Understanding The Metaverse – An Event Management Perspective

If the year 2021 saw the awakening of the virtual event space, the year 2022 has much more where that came from. Given the rapidly evolving nature of technology and man’s need to continue its quest for knowledge and innovative approaches, it comes as no surprise to know that there now exists something called the ‘Metaverse’. A term that while many might be familiar with, to those who are still unaware, in the simplest terms, the metaverse is a virtual world that exists alongside the real world, allowing us to enter and exit with the help of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies and applications available today.

Making use of ‘avatars’ that can be designed as per your preferences, the metaverse is an incredibly genius work of the 21st century,  bringing together technology, graphic design and innovation to build experiences that surpass expectations. Allowing you to do exactly what you’d do in real life, including going into work, meeting friends, or going for a concert, but with the help of VR goggles, imagine the kind of experience that could create.

Some of the top brands in the market have already begun using the metaverse as a means to enhance customer experience and take brand image to the next level. Louis Vuitton for example, last year, celebrated their second centenary and to pay homage to its founder, “an adventure based game, Louis the Game, was released. The mobile game follows the character of Vivienne through six worlds, collecting 200 candles to commemorate the birthday of Louis Vuitton. On starting the game, you enter a world where you can run around and collect items while customizing your character in Louis Vuitton fashion wear. Like many other brands, Louis Vuitton is tapping into ways it can reach younger audiences without turning them off by having to purchase anything.”- The Drum

Now that we have thrown some light on what the metaverse comprises, it is then time to reflect on what this means for event professionals. An idea that seems both exciting and terrifying, terrifying because of the lack of complete understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the metaverse, given its initial stages of development, the lack of control over the execution of events going forward and the general transformation in the way in which events will be preferred to be conducted in the near future. 

Exciting because of the many possibilities it can open for event professionals across the world. Taking consumer experience to a whole new level, like the Louis Vuitton event for instance, it is amazing what the joined efforts of in-person experience and the metaverse can create. 

A fitting example of this can be found in the event hosted by “Pokémon – to mark its 25th anniversary and so Selfridges, along with designer Charli Cohen and Yahoo RYOT Lab, created Electric/City, a virtual city where you could shop for exclusive virtual and physical products. Inspired by the fashion capitals of the world, visitors would be immersed in the 3D environment where they would create custom avatars to roam the digital space.

These characters could be dressed in the digital garments and viewed through the AR body-tracking Snapchat lens or shared on social media and other virtual environments. Selfridges also stepped into the real world and held an in-store launch promo where customers had the opportunity to register for a digital wallet to enter physical easter egg hunts and win physical prizes or Charli Cohen digital collectables.”- The Drum

While it may seem like the world has already adapted to this significant transformation, it is no doubt that we are still in the very beginning of what is yet to come and as the demand, curiosity and market for these kinds of events continues to grow, we at Zeroin are excited to board the train headed towards the metaverse, in the hopes of learning, growing and contributing to the best of our abilities. In the meantime, we hope to continue thriving as an organization that caters to virtual, digital, hybrid and the real world of events.