Let’s say you are present in a huge social gathering where you are meeting with various individuals and having a gala time interacting with them while exchanging thoughts. Now let’s take your imagination to the next level by closing your eye and feeling your presence in the same event, by not being physically present there. This immersive experience in an event, without actually being present in the event, but still being able to interact with the fellow audience, is known as Metaverse.
There are several websites like Mootup, EventX, Decentraland etc., where an individual can host a metaverse event and invite friends, families, or work colleagues for an immersive meetup experience without being present there physically.
Experience how it feels to be in the metaverse.
Why Metaverse When Social Media is Already There?
We all interact with our friends and relatives on social media regularly however the feeling to connect with them, emotionally and mentally is not that great through these platforms. This is where metaverse fills in the gap and creates a platform to connect with your known ones and interact with them as if they are sitting just next to you.
How Can I Access and Host an Event in Metaverse
Now that you have understood what Metaverse is, the next question that comes to mind is, how to go about planning and finding the perfect platform to host the Metaverse Event?
There are various platforms available that support Metaverse Event Hosting like Dreamcast, Adaptika, Airmeet, AlmondVirtex, NextMeet, Breakroom, Viverse.
One can simply log in to one of these websites and connect with their team to discuss the event requirements. These websites have a variety of in-built features that help the host manage the event in an efficient way and derive maximum benefit from the event. However, since there are a plethora of metaverse platforms present in the market, it is therefore important to know the differences in their offerings to be able to select the right platform for your event.
To help ease the Metaverse platform selection process, please refer to a detailed discussion on the process of finalizing the platform for hosting the Metaverse event.
How Much Does It Cost to Host Metaverse Event?
While deciding on the Metaverse Event platform, it is quite important to estimate the budget of the event. To have a rough estimate of the pricing of the event, select the features required during the event on the Metaverse platform. On an average, the metaverse event cost can range from $3000 to $50,000 plus, depending on the size of the audience and the features requested during the event.
Benefits of Metaverse
Metaverse has become a buzzword in today’s era. A lot of big brands like Starbucks, Gucci etc. have invested heavily in metaverse events. It is therefore quite important to understand the benefits of the metaverse and adopt it during its early stage of inception to derive out maximum benefit at the later stage.
Following are some of the benefits of Metaverse: –
a) Outstanding Immersive Experience during the Event
It is quite easy to incorporate 2D and 3D animation during the Metaverse Event. As a result of which the attendees of the Metaverse Event experience a higher engagement rate1New Study reveals metaverse appeals to consumers and marketers – sitecore. Metaverse. (n.d.). https://www.sitecore.com/blog/metaverse/2022-research, thereby increasing brand retention in the mind of the attendees.
b) Better Networking Experience
Offline events can be quite noisy and thereby become quite difficult to connect and talk. On the contrary, in Metaverse events, a group of like-minded individuals can connect at a table and have a video call and network/discuss. There are a few Metaverse Platforms like Dreamcast and Airmeet, which have an AI tool that gives suggestions of like-minded individuals and thereby makes the networking experience quite better. Further, since the attendees have to attend the event remotely, the attendees from all across the globe can join the event and thereby the networking in such cases can prove to be fruitful.
c) Increase in Sales and Revenue
A lot of big brands like Gucci have started displaying their new collection in Sandbox metaverse space which has lead to an increase in the sales of their products. Now, since they have to spend less on advertisements and marketing (thanks to Metaverse), their costs have come down and the revenue has increased2Marr, B. (2022, December 1). Gucci enters the metaverse. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/11/30/gucci-enters-the-metaverse/?sh=55dee8a31d66.
d) Better Sponsorship Outreach
Several Metaverse platforms like Mootup, Viverse, OutrealXR, EventX etc., provide an option to customize the booth banner to display the sponsorship advertisement. Since it is quite easy to navigate through the metaverse space and the attendees get to have better visibility of the banners and videos of the sponsors, therefore the return on investment for the sponsors is quite good.
e) Cost Saving
In an offline event, for the host, a considerable budget goes into taking permission from the regulatory authorities, paying the rent for the event hall, arranging food for the attendees, etc. whereas the attendees need to spend a good amount of money on travel and logistics. Since the metaverse event happens online and the attendees can attend the event remotely, quite a significant amount of cost is saved both for the host and the attendees.
f) High Turnaround Rate
Since the metaverse event happens remotely, therefore the attendees can easily join the event from the comfort of their home/office. This leads to an increase in the number of attendees, attending the metaverse event as compared to the offline event.
g) Analytics and Feedback Mechanism
During an offline event, it becomes quite difficult to track the level of participation, engagement and feedback of the attendees however during a Metaverse event, few platforms like Adaptika, Airmeet, AlmondVirtex, Mootup, Breakroom, OutrealXR and EventX have a feature called as Event Insight and Analytics using which the attendee’s activities can be tracked easily.
What are the Various Use Cases of Metaverse Events
Metaverse is quite in trends these days and thereby its use cases are also increasing gradually. Following are some of the real use case of Metaverse: –
1) Metaverse and Healthcare
Metaverse in healthcare is picking up quite well. A lot of medical institutes are using metaverse to discuss patient’s case before performing the surgery.
Professors are using Metaverse and 3D animation to teach human anatomy to students.
Further, Metaverse in healthcare is also used to perform a surgery on a patient where the surgeons connect remotely and guide the surgeon performing the surgery by performing annotations on the patient’s body.
Also Read – How to Setup Metaverse for a Live Surgery?
2) Metaverse and Product Launch
A lot of product brands like Gucci are making use of Metaverse to launch their new products and display as a gallery to the participants. Gucci is making use of Sandbox as a platform to host the Metaverse.
3) Metaverse, Conferences and Office Meetings
After the initial success, majority of conferences across the world are happening in Metaverse3Top 17 Gamefi/Metaverse Conferences in 2023. Startup Stash. (2023, February 1). https://startupstash.com/gamefi-metaverse-conferences/. Similar is the case with office meetings, especially product companies where a group of specialists need to gather and look at the problem together and thereby find the solution.
4) Metaverse and Stage Shows
In order to connect with a vast audience, who are young, Metaverse seems to be a perfect idea, and this is what is being encashed by Super Stars like Justin Bieber, Foo fighters etc4https://www.one37pm.com/music/ten-major-artists-who-have-performed-in-the-metaverse.The fans globally can purchase the event ticket and join the show from the comfort of their home.
How to Enhance the Experience of Metaverse with HoloLens
While Metaverse event gives you a virtual connection experience, however, to have a real immersive experience, tools like Microsoft HoloLens can be used. With Microsoft HoloLens one feels present in the event and can see each other in an enhanced way. It feels like an individual is teleported to the event and is no more attending the event virtually. This leads to increase in the engagement during the event.
Takeaway
Metaverse is making its move quick, and each event is setting a mark on the visitors. As per the report by Sitecore, there has been an increase in the brand awareness, participation rate, decrease in cost, increase in sales and revenue and brand loyalty. Metaverse is the new Internet of the 21st century and the businesses who adopt it early can reap the benefits easily.
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