Nov 19, 2021
Maury Rogow builds a solid case that your brand will live or die
based on the story you tell in the metaverse.
Maury is a pioneer in applying the art of storytelling to convey
the value of technology in the Internet age. He built a successful
approach to storytelling that made direct contributions to the
success of some of the most important firms in the early wave of
Internet companies. He later leveraged storytelling expertise and
insights into a career in Hollywood which included producing films
and helping craft storylines. After six years in Hollywood he
shifted focus to how to help major brands tell their stories. His
company Rip Media Group has helped companies from multiple sectors
of the economy leverage the mobile Internet and video to improve
their marketing and storytelling.
Today Rip Media Group, is preparing for another big shift, the
transition to the age of the Metaverse. In this OODAcast we dive
deep into how Maury sees the Metaverse shaping corporate strategies
and ways leaders should be positioning themselves to serve the
early adopters of the coming Metaverse.
What does Maury see coming?
The metaverse is the third big wave of change to sweep across
the Internet. The first was the client server world of the initial
Internet. Then the video mobile world of the last decade. Now the
metaverse promises to be just as, or maybe even a bigger change
than those first two shifts.
Maury encourages us to think of the Metaverse today as an
infant, so new that it is hardly functional yet. But there is
enough there to see something incredible is coming. Those that are
grasping the power and potential of the coming metaverse today are
those that are probably interacting with large online communities
like those around the big 3D games. There are other use cases
including medical, healthcare, industrial and retail already coming
into focus. But all are in their infancy. The real power of the
Metaverse will come when users will have persistence across
multiple platforms including an ability to exchange value and be
productive.
An example of a retail metaverse is RedFox, which has built a
shopping mall which enables retail, entertainment, interaction with
others and a blended approach to purchasing that bridges the
virtual and real worlds.
We discuss retail and the huge economic potential for retail in
the metaverse. We also discuss how just becoming part of the
metaverse is not going to guarantee success. It will take marketing
and advertising that helps people understand why to visit an online
destination. Maury has crafted campaigns for metaverse companies
already, and has found success by building stories that leverage
timeless storytelling practices. When it comes to marketing to
bring attention to metaverse capabilities, he describes his methods
with an acronym that helps people understand the importance of
action. The acronym is STUFF, which stands for:
1. The sizzle and sexy elements of a story
2. Touching or nostalgic story
3. Unexpected or unique
4. Funny
5. Fear of something
We dive into several use cases other than retail, including how
metaverse enabled technologies are already helping in delivery of
healthcare. The use of the metaverse for testing and training for
the military, the use of the metaverse for education, real estate,
legal advice, and business planning was also examined.
Maury and Bob discuss views on the great SciFi stories that have
helped people understand the potential of the metaverse, including
Snowcrash, Neuromancer, Enders Game, Ready Player one. SciFi
stories can help conceptualize potential benefits and also
potential pitfalls and problems. One example of the latter is
conceptualizing security challenges, something rarely discussed
these days. Bob mentions two SciFi stories that can help
us think through security issues related to the metaverse, one from
Star Trek (Kirk hacked the Kobayashi Maru scenario) and one from
Ready Player One (there was a credential theft scene). Bob and
Maury discuss the “so-what” of potential security issues in this
domain. Clearly as we build our metaverse we really have to
think about security, privacy and counter crime.
Maury’s advice for corporate metaverse strategies:
We are early. Which is good! Get involved nad keep a watchful eye
on the space
The worst decision you can make is to do nothing.
As you build your metaverse strategy, build your communication
strategy and know how you are going to tell your story across the
brand.
Related Resources:
Rip Media Group
The Metaverse Is Coming And It Will Disrupt The Current
Internet
The age of the Metaverse is upon us. The Metaverse is the successor
to the Internet of today. It is a future state that will include
persistent interoperable virtual worlds and the platforms required
to support and interact with them. It will have its own thriving
economy and deliver experiences unavailable in the physical world.
It will be a primary means of educating our youth and delivering
knowledge through life, and will be a leading form of social
interaction and entertainment. For more see:
What To Know And Do About The Coming Metaverse
