The metaverse sounds very interesting, but that is also part of the problem. Many people want to tell you what the metaverse is or will be, yet they don't all agree on the same ideas. As with many things that carry a lot of hype, there are also tall tales, wishful thinking and outright scams.

But businesses need to make decisions around concrete things, not pie-in-the-sky speculation. They need tangible examples of what the metaverse could do for them. So, here are six examples of how businesses and brands put metaverse technology into action.

Meta Horizons

Facebook has gone all-in on the metaverse that it even changed its name to Meta. The tech giant is spending billions on developing new virtual reality technologies and has already established a couple of online places for work and play. Using a VR headset, you try out two metaverse apps: Horizon Worlds provides the space for communities, games and events, while Horizon Workplace is the place for online boardrooms and meeting spaces.

Menlyn Easter Maze

Gauteng-based Menlyn Mall has enhanced its annual Easter Egg maze with a dash of augmented reality. Players can navigate the maze, looking through their phones to see cartoon creatures and virtual easter eggs, collecting these for real-world prizes. Though some would say the metaverse is about virtual reality in the future, Menlyn's Easter maze shows how we can already blend real and virtual worlds.

Snoop Dogg's Mansion

Property is a unique aspect of parts of the metaverse. You can join metaverse worlds and pay real cash for virtual property. But why do that? Maybe because you can move in next to celebrities like Snoop Dogg. The rapper owns a virtual party mansion in the metaverse - The Sandbox (in a special place called The Snoopverse) - using it to host events such as virtual concerts. He even recorded a music video in the digital house. Someone already paid nearly $500,000 for the plot of land next door.

Ariana Grande's Concert Series

The metaverse can apply to different virtual spaces, including game worlds. In 2021, players of the competitive action game Fortnite put their weapons aside to enjoy a virtual concert by pop superstar Ariana Grande. Over 600,000 people watched the virtual event live, many attending as avatars in the game. True to form, the event also sold virtual items such as player skins inspired by Grande.

Volkswagen SA's Polo Ad Campaign

Reaching younger generations and all their disposable income is attracting big brands into the metaverse. Many created virtual stores, but one company used metaverse concepts a bit more creatively. Volkswagen South Africa launched a metaverse campaign to promote its new Polo car by hiding unique digital tokens called NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in campaign ads. Rather than skip ads, viewers would dig into the campaign videos to find those NFTs and exchange them for prizes.

Disney's Theme Park Metaverse

Disney's theme parks are a huge deal, even inspiring movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. Naturally, the house of Mouse wants to use metaverse technologies to create even better rides. Though still a work in progress, Disney is working on ways to use smartphones and wearables that enhance the rides for park visitors, and it has patented technology that can create virtual copies of visitors in a digital version of its parks. So, watch that space!

Find the best solution for your business

Are you thinking about your Metaverse strategy? Much like everything in business, defining your ambition is the just first step toward developing a strategic stance. The Metaverse is likely to influence many aspects of business including how customers expect to interact with your business, your competitive landscape and your business operations in general:

• Human resources will have new ways to undertake learning, development and recruiting

• Future growth plans will need to examine new revenue streams and business models

• Marketing strategies will evolve

• Sales teams will be able to host and attend events at a significantly lower cost

• Customer support may use the Metaverse for service calls or to directly demonstrate actions.

• Research and development could be accelerated through the use of “digital twins” and new design tools.

While early adopters have largely been corporates, it is never too early to get your business Metaverse ready. Experimenting with these new technologies won’t cost you an arm and a leg either. By hosting internal meetings or virtual socials in the Metaverse, or sharing personal experiences of the Metaverse during team huddles to create more awareness, employees will become more familiar (and confident) as the ecosystem continues to evolve. Vodacom Businesses' range of products and solutions has been custom-built to assist you in your digital journey. We are here to assist you in taking your business to it's full potential.