The Immersive Wire - 27 February 2022 (Sunday edition)

By Tom Ffiske

VR/AR and metaverse analysis every Wednesday and Sunday // 27 February 2022

Learn more about the enterprise VR solution

MAIN STORYHow to communicate the metaverse

What should you consider if you're marketing an immersive tech or metaverse-related product? When no one can even agree on what it will look like, and it technically does not exist yet, there are a lot of difficulties when marketing yourself as a metaverse company. But on the other hand, a lot of people are interested in the topic and have a desire to learn more. So how do you market yourself as in line with the metaverse?

The first step to consider is to be careful. Plenty of companies position themselves as being part of the metaverse, when their services are limited to a private virtual world, or selling a JPEG on OpenSea. Though some customers will agree, the long-term ramifications are that it may be seen as an opportunistic move rather than a cohesive strategy. If your company happened to contribute to metaverse discussions before the hype of 2021, then you can change the marketing materials slightly. But make sure that your words are substantive, giving it the trust and power to help resonate with your audience long-term.

The second is self-awareness. At the moment, the metaverse does not technically exist. We are building towards it, yes, but it is wrong to suggest we are ‘in’ it in any way. Many companies say they are building a metaverse when it is a private server. Others say they want to build their metaverse – a micro-metaverse, yes, but marketed as a macro-metaverse with none of the principles of interoperability. When you market your company, position yourself as a contributor, not a core creator of an expansive metaverse. That would be like claiming you are building THE internet in the 1980s.

Finally, make your value proposition as clear as possible for customers. Not everyone knows what the metaverse can be, so you need to position yourselves carefully to convey your value. For example, let’s say you provide a shopping overlay when wearing AR glasses. Some companies may say that they are ‘the metaverse of shopping,’ which does not convey what they do. An alternative may be ‘we provide an overlay of information to help you shop,’ which grounds the service in concrete reality while better conveying your value proposition. Know your audience, and position it in a way they understand without the fluff. Find out more in my book, out now.

Metaverse hype is driving more and more enterprises to get started with VR. VRdirect is the standard VR software solution for enterprises like Siemens, Nestle and Deutsche Telekom, and enables many more companies to take the first steps into the metaverse.

Now is the time for enterprises to develop a VR strategy and gain a competitive edge for the future. VRdirect is the easiest solution to get started with VR projects.

Learn more about chances for your business and how to start in the metaverse. 

Q&AThinking in three-dimmensions

Emma Ridderstad, Co-founder and CEO of Warpin

What is your background?With an early career in media sales, I spent some time as the CEO of a media production company, representing some of Sweden's most prominent female-focused digital platforms, before going on to co-found Warpin. I feel passionate about utilising new tech to enhance the human experience, and as an avid gamer I am fascinated by how it allows us to escape into other worlds. This is one of the reasons I founded Warpin, to bring human experiences into the metaverse.What are you working on, and what’s the key learning you’ve had from it?Warpin’s main focus right now is our in-house developed SAAS product, Xelevate, which enables organisations to effectively create, distribute and execute VR training programmes at scale. Xelevate has also allowed us to pursue AR projects for customers like retail giant H&M and entertainment and media conglomerate Disney. One of our key learnings is that immersive technology solutions should not always attempt to mimic the real world too closely, bringing the limitations of our reality into the metaverse. There is actually no limit to what we can develop in VR/AR, so I think it's important that the focus is on reinventing rather than recreating what it is to go to a concert, buy a product or train for a job. If you had to give one piece of advice, what would you give? I would advise companies to start thinking in 3D in order to reimagine rather than recreate old concepts. Business leaders must be open to think new - finding innovative and creative ways in which they can incorporate immersive technology into their everyday lives. Starting small and then scaling based on learnings and demand is the best way to get your feet wet in an industry where the parameters are changing daily. And ultimately, early corporate adopters are going to have a distinctive edge on the competition in a few year's time, when the metaverse is no longer uncharted territory and everyone will want to be involved.For more info on Warpin, check them out.

