Top 5 metaverse moments you need to know about right now

This month: A metaverse whiskey bar, plus major moves from Roblox and Walmart No. 5: Meta lays off a portion of its metaverse staff Meta is eliminating staff in its Reality Labs division, which is focused on building out the metaverse, Reuters reported this week. The cuts affect employees in the Facebook Agile Silicon Team (FAST), tasked with creating custom silicon chips to power hardware such as Meta’s AR glasses. The size of the reduction is uncertain. While Meta has laid off over 20,000 employees since last November, this new round of cuts spells particular trouble for the company’s metaverse ambitions. The department has already seen substantial deemphasis as AI has risen to the foreground, usurping attention from products like Horizon Worlds and Quest headsets. Still, Mark Zuckerberg continues to defend his vague virtual vision to weary investors. More on Meta: New ad tools continue its generative AI blitz No. 4: Jack Daniel’s blends VR, AI and hip-hop Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey brand made a splash in the metaverse with an activation that blends VR, AI and hip-hop—as well as a virtual whiskey bar. Dubbed “The Verse,” the experience is meant to celebrate hip-hop and its storied culture in honor of the genre’s 50th anniversary.Look back: Brands celebrate hip-hop’s golden anniversary In addition to highlighting art from celebrated Black and diverse creators, “The Verse” also showcased a VR concert from fusion band Phony Ppl, which was enabled through the use of AI-powered motion capture technology. The whiskey lounge, meant to be a space for networking, may be the most dignified metaverse bar we’ve seen yet. Metaverse glossary Key words and terms brands should know Click here No. 3: Vitaminwater brings fashion to Fortnite Coca-Cola-owned Vitaminwater is not typically associated with fashion, yet the brand brought it out in full via an experience on gaming platform Fortnite. The experience did not shy away from maximalism, featuring over 50 minigames themed to Vitaminwater flavors and an apt title: the “zero holding back challenge.” More beverage news: Coca-Cola launches AI-inspired flavor A fashion competition was the headlining activity. Players were asked to show off their best avatar outfits, after which their peers voted on the winning wardrobes. The island was created in partnership with gaming content team PWR, which is spearheaded by WPP’s Open X and led by VMLY&R. No. 2: Roblox lobbies heavily for advertisers Roblox has made several moves over the past month to court advertisers to its platform. In September, it rolled out new features aimed at increasing loyalty opportunities, such as in-game subscriptions and an expansion of Limiteds, which are accessories that can be published with digital scarcity. The platform also launched Roblox Connect, which will allow players to coordinate video voice calls with their avatars. This week, Roblox hired a former Meta ads executive to spearhead its efforts in partnering with brands. Stephanie Latham is the platform’s new VP of global partnerships, tasked with bringing more marketers into the fold via branded experiences as well as true advertising products such as Immersive Ads. Latham will report to Christina Wootton, Roblox’s chief partnerships officer. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs No. 1: Walmart contains metaverse multitudes This month’s top spot goes to Walmart for sporting a multitude of metaverse commitments. Firstly, the retailer teamed with Web3 creative studio POClab for a virtual experience celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The effort was called “Cultureverse,” and aimed to showcase the influence of Black culture in hip-hop spaces. A few weeks later, an executive of Walmart’s innovation arm laid out the company’s vision for the metaverse in an interview with VentureBeat. The retailer plans to connect virtual goods to items sold in its physical stores, with some opportunities already available in mobile games such as House Flip and Zepeto. Pudgy Penguins is featured in the Walmart Holiday Toy Book.🐧 pic.twitter.com/K9IQoSHX96— Luca Netz 🐧 (@LucaNetz) October 4, 2023 And last week, Walmart teamed with Pudgy Penguins, an NFT collection, to bring physical toy versions of its characters to 2,000 stores. Each toy will resemble one of 26 different penguin personas, as well as feature characteristics inspired by other popular NFT brands, such as Meebits and DeGods. Buyers will be able to scan a QR code on each toy to access its unique birth certificate.

Top 5 metaverse moments you need to know about right now

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