How To Quantify Your Brand’s Success In Web3: Key Takeaways From The Geeiq x Jing Daily 'Measure Your Success In The Metaverse' Webinar

By now, most brands are aware of the metaverse’s existence. But many are unfamiliar with how their success in the digital terrain can be measured. Traditional data metrics, such as sales numbers, engagement rates, and impressions were the primary indicators for a label’s performance in Web2. But the metaverse requires new touchstones, ones that go beyond what their predecessors are able to quantify. After a year of Web3 activations in luxury, Jing Daily’s digital extension Jing Meta has become a global port-of-call for the latest NFT drops, virtual collaborations, and digital fashion moves. As a result of its recognition, Jing Daily recently teamed up with metaverse-first data platform Geeiq to host the “Measure Your Success In The Metaverse” webinar. Moderated by our editor-in-chief Jing Zhang, we invited experts Charles Hambro, founder and CEO of Geeiq, and Manon Cardiel, global digital innovation manager at L’Oreal, to talk more on what houses could, and should, be considering when entering the virtual world. Understanding the metaverse’s new business model Traditional Web2 metrics will still come into play but measuring success in the metaverse requires a new layer of digital indicators; these include revenue from digital products, differentiating the various kinds of engagement time between Web2 and Web3 platforms, and transactions on the blockchain. For Hambro, outlining objectives is the initial step in understanding a brand’s performance. “When we have them, then we can attach KPIs to it. One of these might be reaching audiences that we can’t on traditional social media channels,” he said. “On traditional social media, our KPIs would be measuring impressions. But in a game like Roblox, it might be the number of visits or average playing time compared to the scrolling of a news feed. Then we can benchmark that number against other brand experiences in the platform.” Gaming platforms are the new touchpoints for next-gen socialization Unsurprisingly, Web3 is redefining the preexisting concepts of gaming. The Gen Z audience spends the majority of its online time on these platforms — which means looking beyond the channels of Web2 to engage the demographic. “What a game is today is a destination for new generations to socialize. It’s a destination of self-expression and experience. When you speak to anyone under the age of 20 years old and ask them where they are hanging out, it’s unlikely they would say Facebook or Instagram. It will most likely be Snapchat or TikTok but then also Roblox and Fortnite,” Hambro continued. He also stressed that cultural relevance is imperative to a label’s digital survival. “Not only is gaming a place in which people are hanging out and making memories, but it is culturally relevant. Gaming is now a part of mainstream culture, and I think brands are starting to realize that.” Good PR shouldn’t be a core objective. It’s about having a community-centric purpose For long-term success, community objectives should be outlined before quantifiable measures. “The first question that you should ask yourself before thinking of any KPI, PnL, or any other is: what is the value that you want to bring to the community?” Cardiel explained. “A number of brands that want to do something related to the metaverse just to follow the hype aren’t succeeding.” Indeed, companies have rushed to consolidate their presence in Web3 but many have struggled to make a real-world impact. “Many brands have rather dangerously jumped in with the idea of wanting to look like they’re innovative and believe that they should be in there because their competitors are,” Hambro observed. “But there is so much more value beyond the PR aspects of the metaverse, which are dying out.” Understanding the creator economy of Web3 The metaverse will see the evolution of Web2’s traditional influencer marketing. But Cardiel wants to scrap the term for something more timely. “We’re not calling it influencer marketing anymore. We’re calling it creator marketing and the creator economy,” she outlined. “Since the rise of platforms like TikTok, people are getting more creative with their content and are switching from brand partnerships to direct audiences rewards like subscriptions, which we’ve seen with Twitch.” A large measure of success will also be consumer attitudes and habits, rather than sales numbers. “The rules and business models are different,” Hambro reiterated. “Facebook makes its money from brands, but Fortnite doesn’t. They make their money from the players. When a brand is entering that space, they've really got to think about what they are uniquely bringing and how they are enriching the player experience and adding value. Because they decide whether they want to come and see us. This is not a case of media buying.” For companies jumping into Web3, how essential is a Chief Metaverse Officer? Following Gucci appointing its Head of Metaverse and the development of the Aura Blockchain Consortium, how critical are these divisions and positions to a brand's success in Web3? Cardiel was quick to answer this one, stating that “having a team dedicated to this topic was important for us to learn it and explore it correctly. The space isn’t mature; there are a lot of legal questions, tax questions, financial questions, cybersecurity questions, and so on.” But hiring the right person is key — something she also made clear. “Passion is an essential factor. It's about identifying the right person within your organization who understands what's happening and can direct your team, without it seeming like you have just jumped into the space to follow a trend.”

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How To Quantify Your Brand’s Success In Web3: Key Takeaways From The Geeiq x Jing Daily 'Measure Your Success In The Metaverse' Webinar