Bringing communities together thanks to the Metaverse, ensuring that brand connectivity is the next big thing you’ll invest in, and understanding Pixels & Privacy – that’s what you missed from the keynote addresses at the Toronto Meta Summit 2022.
After three long years of online events, on June 23rd, we at WebTmize had the opportunity to attend the first Meta Summit in Toronto. The Summit showcased what the Meta leaders have been working on and are already starting to implement across their channels, to revolutionize the digital marketing landscape.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the importance of community has become ever so important. Taking this into account, Meta took the opportunity to position the Metaverse, “an integrated network of 3D virtual worlds”, at the center of communities in the future. Indeed, this technology was presented as the bridge that will help grow communities, both socially and commercially.
What does this mean for brands though? Essentially, the Metaverse is currently positioned to play a huge role for brands to enhance authentic connection. By introducing an immersive experience in the acquisition phase, brands will be called to harness the art of storytelling and brand discovery to reconnect with their users. This can and will be achieved thanks to Augmented Reality (AR) and/or Virtual Reality (VR).
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience where you can overlay image, sound, or other sensory information onto the “real” world, to enhance one's experience of it. We often see this being implemented in mobile applications, thanks to filters. Through this digital alteration, marketers embed the concept of “try before you buy” in a digital ecosystem.
Already, there are furniture companies that are experimenting with this function. By simply pointing their phone in a designated area of their home, a potential buyer can see in real-time how the product would fit in their surroundings & everyday life.
Aside from product placement, we also see consumer brands such as Kit Kat creating fun interactive experiences on IG Story – not only do these strategies incite brand recognition, but lend to brand loyalty, as users correlate their identity to certain brands through shared visual content.
Alternatively, virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated environment that users experience by simply putting on a headset and being immersed in a projected and constructed reality. According to Meta, VR is a disruptive successor of the Internet, which will take personalization to the next level. Users are expected to be able to not only customize their avatars, but also curate their online actions and purchases thanks to this technology. That being said, the tech and infrastructure needed to support these networks are far from going live and are still being tested by the Big Players. It’s something for all marketers to keep in mind though, as its implementation could completely change the game for traditional digital marketing.
While VR functions in connection to Meta haven’t yet arrived in Canada and are only being tested in the US by certain groups, Meta advised marketers to utilize the opportunities that are currently available on their platforms to the fullest. This means that when things do eventually roll out, you’ll already be familiar and comfortable with how Meta operates.
With the disappearance of Pixels, the idea of one size fits all content is no longer relevant. To combat this, Meta strongly advises marketers to build a culture of “Test & Learn”. This does not only need to be applied to just brands with larger budgets but also (and perhaps most prominently) the smaller players.
When building this idea of content diversification within your ad strategies, marketers should be ready to face failure. Ideally, you should keep a certain percentage of the budget for testing, and also have a scorecard to track the KPIs. If the experiment works then scale up and if it doesn't, then be ready to pull the plug. The most important thing is that you tried something new, and these days, it might be that rogue stroke of genius that sets you apart.
In addition to testing, Meta also encouraged marketers to follow their best practices of using a broad audience & automatic placement to ensure the widest range of potential connected users is achieved. More than anything though, at each step in the funnel, storytelling should be the main focus for marketers. Looking to the future, the ability to convincingly craft and share your brand story will be priceless.
According to Meta, one of the most pressing issues in today’s marketing world is data regulation. There’s an increased awareness and need for consent from users regarding their data, and countries are quickly implementing their own data regulation laws, making it quite fragmented for the platforms to know how to operate.
With the additional demand for privacy-enhanced technology, many marketers are left wondering how to cope with these new limitations?
Here are a few suggestions that you can implement to reduce the impact of data loss:
Finally, the push to embrace new technologies such as AR & VR should be seen as a positive step for marketers, as they will inevitably open the doors to authentic brand connectivity. Being able to attend the Meta Summit was an incredibly enriching experience, and we already cannot wait to participate in future Meta meet-ups.
Have more questions? Looking to discuss how you can optimize your paid media campaigns to be one step ahead of your competition? Never hesitate to reach out to the WebTmize team. We’ll be happy to help you in any way we can.