Featured Story The Metaverse: Shaping the Future of Online Interactions The metaverse is revolutionizing the way brands connect with customers, offering endless possibilities for immersive and personalized experiences. From virtual shopping to direct-to-avatar retail, the metaverse is transforming the retail landscape and driving customer engagement, loyalty, and community building. As more industries begin to explore its potential, the metaverse is poised to shape the future of our digital
interactions and redefine the way we experience the online world.
The metaverse has been gaining a lot of attention as a new frontier for brands to connect with customers in novel ways. This technological advancement has opened up a world of possibilities for brands to enhance their
customer engagement and data analysis efforts. By tracking customer behavior and preferences in real time, brands can fine-tune their offerings and marketing strategies. One of the early winners in this space is virtual shopping experiences, allowing customers to immerse themselves in new types of shopping experiences. Virtual shopping experiences in the metaverse aid in enhancing brands’
e-commerce strategy by adding a layer of interactivity and user experience. These layers can exceed the in-store experience by personalizing and enriching the shopping journey for clients. By employing virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology, brands can design digital spaces that closely resemble their brick-and-mortar locations. The result is that shoppers can navigate through virtual clothing racks, “try on” outfits and engage with store personnel in real time. The metaverse represents a shift in our online interactions, paving the way for a more integrated and immersive experience across various aspects of life - work, play and even fashion. Younger generations already adopting AR technology expect a level of utility beyond just entertainment, and fashion brands in the metaverse are responding. They’re already showcasing their collections in new ways,
launching digital fashion shows and immersive experiences that transport viewers into the creative world of the designer. Another exciting aspect of the metaverse for fashion brands is that it provides a platform for companies to experiment with new business models based on interaction with communities. With the ability to host interactive experiences, such as virtual games or challenges
centered around their collections, fashion brands can foster a sense of community and engagement among their customers. These experiences allow customers to compete against each other or collaborate toward a common goal of winning prizes and rewards. This not only enhances customer engagement but also helps to cultivate brand loyalty. Virtual stores allow retailers to bridge the gap between
the transactional nature of an e-commerce purchase and the personalized shopping experience brands can cultivate in-store. Virtual stores’ intimate, personal, and inclusive nature has seen increasing demand by anyone from financial institutions to universities, entertainment and others. Brands can incorporate multiple experiences under one roof, while allowing each brand to shine its own uniquely identifiable set of brand characteristics. Adding on a layer of gamification attracts engagement of Gen-Z users, increases shopper engagement with the brand, and drives stronger loyalty. Of course, tracking users’ movement within these stores, while learning their shopping preferences, product affinity, and habits, allows brands to further personalize the user experience. Avatars have
become a crucial aspect in the realm of the metaverse, serving as a powerful tool for brands to deliver a cutting-edge retail experience. Direct-to-avatar, or D2A, is rapidly gaining popularity as the latest retail strategy in the digital realm, as an increasing number of people, especially the younger demographic, invest more time in constructing a virtual representation of themselves online. In addition, the versatility and customization options avatars offer make them an ideal way to market a wide range of digital goods, including clothing, styling, and food. Gucci has taken the lead with its digital avatar clothing and accessories. In addition, the metaverse shop “Nikeland” has received over 7 million visits to date, showcasing the limitless possibilities of avatars. The metaverse is not just a tool for retailers. It can be used by many industries, including financial institutions. The virtual space allows financial institutions to interact with customers in a more personal and engaging way. The interactive experience can foster a better understanding of financial products and services and create an engaging way to learn about investments. The travel industry can also take advantage of the metaverse. Virtual travel experiences can be designed to mimic the look and feel of the actual destination,allowing potential customers to explore and experience a destination before booking a trip. This can enhance the customer experience and help to generate interest and excitement about the travel destination. The
metaverse is undoubtedly an exciting technological advancement, offering endless possibilities for various industries. It has already proved to be a game-changer for retailers, with virtual shopping experiences and avatars driving customer engagement and loyalty. As more industries begin to explore the potential of the metaverse, it will be fascinating to see how it continues to evolve and shape the way we interact with the digital world. In conclusion, the metaverse has opened up a world of opportunities for brands and industries to connect with customers and audiences in novel ways. From virtual shopping experiences to direct-to-avatar retail, the metaverse is reshaping the retail landscape, driving customer engagement, and enhancing the shopping journey. As we move forward into a more integrated and immersive digital future, the metaverse will continue to play a crucial role in
shaping the way we interact with the online world. The possibilities are endless, and it's exciting to see what the future holds for this exciting technological advancement. |
All the news you need today, in a format that isn't TL:DR, summarized for the busy executive.
