5 Global Brands Who Are Winning The Metaverse (and what your brand can learn from them)
Before launching into the metaverse, brands have to balance the risk against the reward, evaluate the needs of their existing community and figure out their place in the wider Web3 world. Most importantly, brands need to find their ‘why’. What does the metaverse mean to their culture, history and, ultimately, their future.
One way to shorten the timeline is to look at those who have come before and smashed it out of the park. So let’s do that. Which brands are kicking ass in the metaverse? And what can your brand learn from them?
1. Nike — Decentraland
We had to start with Nike or Adidas, didn’t we? Sometimes it feels like NFTs and the metaverse were specifically designed with trainers in mind. The fit, excuse the pun, is almost too good to be true. Digital trainers alone, however, are not enough, you need strategy, foresight and execution to succeed. Nike of course have all of those in spades.
Nike’s metaverse adventure began with the Roblox experience Nikeland, a centralized vision of the brands’ values of breaking barriers, moving business to uncharted territory and making the best running shoes on the planet. Then selling them. With tracks, courts, parks and mini-games, they took that culture into Nikeland. Over 6 million people from 200 countries have since visited.
Moving on from Roblox, Nike now considers Web3 a serious revenue and brand building tool. With the acquisition of RTFKT and their HQ in Decentraland, a slew of wearables and NFT collections in the pipeline, Nike are set to continue kicking ass in the metaverse for years to come.
What can brands learn from Nike? Make the move. Don’t wait for the metaverse to come to you. Just do it.
2. Samsung — Decentraland
With a value of $74.6 billion and ranked top 5 worldwide for brand recognition, Samsung could be forgiven for not paying an interest in the metaverse. But then you don’t become the world’s second phone brand without taking risks. Modeled after their flagship store in New York, Samsung 837X is a “fully immersive” replica in Decentraland.
According to the Samsung website, visitors to 837X, “can take the lead and curate personal experiences with an all-new customization-focused quest called You make it. As a creative hub that transcends the digital and physical, 837X will now be home to this one-of-a-kind “choose your own journey” quest.”
Over 120,000 visitors have taken Samsung up on the offer so far this year, making it one of the most visited attractions in Decentraland.
What can brands learn from Samsung? It doesn’t have to be sexy to work. Get your feet wet and build.
3. Warner Music — The Sandbox
Warner Music started kicking ass in the centralized metaverse. Partnering with Roblox, Warner were one of the first to launch serious concerts in the metaverse. Their Twenty One Pilots experience was seen by millions.
But just as Nike, Warner have put Web3 and the decentralized metaverse top of their agenda and teamed up with The Sandbox for a series of live concerts, events and experiences.
As Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox said in a statement on the partnership, “This strategic partnership with Warner Music Group brings the open metaverse one step forward in the direction of fan-owned and community-driven initiatives — the possibilities are very exciting.”
Indeed they are. Music fans can surely expect to see the likes of Coldplay, Lizzo, Muse, and Ed Sheeran joining the likes of Twenty One Pilots, Travis Scott and Ariana Grande and hitting the virtual stage. With any luck, they will be using RLTY’s easy-to-use metaverse event building tools.
What can brands learn from Warner music? Change is a-coming. The metaverse is no longer an outside shot. Brands can build a world wide audience and connect in new and exciting ways with their fans and community.
4. Adidas — The Sandbox
We have spoken about the power of collaboration for brand awareness in the metaverse (link to article on brand awareness). Adidas are using it as part of their overall metaverse strategy. They have teamed up with Coinbase, BAYC, Pixel vault’s Punks comic, Prada, Gmoney and bought land in the Sandbox which it is working to fill with exclusive content and experiences.
What do Adidas see in the metaverse which perhaps your brand doesn’t?
“The metaverse is where anyone can express their most original ideas and be their most authentic selves, in whatever form they might take. and thanks to the blockchain (and NFTs), those pioneers can own a piece of what they create.”
What can brands learn from Adidas? Competition is real, competition is fierce. If you’re looking for blue waters in your industry, then take the plunge and get ahead of your competition.
5. Gucci — The Sandbox
Fashion brands were already leading the metaverse revolution before Estée Lauder, Dolce & Gabbana and Forever 21 showed their wares on the virtual catwalk at Decentraland Fashion Week.
In May 2021, Gucci was one of the first luxury brands to launch an NFT collection. It was a busy spring for the billion dollar label because they also launched the Gucci Garden Experience on Roblox.
Beginning on Roblox before moving to the decentralized metaverse is often a sign of a brand that is fully aware of the shifting sands in culture and building a strategy to stay relevant and connected to future trends. No surprise then that Gucci — as Nike, Adidas and Warner — followed up their Roblox and early NFT collections with a visit to the Sandbox real estate marketplace.
As part of its plans on The Sandbox, Gucci will revamp its Gucci Vault, sell wearables and accessories, create event space and focus on community building and culture for the next generation of digital-fashion conscious consumers.
What can brands learn from Gucci? Generation Z are real Web3 natives, the lines between digital and physical blurred beyond recognition. And they are looking for a home, a culture, a community. They will look for it in the metaverse.
