1/3 of US, UK marketers already have the metaverse in their marketing mix: Sitecore

One in three marketers are already using metaverse-like environments as part of their current marketing mix, and in the minds of both marketers and consumers, the new immersive environments that will make up the metaverse are already here.

So said Sitecore CMO Paige O’Neill, who was speaking on the opening day of the company’s Symposium in Chicago where the company is set to launch its research into the metaverse tomorrow morning.

“We surveyed both marketers and consumers in the US and the UK," said Paige.

“They think the metaverse can help solve challenges like experiencing products before we actually buy them, being able to collaborate better with employees who are in remote locations, and being able to replicate the physical store for an overall better experience online.”

Consumers, who she acknowledged may be getting a little ahead of themselves, are already strongly invested in the idea.

“Eight in 10 believe the metaverse will soon play a significant role in the way they shop and interact with brands.”

She said those same consumers overwhelmingly (88 percent) already believe that most brands will either sell or advertise in the metaverse in the next one to two years.

For their part, 75 percent of marketers predict that consumers will spend more time in the metaverse than on social media or any other place online in the next five years.

“While this enthusiasm might be a bit out ahead of the technology, there are still things that marketers should be thinking about and doing right now to prepare. One step that can be taken now is to understand who to target and how your customers want to engage with you in these environments.”

Paige said the survey results will demonstrate that millennials and generation Z consumers are most likely to want to engage with brands in the metaverse.

“Some of the things that they value [include] access to exclusive content, making sure that there's diverse representation as they're going into these environments, and being able to be part of a community.”

All of this reaffirms the value of content, she said. “Preparing for the metaverse will mean even more content types. Our survey shows that understandably 68 percent of marketers are already concerned about how they're going to scale-building content to support these experiences. And many big brands are already doing a lot to prepare.”

She noted that tech giants including Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are already investing billions in supporting the technology, while a diverse set of brands including Puma, Prada, Ferrari and JP Morgan, are already building experiences to help them connect better with customers.

“Investing in metaverse marketing environments is really an opportunity for brands to be bold and evolve early as culture and technology are starting to shift.”

That message has already been heard clearly at global luxury cosmetics brand Loreal, whose global head of digital programs Anne Guichard had earlier told delegates the company now thinks in three terms, “Offline, online and on-chain.”

Andrew Birmingham travelled to Sitecore Symposium as a guest of Sitecore.