Jobs boardDISTRIBUTION AND TOURING PRODUCER. Marshmallow Laser Feast is looking for someone to join our team as a Distribution & Touring Producer. You will have a desire to work at the bleeding edge of immersive storytelling and help shape how that work is distributed globally. We see the development and distribution of MLF’s own work as key to the future success of the business, a key revenue stream and integral in building global brand awareness. This new role will be a vital part of the core team that formulates and realises this ambitious vision. Learn more. RENDERING AND C++ ENGINEER, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company. Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity. Under this dynamic umbrella, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company, shapes the future of augmented reality by empowering businesses and developers. We are looking for the XR Software Engineer Design to design, test, and implement core parts of the Wikitude XR toolkit – particularly rendering pipelines for XR systems. Do you have a high affinity for real-time rendering pipelines and optimizing code to fit 16ms (or less)? Learn more and apply! SENIOR COMPUTER SCIENCE and SOFTWARE DEVELOPER (3D, Linear Algebra, C++). MetaVRse is a web-based 3D game engine for building immersive experiences without needing to code. We are looking for a unicorn computer scientist from anywhere in the world who can help us improve the core rendering technology that will serve creators to build custom products in training, marketing, sales, retail and learning in photorealistic, real-time 3D delivered on any device in a browser. Working with our Head of R&D, you will be responsible for creating and implementing new 3D graphics solutions to push the limits of our technology stack. Solid understanding of Real-time 3D libraries (OpenGL, Vulkan), Linear Algebra, C++ and 3D rendering and game engine technologies. Apply Here.XR SOFTWARE ENGINEER NETWORKING, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company. Qualcomm is a company of inventors that unlocked 5G ushering in an age of rapid acceleration in connectivity. Under this dynamic umbrella, Wikitude, a Qualcomm company, shapes the future of augmented reality by empowering businesses and developers. We are looking for an experienced XR Software Engineer Networking to drive the architecture, development, and deployment of core parts of our XR toolkit. A successful candidate has extensive experience in multiplayer streaming and can apply it to XR experiences. Do you have a solid technical background, a passion for the XR industry, and enjoy working with engineering teams? Apply hereXR CONTENT DIRECTOR, Pixo VR. The VR marketplace is exploding, and PIXO is leading the way in on-demand generation and adoption in our industry. With our groundbreaking PIXO ApexTM platform, we provide comprehensive, end-to-end VR content, distribution, and management solutions for enterprise. PIXO VR is searching for an XR Content Director to join our team. Reporting to the COO, the Content Director will manage the overall production, procurement and growth strategy for our XR content library. Working with a team of offshore and onshore designers, engineers, artists, marketers, and 3rd party content developers, the Content Director will ensure PIXO is delivering an exceptional content experience to all our end users. Check out further details here. SDK TECHNICAL ENGINEER, Pico Interactive Europe. As SDK Technical Engineer you will be responsible for investigating/troubleshooting issues reported, and collecting/consolidating customer requirements back to the Beijing DevSupport team. Through this role you will be the technical liaison between Pico Interactive Europe customers and Pico product teams to ensure Europe region's commercial success. In Europe, Pico is one of the premier enterprise hardware companies in the rapidly growing VR market. Click here for more.TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGER, Pico Interactive Europe. As Technical Project Manager you will be responsible for evaluating improvements to the devices, services, logistics, and operations to continue the high growth business of Pico Interactive Europe. In Europe, Pico is one of the premier enterprise hardware companies in the rapidly growing VR market. The Pico Europe business is responsible for all business opportunities in Europe, Israel, Russian Federation and India. Click here for more.  Display your vacancy in front of thousands of talented VR/AR professionals in just a few clicks. Click here for more info.

Refer a friend today

Enjoy the newsletter? Consider sharing it around! Just one referral gives you and the referred a free PDF copy of The Immersive Reality Revolution. Just share the link below, and you get the book.

How to redeem: Copy and paste your personal referral link to others, then receive the PDF when they sign up:

That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to this email, or contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!