Fast-tracked by a demand for more interactive experiences amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the metaverse offers an opportunity to close the gap between reality and virtual life. Simply put, the metaverse refers to shared online worlds in which physical, augmented, and virtual reality converge. Here, people can hang out with friends, work, visit places, buy goods and services, socialize and attend events.
There are already surefire signs across gaming, music and even within niche cultures like the artworld and high fashion, that show metaverse activations are offering deep value across users, brands, and platforms.
Advertisers are ramping up metaverse campaigns that see their brands being introduced into popular platforms and games such as Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft. However, most are missing out on the full scale potential of engaging with the metaverse trend that happens outside of in-game activations. Below, we’re unpacking why marketers should be aligning with related YouTube content to fully capitalize on the current high interest in the metaverse and extend the life of their campaigns.
Why Brands Should Care About The Metaverse
This timely and exciting new frontier in virtual experience is gaining traction not because of its newness per se. In fact, it’s a gradual next step in a fully connected world, according to prolific writer and venture capitalist, Matthew Ball. The metaverse’s arrival into the mainstream occurred when interactive game creation platforms like Roblox and Fortnite began successfully incorporating brand integrations into their games.
Larger campaigns such as rap superstar Travis Scott’s concert held within Fortnite last April set a new record with 12 million concurrent views, according to Epic Games. Wendy’s “Keeping Fortnite Fresh” campaign won the highly coveted Social & Influencer Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, beating out Nike’s beloved “Dream Crazy” commercial.
At the same time, Roblox’s valuation shot to $45 billion after going public this past March. The New York Times reported Roblox’s first quarter data from this year saw nearly 10 billion hours spent playing Roblox, and more than 42 million users logged in each day. Players also spent $652 million on the site’s virtual currency, Robux, which can be used to purchase in-game digital items for their characters.
With the chessboard set for what could become a limitless opportunity for brands of all shapes and sizes, marketers are still navigating how to get the most out of the metaverse trend.
The Metaverse on YouTube
While scene-stealing music events or an award-winning brand campaign are not within every brand’s budget or reach, related YouTube content is a savvy way of aligning with the metaverse craze right now.
In 2020, the top overall games watched on YouTube were:
- Minecraft: 201B views
- Roblox: 75B views
- Garena Free Fire: 72B views
- Grand Theft Auto V: 70B views
- Fortnite: 67B views
With over 100 Billion Watch Time hours dedicated to gaming content on YouTube in 2020 alone, the culture of watching your favorite Gamers discuss the metaverse is just as exciting as playing in it.
Maximize Your Metaverse Campaign With BBTV’s Creator Network
Gamers uploading metaverse content on YouTube are the perfect access point for marketers looking to extend their metaverse campaigns or align with larger metaverse trends. BBTV’s creator network is home to some of the biggest gamers directly interacting with the metaverse trend across the most popular titles. BBTV gamer and YouTube superstar Jelly creates Minecraft, Roblox, GTA and Fortnite content for his 22 million (and counting!) subscribers.
Typical Gamer, a GTA, Fortnite and Minecraft gamer has one of the most engaged fan bases with over 12 million subscribers tuning in for reviews and let’s play content.
With highly anticipated metaverse events or tentpoles taking place more regularly, marketers can look to BBTV’s Ad Sales team for their OLV needs around metaverse trends. With contextual targeting that maximizes your brand’s visibility with key audiences at scale during exciting metaverse events, BBTV can help make your name synonymous with the event itself.
Gamers have become the face of emerging digital trends moving into the mainstream. Not far behind are music artists who are looking for new and exciting ways to expand their reach in the digital space. After the wildly successful Travis Scott in-game concert, Epic hosted pop star Ariana Grande’s multi-day “tour” in Fortnite earlier this year to much fanfare and Roblox held a concert with Lil Nas X that saw 33 million total views.
The success of the in-game concert format is opening the door for other music activations including album and single releases through the metaverse. Marketers can seize the opportunity to target a wide range of music fans through BBTV’s music division, Opposition, home to popular and rising music talent, across all major genres. Whether your brand is associated with the next virtual concert or aligning on the larger conversation around music in the metaverse, Opposition offers up rap superstars like T-Pain or emerging talent like The Rubens.
While the metaverse in-game activations are gaining a ton of attention, marketers have all but missed the opportunity to extend the life of these campaigns through related YouTube content. With BBTV’s contextual targeting ad solutions, marketers can ensure successful brand lift by stepping out of the metaverse and capturing the excitement of the metaverse trend with the most influential YouTubers and their massive fan bases. Get in touch with BBTV Ad Solutions to get ahead of the metaverse trend on YouTube for your next campaign.
