Chris Brits, CEO of EBnet (The Employee Benefits Network)
When Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebrand of Facebook to ‘Meta’, he inadvertently propelled the metaverse into the global spotlight. While he may not have been the one who invented it, the term itself has a long history that dates back to a scientist called Charles Wheatstone who first posited the idea of ‘binocular vision’. However, it was science fiction author Neal Stephenson who first coined the term “metaverse” in his 1982 novel, Snow Crash.
Fast forward to the present day and the metaverse is now a mainstream concept that represents a massive opportunity for businesses, with estimates from Goldman Sachs indicating it could be worth up to $8 trillion in the future.
But what exactly is the metaverse?
While it can be difficult to pin down a single definition, most would agree that it refers to an immersive, self-contained digital environment where connected virtual experiences simulate the real world or create imagined worlds. Participants enjoy agency in the form of avatars and the experience is real-time. It’s an exciting and rapidly evolving space that’s rewriting the rules of marketing.
For companies and organisations looking to take advantage of the metaverse, it’s important to understand the technology and how it can be used to build brand awareness and engage with customers.
One of the key benefits of the metaverse is its ability to provide a more engaging and immersive experience for customers. In a world where attention spans are increasingly shorter, businesses need to be able to capture and hold their customers’ attention. By creating virtual experiences that simulate the real world or create entirely new worlds, one can create a deeper level of engagement that goes beyond traditional channels.
A typical example of this is virtual conferencing. When the COVID pandemic hit, organisations that were hosting conferences were scrambling to find ways of continuing engagement with their audience. Most turned to online meeting platforms where the audience all logged onto existing online meeting platforms and were able to participate (or not) based on the limitations of the technology.
Bearing in mind that these platforms were not originally designed for mass interaction of hundreds of people, common technical problems with virtual meetings included:
- Bad connection.
- Feedback or echo.
- Poor sound quality.
- Video slows or stops.
- Dropped meeting or call.
- Software updates.
- System incompatibility.
- Wrong settings or permissions.
Advertisers, sponsors and exhibitors were also extremely frustrated as there were no effective ways to engage with them and view their products and services. There were also no avenues of ensuring engagement and properly exposing the audience to them.
The Power of Virtual Conferencing
EBnet was one of the first companies in South Africa and first in the retirement industry to adopt a Metaverse-like solution by using a 3-dimensional gaming platform to host a full conference on.
Although meeting virtually cannot exactly replicate the energy and experience of a face to face meeting, there are several benefits to this type of conference:
Robust and stable platform
Unlike the original online meeting platforms, the online interactive gaming platform was originally designed to accommodate thousands of users at the same time and is as a result extremely robust and stable.
Cost effective
Hosting your conference online removes costs associated with the venue, catering, travel and accommodation, as well as offering a potential reduction in AV costs.
No capacity constraints
Not bound by the physical limits of a venue, your virtual conference can accept any number of attendees and create space and opportunities for a larger number of exhibitors and sponsors.
Reduced costs for delegates
The ability to access online means no need to travel and less time out of the office for attendees. This, coupled with generally lower ticket prices compared with a traditional conference can result in increased registrations.
Inclusivity
Virtual conferencing offers geographically dispersed delegates the opportunity to participate, many of who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend. Digital technologies may enable options such as translation or captioning to increase accessibility and inclusivity.
Reduced environmental footprint
Travel for staff, speakers and delegates, food waste, single-use exhibition builds, freight, satchel inserts, hard-copy programs, name badges and lanyards add up quickly to leave a large environmental footprint at a traditional conference, none of which are needed when you meet online.
Flexibility and convenience
Virtual conferences offer attendees the flexibility to access pre-recorded content at their own pace, allowing attendees to more easily balance commitments such as work, study or child care.
Networking made easy
The online environment allows delegates to connect with speakers, exhibitor and other attendees with a few mouse clicks. No more running through crowded exhibition halls only to miss the person you most wanted to see.
Analytics
Many virtual conference platforms offer sophisticated data collection and reporting, and can easily track the number of attendees in each session and show who engaged with what content and for how long.
Huge Brand Visibility
The metaverse-like environment can also be used to create huge brand visibility where sponsors and exhibitors can place virtual billboards or sponsor virtual events within the conference venue, providing a new platform for reaching customers.
The workforce is changing
The composition of the workforce and audience is changing by the day as younger generations enter and older generations retire. As can be expected, it is generally recognised that younger audiences are more likely to be engaged with virtual environments. However, having said this, the EBnet virtual conferencing experience over the last 3 years has also shown that older generations were also quick in adopting to the new technology and our platform was easily navigated and used by all.
The current global workforce is made up as follows:
- Silent generation (1925 – 1944): 2% of the global working population
- Baby Boomers (1945 – 1964): 21% of the global working population
- Generation X (1965 – 1979): 34% of the global working population
- Millennial (1980 – 1994): 40% of the global working population
- Gen Z (1995 – 2015): Will soon make up 25% of the workforce (largest generational group alive)
Companies already in the Metaverse:
- Meta (Facebook Metaverse Company)
- Microsoft
- Decentraland (Metaverse Platform)
- NVIDIA
- Unity
- Sandbox
- Roblox
- Shopify
- Upland
- Epic Games
- Apple
- Amazon
- Nike
- Adidas
- Tencent
- Animica Brands
In conclusion, the metaverse represents a huge opportunity for businesses looking to engage with customers. While it presents some unique challenges, those who are able to embrace the technology and create engaging experiences will be well-positioned to succeed in this exciting and rapidly-evolving space.
ENDS
EBnet will be hosting its 4th 3-D Virtual Retirement Industry Conference from 23 – 27 October 2023.
Book the date in your diary now!
Invitations and further conference details will be sent out shortly.
