The Hong Kong International Airport was designed in Unity, a popular game engine, because it was better at simulation than the exisiting alternatives. The Metaverse has been around for a while, (well before Meta), and has interesting applications for businesses in every industry.
A Chance For Consumers to Get to Know Your Product Better
If you’re a gamer on Fortnite, Roblox or Second Life, the idea of a metaverse — or an immersive internet — isn’t new. Hyundai Motor Company launched Mobility Adventure on Roblox featuring Hyundai products and mobility solutions to build brand awareness. Louis Vuitton created a game to celebrate their founder’s centenary. Gucci created Gucci Garden in Roblox with themed rooms paying homage to the brand’s campaigns. The metaverse presents opportunities for brands to build and grow a following, offer virtual in-store tryouts and customisations, launch exclusively virtual products, direct-to-avatar digital goods, branded characters and real estate, and host interactive live events. Brands are experimenting in the space to transcend geographical limitations, and pandemic restrictions, as DBS did with their virtual night club on Fortnite.
Training systems in a parallel universe
The advantages of an immersive environment aren’t just an opportunity for consumer-facing companies. Companies like Unity are creating synthetic worlds, where you can train systems, and test scenarios much faster than the real world. Engineering, automotive, transport, manufacturing, architecture, events, filming, government — there are opportunities to shift workflows to interactive, real-time 3D worlds. In the case of airports, these simulated worlds have helped improve decision-making, predicting and handling people movement and disruptions, and identifying what can be done better with every iteration. Real world applications include training medical students, testing new products and simulations of manufacturing and logistics scenarios to minimise waste.
Bring your avatar to work
COVID-19 brought remote, virtual workplaces into the mainstream. Decentraland takes this idea further, with workplaces that are exclusively virtual — office buildings, meeting spaces, lounges, and dining rooms, for employees across the world, spaces to work, interact and collaborate, and hire talent in real time. VICE recently took up a permanent
Making the Metaverse Work for You
Designing the metaverse to address obvious issues: virtual world fatigue, social isolation, privacy, technology and talent gaps are significant challenges — the distinction between utopia and anti-social dystopia comes down to thoughtful design and supportive communities. Building trust is critical — planning and communicating early on what you might expect from your metaverse initiatives and how you will mitigate the potential risks. For brands, focus on telling metaverse hype from reality — explore the authentic experiences and services that make sense in a virtual ecosystem, and determine a strategy before diving in.
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