Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you must’ve realised that the highly talked-about metaverse is a virtual space that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls “the future of the internet”.
It’s a space that’ll allow users to explore virtual worlds using avatars and while it’s grabbing all the headlines, the human side of consumer activities in the metaverse isn’t well understood.
According to a global study by Momentum Worldwide, metaverse partners to the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As), 80% of people feel more included in the metaverse than in real life. Consumers are now looking to the metaverse to fill three core aspects of life: inspiration, individuality and inclusion.
This global research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods with the help of 4,500 participants from seven countries: Canada, Japan, MENA, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the US.
Such a high percentage of people feeling included in the metaverse is somewhat surprising because nobody actually knows what the metaverse is or will be, except of course the fact that it’s expected to be worth trillions in the next decade.
Combinatorial innovation
Jason Alan Snyder, global chief technology officer at Momentum Worldwide said, “The metaverse is a combinatorial innovation of complex technologies. Until recently, the combined technologies that form metaverse experiences were costly to deploy and consume and, therefore, not practical. The practice of combining these technologies has matured, deployment costs are reduced and metaverse experiences are broadly available, so consumer adoption is saturating”.
He went on to say, “Brands are adopting the metaverse at scale too. Now we are learning how people behave and feel in the metaverse as we remove the barriers to entry. One particularly interesting area is the relationship between identity and personality.”
Snyder further explained that, “Metaverse identity is an extension of our many identities in the real world. We are accustomed to constructing pseudo-identities for ourselves at work, in our personal lives with friends and family, and on social media. Brands are learning that identity and personality are two different things and not always interlinked”.
Brands are learning that identity and personality are two different things and not always interlinked
Jason Alan Snyder
Speaking to future developments, he said that, “Understanding what consumers want from the metaverse, their behaviours and motivations to fulfill happiness, find escapism and seek inclusion are vital for guiding how brands and businesses should behave. It’s imperative that brands understand when they can or should violate expectations about identity and personality. The new opportunity is to help brands navigate the friction between identity and personality in the metaverse.”
While exponential growth and adoption of marketing technologies led to the metaverse, the impact these technologies have on people must be a key consideration for a brand’s metaverse strategy.
Reasons to be meta
Data gathered by Momentum shows that consumers join virtual platforms to have fun, be challenged, find inspiration and connect with others. The global research indicates that:
- 80% of consumers find the metaverse to be a much more inclusive place
- 63% had no idea they had been in the metaverse all this time
- 85% like that they can change their appearance as they desire
- 79% say their friends within the space accept them for who they are rather than what they look like
Popular happiness coach and thought leader in digital transformation, Helen Mumford Sole commented that although we’re not close to fully understanding the impact of the metaverse, “This research is important because it shows the positive potential of the technology. When many people are struggling with their happiness, it seems that they are finding new ways of experiencing belonging and community in the metaverse. In the analogue world, these are significant contributors to happiness.”
This research is important because it shows the positive potential of the technology
Helen Mumford Sole
Despite being predicted to be the future of the internet, it will take years before the metaverse is ready and we can fully study and understand its impact on us. Zuckerberg, despite his metaverse ambitions, has said that the virtual space will record losses for years before it becomes profitable.
Understanding potential
Chick Foxgrover, 4A’s EVP creative technology & innovation said, “We’ve been following the industry’s interest and excitement in the metaverse – this dramatic extension of human experience and interaction. Now we have a deeper sense of how and when people will embrace these rapidly changing new worlds. This work will become essential data for every brand and creative business hoping to design, build and participate meaningfully in the metaverse.”
This work will become essential data for every brand and creative business hoping to design, build and participate meaningfully in the metaverse
Chick Foxgrover
Elena Klau, global chief strategy & analytics officer at Momentum added, “The metaverse has been a word that has been catapulted into focus, but it means different things to different people. Only by understanding what people want from the space and how they are using it can we really know how best to create meaningful, long-term experiences that meet people’s desires for inspiration, individuality and inclusion. The potential is vast.”
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
