MetaBeat: Investing in the Metaverse Can't Wait, Industry Leaders Share Their Advice

The metaverse is, as many now call it, "the future of the internet." In this future, mixed reality (XR) – also known as hybrid or extended reality – is set to transform the way all industries do business, especially the way they communicate with their customers. However, some companies are already trying to create this future. Atlas Earth, for example, is a mobile gaming experience provider that allows players to buy virtual real estate, cash out, and even make purchases from metaverse partners.

At MetaBeat 2022, metaverse thought leaders and business decision makers came together to advise on the evolution of technology and its implications for business. In a fireside chat titled “Activating in the Metaverse at a Time When Every Dollar Counts,” Sami Khan, co-founder and CEO of Atlas Earth (who also opened MetaBeat with his welcoming remarks), Ethan Chuang, vice- president of loyalty solutions at Mastercard Advisors, and Mike Paley, senior vice president of business development, Atlas Reality, discussed the possibilities of a metaverse that creates value for brands, their customers, and end users, even in period of recession.

According to Khan, creating value at all levels is a virtuous cycle that builds a positive ecosystem as it moves from making a good product, to bringing it to market effectively, to attracting more investors and ultimately creating an even better product.

That's why companies like Mastercard are excited to embark on new experiences like those that Atlas Earth, a product made by Atlas Reality, offers in the metaverse. “What marketers and retailers are basically looking for is access to consumers in the channels they want,” according to Chuang. The metaverse does a good job of “expanding reach to a segment of the audience that many marketers and retailers value,” Chuang said.

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How, however, are marketers investing in this new terrain?

To understand the principles and considerations that drive marketers' spending, Khan and Paley offered two perspectives: experimental budgets and performance marketing, respectively.

Khan described the experimental budget as similar to the 70-20-10 rule. “Seventy percent of your budget, you put things in there that you know will work and you hardly have to check every day. You put 20% into things that you think should work, but you have to watch closely and improve. 10% of the budget, you put things in that you're sure won't work, but you feel like you have to because of FOMO (fear of missing out) - and if it works, it could be one of the 80%," he says.

When investing in a metaverse-based marketing strategy falls on this spectrum, Khan didn't say. However, Paley presented a contrasting view that eschews experimental budgeting (and marketing) altogether. "What I want to do is invest my money in channels that are going to generate positive returns on ad spend."

For platforms like Atlas Earth, where brands can set up shop and get players to buy...