The US Justice Department is reportedly preparing to sue to block Adobe's acquisition of design software provider Figma for $20bn. This may come as a surprise, given that Adobe's stock had initially dropped 17% the day the deal was announced. However, the company's stock had since recovered, possibly due to a
record $2.3 billion cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter. While the deal may mean less to Adobe, it is likely of significant importance to Figma's venture investors Index Ventures, Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins, which have substantial returns riding on it. Adobe's stock dropped 3.6% following the news of the potential lawsuit. TiVo is attempting to draw original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to its operating system (OS) in an effort to win the TV OS wars, amid new competition from Roku and Amazon. The company recently bought Viewd to boost its TVOS game and is touting its position as an independent OS. TiVo's CEO Jon Kirschner said he expects the TiVo OS to power seven million smart TVs by 2026. Although Amazon and Google control much of the US market, the rest of the world remains open and
significant for the TVOS war, as it enables media companies to achieve Total World Domination. The fight against digital ad fraud has been an unfair one for the last two decades, with bad actors innovating faster than good actors can keep up. They use their knowledge of technology and code to make money, often without regard for ethics or
laws. As the good guys catch up with the fraudsters, the latter group innovates and finds new workarounds to keep making money. Fraudsters use headless browsers, residential proxy services, and fake mouse movements to avoid detection. They also cut deadwood faster, swapping out IP addresses and websites as soon as they are detected. Bad actors relentlessly optimize for profit, reducing costs and finding new ways to make money, such as generating billions of fake bid requests using
simplified bots. Verification tech cannot always detect CTV fraud, creating a playground for fraudsters. Google has announced new additions to automated campaigns to help create and optimize ads more easily in Performance Max. The new features include page feeds to send traffic to specific landing page URLs, campaign-level brand
exclusions to exclude certain brand terms, easier video creation with more editing tools, and new reporting and insights on metrics such as conversions, conversion value, and cost. These features will help track campaign metrics and improve ad management and optimization. Google's continued improvements to Performance Max show that they are listening to requests for improvements and are committed to providing better ad solutions. Email is the best channel for driving online sales, according to a study by Marigold and Econsultancy. Of the US consumers surveyed, 55% had made a purchase directly from an email in the last year, compared with 23% who had purchased from a digital banner ad. Mobile usage is growing, with 51% of respondents buying from an email viewed on a mobile phone, 62% purchasing via a mobile app, and 30%
buying directly from a text. The study also found that 86% of people like brands that send personalised messages, although 69% of respondents felt that an email reminder or ad about an abandoned shopping cart was "not cool". Intel has announced that it is reducing its dividend by 66%, following a rough year in which the company lost $661 million
and revenue fell by 32%. The move is seen as necessary given Intel's need to invest tens of billions in new chip technologies in the coming years, but it raises questions about why the company's board did not anticipate the need to cut the dividend earlier. Intel raised its dividend by 5% just a year ago, at a time when the personal computer market was booming. However, the market has since slumped and Intel has faced economic headwinds. Drone advertising agency Pixis Drones is hoping to take off, despite admitting that the advertising format is still in its "infancy". The company offers "branded aerial art displays" for clients and charges between $300 and $500 per drone per show, depending on various factors. Most shows use between 250 and 500 drones and last about 10 minutes, resulting in a flurry of inquiries
from interested parties, according to Pixis founder Brad Nierenberg. The hurdles to drone advertising include FAA approvals, creative and technical planning, and public opinion. NBCUniversal has launched a new tool for marketers called In-Flight Linear Optimization. The tool, developed with Amazon Web Services, uses daily forecast data
from companies such as VideoAmp and iSpot to allow marketers to shift their linear ad buys midway through campaigns to prioritise reaching the audiences they're targeting. The tool has been created to make linear ad dollars more efficient, according to Ryan McConville, NBCUniversal's EVP, ad platforms and operations, who added: "The technology allows for a radical rethinking of TV". The tool is an opt-in choice, only available if advertisers request it. |
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FROM SNOW CRASH TO THE METAVERSE: NEAL STEPHENSON’S VISION FOR THE FUTURE. Neal Stephenson, a renowned science-fiction author and co-founder of Lamina1, a blockchain-based start-up that aims to build an expansive metaverse, recently discussed his views on the metaverse with Tim Bradshaw, the FT’s global technology correspondent. Stephenson’s breakthrough 1992 novel Snow Crash predicted many technological advancements, such as cryptocurrency, Alexa, avatars, virtual-reality goggles, multiplayer online games, and destructive
computer viruses, that are now part of our everyday experiences. The concept of the metaverse, which is a virtual universe where people interact with each other through audiovisual bodies called avatars, was also first introduced in his book. READ MORE
NOW
THE METAVERSE’S SECURITY DILEMMA: DECENTRALIZED OWNERSHIP VS. CENTRALIZED
PROTECTION. Web3 is the evolution of the internet, where the centralized control mechanism is eliminated, and data ownership is given back to the users. The technology that underpins Web3 is blockchain, which is a distributed ledger that provides secure and immutable data storage. Web3 has been touted for its decentralization and user-centricity. However, when it comes to security and threat detection, Web3 is outgunned. Web3 has
five main blockchain security threat vectors, including user vulnerabilities, API and Oracle vulnerabilities, off- and on-chain data vulnerabilities, smart contract vulnerabilities, and node vulnerabilities. READ MORE ABOUT THIS
FTC CHARGES COMPANY FOR REVIEW HIJACKING ON
AMAZON Online shopping has become a common practice in recent years, and it has become increasingly important for customers to rely on product reviews to make informed decisions. As a result, online marketplaces like Amazon have created features that allow customers to rate and review products. However, it has become a growing concern that some companies are manipulating these features to deceive
customers. For the first time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed charges against a company for “review hijacking.” READ MORE
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF IN-GAME ADVERTISING? Intrinsic in-game
advertising and measurement may be the future of marketing and advertising. Cary Tilds, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at Frameplay, believes that the power of immersive and interactive content will drive significant engagement for all brands, big and small. This concept applies not only to gaming and the Metaverse, but to all content and media channels. READ MORE NOW
YES, BLACK INFLUENCERS ARE TREATED DIFFERENTLY AND PAID LESS. Black influencers are treated differently, paid less, and seen as less serious than their white counterparts. This is a problem that has persisted in the influencer marketing industry, even with the increased focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in marketing. Black influencers face significant challenges, such as pay inequity and a lack of brand partnerships, that make it difficult for them to succeed in the industry. READ MORE |
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