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Ever cried at a John Lewis Christmas advert? You’re not alone. 

Adverts that incite emotion stick in our minds and create better ties between consumers and brands. Now that virtual and real worlds are colliding with the metaverse making its way centre stage, how can brands engage with the senses and connect with target audiences through virtual reality? 

What’s already out there? 

Before diving into the wonderfully weird world of the metaverse, pondering what senses brands are trying to utilise in virtual reality – let’s recap what’s already blended into modern technology. 

Audio logos

Everyone’s familiar with the ‘dun – dun’ from Netflix or Mcdonald’s whistle. You don’t have to be in the room to know what’s on TV when you hear those ear-catching sounds. 

Audio logos help strengthen brand identity and create a memorable ear-perience for the audience.

3D printed food 

In a digital-first world, we’re going fully digital with our food. 3D printed food aims to replicate the taste and smell of real food. However, we’re still far off from large-scale production.  

But it does make you wonder – are we more hungry for how it looks, smells and tastes rather than what it actually is? Food for thought, for sure. 

4D film 

The film industry keeps upping its screen game, from 2D to surround-sound IMAX. But I bet you’re wondering, “what if we could smell film?” – no, just me? 

The film industry is experimenting with olfactory (smelly) effects – if you’ve been to a 4D movie showing, you’ll have experienced this.

From the basic, DIY aroma-scope scratch and sniff cards to 4D cinemas with moving chairs, water spraying and rushing wind, we’re seeing cinema make waves (sometimes literally) in creating that immersive experience. 

These methods spark excitement for the future of 4D adverts. How could additional sensory elements create that emotional connection between audience and brand?  

Haptic technology

Haptics refers to touch and motion, and we’ve seen more haptic technology integrate into our daily devices. 

For example, mobile phones use haptic feedback when rearranging apps on your home screen or vibrate when someone’s calling.

The latest PS5 controllers now include haptic feedback, which tightens triggers depending on an action such as pulling a bow or breaking in a sports car. Meta is also trialling haptic gloves to add a tactile connection between brands and metaverse goers. 

These hands-on approaches (had to be done) to user engagement are still in their early stages. But imagine the possibilities with further experimentation; audiences could interact with brands and products through an infinite toybox of creative. 


3D ads

And speaking of early stages, we’re currently on the cusp of experiencing a new era of interactive ads. 3D ads are making their way onto social media in Meta’s latest update. Working with VNTANA, a social augmented reality company, Meta will enable brands to bring their products to life on Facebook and Instagram.

For brands, particularly e-commerce, this presents a major opportunity to showcase products accurately to potential customers, increasing engagement and improving customer satisfaction. This update foreshadows what we can expect advertising in the metaverse to look like, with technology evolving to give users that real-life experience in a virtual setting – browsing a catalogue, for example.

The importance of experience 

Experience plays a vital role in advertising. The brand experience revolves around the consumer’s sentiment for a brand and ‘the lasting impression’ they have towards it. 

Widen argues that brand experience is more important than user experience as it facilitates deeper connections.

If you’ve ever had a bad experience with a brand, you’ll likely remember that for a lifetime. Emotions and experience can be more important than the product or service itself, influencing decision-making overall. 

Consider brand experience carefully. CSR (corporate social responsibility) is a massive factor in consumer perception of a brand. 

72% of consumers want brands to be positive contributors to society. Brands that passionately believe in something and shout about it from the rooftops will often connect better with their audience than brands that don’t live, breathe and deliver on their ethos.

Beauty product retailer LUSH pulled out of social media, aligning its online behaviour to its message of rest and relaxation. LUSH created an emotional connection between consumers and the brand as people saw it as a brand sticking to its core values. 

Have you ever stopped to wonder why most service businesses (hotels, airlines and restaurants etc.) talk about the experience rather than the end product? According to Gartner, psychology and emotion are arguably the essential elements of a customer’s buying journey, with community also playing a key role. 

You could even go as far as to say that customer experience is becoming the new brand identity. A study conducted by PwC found that ‘59% of all consumers feel companies have lost touch with the human element of customer experience.’ 

Bringing senses and emotion into your marketing strategy allows you to reach your customers efficiently and creates long-lasting connections that promote brand advocacy. 

The power of emotion 

Speaking of connection, let’s chat about how emotions affect purchasing decisions. 

31% of advertisements are emotion-based, not rational, which highlights how emotions have a giant impact on purchasing decisions. In fact, ads with purely emotional content perform twice as well as those with only rational content. 

Tingling the senses is a uniquely engaging way of bringing about an emotional response, with sound being particularly effective at sparking emotion. On TikTok, for example, sound-on content is perceived as ‘fun’, a 66% increase in this emotion compared to platforms that don’t use sound. 

But how does this translate to connecting to your customers? For example, as with LUSH, being authentic with your brand values is crucial. 

Authenticity boosts connection, especially on social media. According to The Drum, ‘being imperfect on TikTok creates intimacy between brands and their audiences, and builds a relationship driven by respect and understanding’.

Why is sense so important in the metaverse?

If the goal is to create immersive experiences, the metaverse needs to look, feel and sound like real life. 

Reducing the friction between the real and the virtual helps users interact more authentically, as they would in the real world. This will help brands plan their advertising strategy in the metaverse, as virtual personas should mimic real-life personas.

We all know that sound is paramount when recalling a brand or experiencing the internet. Kantar found that ‘88% of TikTok users said that sound is essential to the TikTok experience’. 

But what else is a must in creating a memorable experience? Will smell and taste be the newest features implemented into the metaverse?

How is the metaverse planning on tingling our senses? 

Alongside sensory logos, we’re seeing wireless VR headsets throughout the industry, allowing for even more freedom in virtual worlds. 

Playstation recently announced VR 2 for PS5, with MetaQuest, Meta’s wireless headset, allowing for even more immersive engagement as users can move freely, mimicking real-life movements. 

VR is constantly evolving to give consumers what they want while learning from them. We’re looking at a future of emotion tracking, creating realistic digital avatars through biometric data. 

Get involved!

We recommend experimenting with these new technologies as they emerge. 

We’re seeing people’s curiosity about the metaverse peak; it’s already big business. VR gear sales are likely to hit $10 billion by the end of 2022, and the expected number of headsets sold could reach 26 million units by 2023! 

More and more people are ready to explore the metaverse. And with accessibility in virtual reality improving, there’s a whole new audience awaiting adverts in the metaverse.

What do you need to know? 

The metaverse offers an exciting glimpse into the future. How brands begin to advertise in the virtual world is an exciting and slightly daunting prospect for some. 

It all comes down to really understanding your audience and the space where they are. What are people doing in that virtual world, what are they interacting with, and how are they communicating with other metaverse goers? 

More importantly – how can you form that emotional bond between brand and consumer and connect as you do in the “real” world?

Without a doubt, the metaverse is in its infancy as a marketing and advertising channel, but the potential is huge, with all brands being able to make their mark on the space with the right strategy. 

Be sure to watch this space, as we’ll be reporting the latest updates regarding the metaverse over on our blog!

But if you’re rearing to get started on maximising your digital advertising campaigns, contact our paid media experts about your strategy right now.

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