world is “still wide open for everybody to innovate in.”

The post So how is this Web3 supposed to work? appeared first on MarTech.

Digital asset management (DAM) stores and organizes all of an organization’s digital assets — images, PDFs, photographs, audio, video and even virtual reality or other cutting-edge formats.

It is the “single source of truth,” where marketers can find every relevant version of media assets created for the brand. A DAM also adds metadata that can provide information on anything the marketer might want to know before using it. These include things like does the company have perpetual rights to use a photograph, whether the legal team has approved a video, and if an infographic or whitepaper was checked for brand design standard compliance.

How do companies use DAM?

Marketing agencies might leverage DAM technology to maintain consistency across in-house content and creatives developed by partners. B2B businesses might draw on the benefits of a centralized hub for sales collateral and event marketing materials. DAMs are being integrated with other technologies, especially content management systems and digital experience platforms, to unify marketing asset management and distribute digital content directly to the channels where they’re consumed.

Why are so many organizations using DAMs?

First is consumer expectations.

Nearly three quarters of customers expect companies to understand their unique wants and needs — up from two-thirds in 2020, according to the fifth edition of Salesforce’s The State of the Connected Customer. The benefits of this personalization are clear. Companies using more granular personalization experience significant gains in conversions, revenue per visitor and average order value, according to an Incisiv Adobe study.

Second is the expanding number of channels and devices consumers are using.

DAMs make it easier to create and repurpose marketing content according to the different needs of the medium and format. They also support the entire content lifecycle – from upstream creative to downstream delivery. They support work-in-progress for content, speeding asset workflows, reviews and approvals, as well as connecting with tools like Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva and Microsoft Office.

This guide is for marketers who are looking to enhance their campaigns with digital assessment management technologies. Here’s what’s inside:

• Capabilities of digital asset management platforms
  • Workflow management
  • File formats and handling
  • Asset conversion, editing and customization
  • Distribution and user permissions management
  • Search and metadata
  • Digital rights and corporate governance management
  • Reports and analytics
  • Data storage and security
  • Integrations

• What are the benefits of using a digital asset management (DAM) system?

Capabilities of digital asset management platforms

Digital asset management platforms have everything from legacy features, like file management, to emerging capabilities due to the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Here is a detailed look.

Workflow management

DAM systems differ in the extent of their workflow management capabilities. Some allow collaboration through @ tagging, while others have more full-fledged project management offerings. This can help marketing teams, along with outside creative resources, communicate about changes while an asset is in development or being updated.

Later, they can allow for approvals to be obtained from brand managers, execs and the legal team, while some systems also facilitate asset distribution. These capabilities may be built into the core platform or offered as an add-on or integration. Most DAMs are SaaS and can be accessed from browsers, but some have developed native apps.

File formats and handling

One area of differentiation is the ability to manage a variety of file formats. Most support common popular video, image and audio formats. However, if your workflow requires the use of a specialized format you need to ensure any system you’re considering can handle it.

Asset conversion, editing and customization

Some platforms allow an asset uploaded in one format to be downloaded or distributed in another — with conversions happening on the fly. Also, some have lightweight editing capabilities within the platform. To be clear, connections with common image editing software (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc.) are typically more useful.

Distribution and user permissions management

The content production supply chain can involve many departments, agencies, freelancers and more. The ability to provide flexible permissions, so the right people have access to the right assets –– and only the right assets –– is very valuable.

Within agencies, in particular, these capabilities can give clients/customers convenient self-service capabilities. It also lets large enterprises maintain a consistent brand message across geographies and verticals, while still letting marketers and salespeople can help themselves to the materials they need.

Search and metadata

One of the most important benefits of a DAM is the ability to find assets after they’ve been created and filed away. Most providers now use artificial intelligence, either proprietary or through a partnership, for image and video recognition and tagging. Vendors are also exploring ways to use AI and machine learning to find insights and automate content transformations based on usage patterns.

Digital rights and corporate governance management

Most marketers license content from individual creators or stock libraries. DAMs can keep track of the specific license terms governing each piece of content, ensuring they’re not used in the wrong market, an unapproved context or after license expiration.

Corporate brand guidelines, as well as timelines associated with particular marketing campaigns, can also typically be managed with DAM functionality.

Reports and analytics

Analytics capabilities allow marketers to trace the return on the investment made in the development of digital media. They can also determine which assets are used most often and in what ways, proividing insights for planning future content creation.

Data storage and security

The majority of DAM providers partner with Amazon Web Services or Google to host their software and their clients’ assets. This means following those companies’ policies for geographical distribution, backups and security protocols. However, some players offer clients a variety of options for data hosting. This is useful for enterprises working with strict data governance regulations.

Integrations

Since a DAM is meant to be the central “single source of truth” repository for all of a brand’s assets, it must integrate well with the rest of your martech stack. Vendors differ greatly in terms of the number and types of integrations they offer. Some are beginning to specialize in serving a specific sector with unique integration needs, such as online retailers using product information management systems.

Explore DAM solutions from vendors like Acquia, Widen, Cloudinary, MediaValet and more in the full MarTech Intelligence Report on digital asset management platforms.

Click here to download!

What are the benefits of using a digital asset management system?

Digital asset management systems can play a vital role in your marketing organization, unifying online and offline marketing channels and leading to more efficient marketing resource allocation.

The specific benefits of using a digital asset management platform include – but are not limited to – the following:

• Improved communication between in-house and freelance/contract workers.
• Improved distribution of assets to clients, partners or other outsiders.
• More efficient utilization of existing resources.
• Increased efficiency in the workflow for internal approvals.
• Speed the conversion of assets into different sizes, aspect ratios and file types.
• More efficient creation and distribution of assets to martech and adtech systems.
• Easier compliance with changing brand standards and licensing terms.
• Ease of presenting a more consistent brand face to the customer.
• Ability to quantify the usage of each individual digital asset, and therefore track ROI on the cost of creation and distribution.

Read next: Does your organization need a digital asset management platform?

The post What is digital asset management and how can it help you? appeared first on MarTech.