We’ve been talking about the Metaverse over the past few months and for good reason: crafting the right experience can be tricky but can also be a game changer for engaging attendees. In Part 1 of this series we discussed how product launches, conferences and fashion events are all highly effective in the Metaverse, what many see as the next stage of virtual events.
Now we continue our series with a more in-depth look at three more ideas for metaverse events AND how to do them successfully.
Entertainment Performances and Multi-Day Festivals
Concerts are already happening in the Metaverse with audience members virtually attending live shows hosted exclusively online. Some of these have been highly effective fan club events for a particular artist, new album preview releases or other exclusives, and electronic-digital-music (EDM) artists with a global fan base.
Enjoying performances while interacting with others makes the Metaverse a prime venue for movie premieres, multi-day festivals like Coachella, Broadway-style musicals, and TedX events for its ability to allow attendees to enjoy performers while interacting with others throughout the entire digital venue.
For corporate event planners, the Metaverse opens up a new world of entertainment and activity options. Top benefits unique to the Metaverse include:
- Performers have more availability without travel required.
- More guests can attend without limitations on the number of seats at a venue.
- Attendees can even choose their own breakout room experiences or team up in groups just as they would with an in-person event.
Sporting Events
The benefits the Metaverse offers to live entertainment also extend to sports. Season tickets, whether for a set of seats for employee incentives or a suite for entertaining clients, are generally marketed as the “best value” for companies, but that assumes you will be able to attend all games throughout the season.
Here’s what a typical season looks like professional sports:
- NBA – 41 games
- NHL – 41 games
- MLB – 81 games
- MLS – 17 games
- NFL – 8 or 9 games
That’s quite the commitment (and investment) for any company.
With the Metaverse, those same businesses can entertain guests and networking contacts at a game even when it isn’t convenient to physically attend. What’s more, because seating is not limited and there are no other issues such as parking, a company could invite a large group of guests, or even invite guests to an out-of-town game. Imagine being able to take a client from New York to a game in Seattle with no airports, no hotel, and with everyone back at the office in the morning. And that’s all without the long-term financial commitment of an entire season ticket or corporate suite. That’s what the Metaverse has the potential to deliver.
One look at how virtual sporting may shape up is the Le Mans Virtual Cup. This exciting cross-over between Formula-1 and Indy-style auto racing lives solely in the digital realm. Formula 1 sponsor paddocks often represent some of the most high-end, well-recognized brands in the world and the virtual environment provides yet another marketing opportunity for these brands to connect with an audience. For event planners, it means the Metaverse offers sponsorship opportunities and a way to give clients a presence at major sporting events without the conventional expense.
Award Ceremonies
From the world’s most exclusive award events like The Oscars, Grammys, and the Nobel Prize, to international charity recognitions, scholarship awards, and corporate honors, award ceremonies make up a large part of the event market. The market was estimated at being worth $886.99 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $2,194.40 billion by 2028.
What this means for companies that host award events is that there is a lot of competition for venues, vendors, travel accommodations, staffing, and so on. Consider just a few of the different types of awards-style events that occur throughout the year:
- Recognition for top-performing salespeople
- Fundraising galas for non-profit partners
- Leadership awards (both company-wide as well as industry-wide)
- Person-of-the-year honors
- Academic achievement/scholarship presentations
- And more
Now, multiply all the possible types of events by the size of local or regional market, and it quickly becomes clear how many people are vying for the same resources. Unless of course those events are happening in the Metaverse.
In Decentraland, all that is needed is a 3D model completely outfitted with world-class design and interactive experiences, including the award presentations and speeches themselves. Even further, those being honored at these types of award ceremonies might receive NFT or other digital awards instead of (or in addition to) traditional trophies.
In these virtual venues, attendees get all the benefits of the technology platform such as:
- Interactive panel discussions, entertainment, and activities
- Increased flexibility for guest lists. For example, can “invite” their entire families if they so choose, rather than having to select just a single plus-1 guest.
- Easier meet and greets with VIP speakers or celebrity hosts which can be available to select group of invitees (like the award winners themselves).
- Trophies can be shipped to recipients ahead of the event, if desired, but NFT trophies can also be distributed – and need not take the form of a statuette.
The Metaverse may be new and emerging, but it also holds a great deal of potential for brands, organizations, and performers eager to grow their audience and be pioneers in a space attracting users from all parts of the world. VIBE is already working with Metaverse technologies and can help you explore opportunities that fit your event purpose, size, scope, and budget. Let us help you!
