The metaverse is, as many now call it, “the future of the internet.” In that future, mixed reality (XR) — also called hybrid or extended reality — is expected to transform the way all industries do business, especially how they communicate with their customers. However, some companies are already attempting to create that future. One example is Atlas Earth — a mobile-first gaming experience provider that enables players to buy virtual real estate, cash out and even shop with partners in the metaverse.
At MetaBeat 2022, metaverse thought leaders and enterprise decision-makers gathered to give guidance on the evolution of the technology and its implications for the enterprise. In a fireside chat titled “Activating in the metaverse at a time where every dollar counts,” Sami Khan, cofounder and CEO at Atlas Earth (who also opened MetaBeat with his welcoming remarks), Ethan Chuang, vice president loyalty solutions at Mastercard Advisors, and Mike Paley, senior vice president business development, Atlas Reality, discussed the possibilities of a metaverse that creates value for brands, their customers and end-users — even in a recession.
According to Khan, creating value across the board is a virtuous cycle that build a positive ecosystem as it moves from making a good product to marketing it effectively, attracting more investors and eventually building an even better product.
This is why companies like Mastercard are excited about jumping on new experiences like the ones Atlas Earth — a product made by Atlas Reality — offers in the metaverse. “What marketers and retailers are looking for is basically access to consumers in the channels of their choosing,” according to Chuang. The metaverse does a good job at “extending reach to a segment of the audience that many marketers and retailers prize,” Chuang said.
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However, how are marketers investing in this new terrain?
In understanding the principles and considerations that drive marketers’ spending, Khan and Paley offered two perspectives: experimental budgets and performance marketing, respectively.
Khan described the experimental budget as similar to the 70-20-10 rule. “Seventy percent of your budget, you put in things you are sure will work and you barely need to check every day. You put 20% in things you think should work but you have to closely monitor and improve. 10% of the budget, you put in things you’re sure won’t work but you feel you have to do because of FOMO (fear of missing out) — and if it does work, it could be part of the 80%,” he said.
Where investing in a metaverse-powered marketing strategy falls on that spectrum, Khan didn’t say. However, Paley presented a contrasting view that avoids experimental budgeting (and marketing) altogether. “What I want to do is put my money into channels that are going to deliver positive returns on ad-spend.”
For platforms like Atlas Earth, where brands can set up shop and have players purchase items using the in-app currency, Paley noted that the “experiment” is not to test whether the channel will work or not — the real question is whether it will be “good” or “great.”
In today’s marketplace “where customers want things now,” according to Paley, the metaverse might just get more valuable. Speaking on how that works, he said “the metaverse is about bringing disparate parties together for real-time experiences, and anytime there is the opportunity to increase the value of the experience of the person having it in the real world, you’re delivering on something special.”
For enterprise decision-makers like Khan, Chuang and Paley, a healthy metaverse ecosystem seems possible. However, they say it will happen only when stakeholders achieve a balance between generating value for users and getting good (or even great) ROI on their marketing investments. In Khan’s words, “It is our job collectively to think about how we can build a healthy win-win ecosystem as quickly as possible … because the technology will surely evolve and get better, but we cannot wait for that to happen.”
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