Metaverse: Why Nigerian brands and agencies need restructuring
By Ibidunni Banjoko
From the birth of the modern internet to the shift to mobile, social and cloud in Web 2.0, the marketing communications industry has been historically slow to adapt to major technological changes.
With the emergence of Metaverse, other new blockchain concepts and solutions that are compatible with Web 3.0, brands and agencies that fail to develop a framework strategy to allow for early experimentation will be left behind.
Prior to the emergence of Metaverse, Facebook and other big techs expressed conviction that the customers/ consumers of tomorrow would be in Metaverse. But who will be selling and marketing to these customers/consumers? Are brands and agencies structured to take advantage of the burgeoning market channel that Metaverse promises to provide?
Responding to MARKETING EDGE inquiries, some Nigerian digital agency eggheads and professionals posited that it will require much deeper agency-brand relationships and fluid internal structures for a seamless adoption/ adaption to take place.
It was, however, cited that legacy structures and thinking could be the biggest obstructions to marketing innovation.
Bukola Akingbade, Founder and CEO of Kucheza Gaming, said: “Historically, agencies and brands have been slow to adopt new marketing opportunities due to legacy structures, relationships and lack of specialised talent.
“When we started digital agencies in Nigeria, the audience and behavioural data was available, the numbers were high and the trend of the potential impact of digital on the industry was clear. Despite these, adoption was extremely low for years and the investment in upskilling talent was not as significant as it should have been. Now, “digital” has been mainstream for over fifteen years, still agency and brand structures remain largely siloed in Nigeria. The adoption of more cross functional teams and disciplines is not yet commonplace.”
According to her, the Metaverse conversation will be no different. It will only amplify or widen existing gaps. The newly emerged Metaverse world will be more decentralized which should lead to a more empowered consumer. The challenge will be to attempt to bring an interruptive mindset into a fluid, data-driven ecosystem.
“Brands and agencies need to rethink business models, investment strategies and plan for higher levels of collaboration. They must plan to have a much deeper business strategy relationship, plan not to have all the answers going in and learn and adapt along the way,” Akingbade asserted.
Also responding to questions, Emeka Obia, Strategy Lead at Leo Burnett Lagos, stated that Metaverse already signals a potential future move beyond traditional display advertising towards creating immersive brand experiences, which are more engaging and exciting, and less invasive as they appear today. “There’s a huge opportunity for both brands and agencies to thoroughly understand the concept as it would certainly become a lot more complicated for both parties – especially as we begin to really grapple with the incredibly powerful combination of digital currencies, blockchain, and massive real-time 3D experiences.”
He further said: “One thing is for sure, the advertising opportunity is significant, but the experience opportunity has the potential to be significantly more effective. Brands and agencies that are willing to experiment in creating valuable experiences at this intersection of physical and virtual spaces will win in the long term.”
Johnson Anorh Founder, Oakland and Johnson, on his part noted that Metaverse will be the biggest thing in the world. “It is a total immersive experience for humanity. It’s living in a digital world. You’d shop like you do in the real world. And any immersive experience gets a brand closer to its audience.”
He added that agencies that are prepared will not have a choice but to restructure to meet this new lifestyle. “But it is still early days and we will gradually get there. The structure of the agency has been changing for the past few years and some are just too traditional to take note. It will be an interesting time for behavioural artists like us.”
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