Ocean Labs: The appliance of science – how brands can enter the metaverse mindset
Many brands are still developing their Web3 strategies but acknowledge that they need to be active in emerging digital worlds which are new routes to connect with customers.
To help brands explore the potential, Ocean is rolling out a collection of omniverse packages which offer Web3 and real world digital out of home experiences, providing access to young, tech savvy early adopters and Gen Z shoppers across both channels at the same time.
By creating the first virtual DOOH network, Ocean is providing a risk free first step into digital realms where brands can test and build new narratives and tone of voice without having to jump straight in with land purchases, NFTs and crypto investments.
Advertiser interest in the potential of this new frontier.
Two recent examples include Argos, who used Ocean’s physical and metaverse screens as part of its strategy to drive consideration and awareness of premium products and desirable tech brands.
Argos’s dual world campaign appeared on Ocean’s Holland Park Roundabout tri screen in London, alongside an NFT replica inside Somnium Space VR Metaverse, and across real world DOOH roadside locations in Birmingham and Manchester.
ByteDance has also dipped its toe in the water with a dual world campaign promoting the PICO VR headset. In doing so, both brands were able to connect with early adopters in Web3 worlds which enjoy high dwell times of two hours or more. The average Web3 audience is aged 16 to 35.
Fashion houses are now gearing up for Metaverse Fashion Week 2023, an event which returns on March 28 to 31 and will see an influx of user-creators. Last year legacy labels, digital-only fashion brands and fashion lovers experimented with virtual runways and free wearables. These are the influencers of the future.
So why should advertisers consider this approach?
*Web3 offers fresh pathways into creativity, community building and commerce.
*Both actual and virtual OOH encompasses immersive environments, often, but not always, using virtual or augmented reality.
*Both digital out of home and Web3 are “always on” and exist in real time.
Interactive creative digital spaces are a natural evolution of how people are using technology for personal expression. Web3 allows digital natives to create virtual personas, presence and “agency,” including peer-to-peer interactions, transactions, user-generated content, and “world-building.”*
Web3 OOH is something people can be immersed in. It’s essentially experiential out of home in the virtual world. And carrying that activity over into the real world provides media planners and agencies with PR opportunities, highly sharable social content and the granular detail required to demonstrate ROI.
*(source: McKinsey)
