Trend Q&A: Marketing in the metaverse and more

Opportunities in the health and wellness space, the next stage of wearables and how to enter the metaverse. That and more on today’s episode.

Want to know what’s next? Listen to the show where our experts from around the globe unpack your biggest challenges. This week, WGSN’s President and CEO Carla Buzasi takes us to Los Angeles, London and New York. Hear from our friendly faces from the Insight team.

Watch the full episode below or read on for highlights of this episode:

Q: What are the opportunities in the health and wellness space over the next 18 months? 
“There are huge opportunities for the metaverse and sport. Zwift is a company that we’ve been following since the pandemic. It’s a functional metaverse for cyclists. We’ve also been following the rise of exercise-to-earn programmes. Looking at brands like Sweatcoin and Actifit, these companies are really incentivising exercise through crypto rewards.”
– Allyson Rees, Senior Strategist, WGSN Insight
Read more…

Q: What wearables are we not currently focusing on which will be relevant in the future?
“Within the alcohol category, growth of no-and-low alcohol beverages and the movement away from alcohol for a lot of consumer groups tie in very nicely to wearables. Because as we begin to quantify more, as we begin to see how sleep and diet and alcohol consumption affect our performance, and then thinking back to mood and mental health, consumers will be able to join the dots more and more. 

“It’s very possible these are going to continue to grow, especially as consumers begin to think about monitoring and measuring their health and their wellbeing through things like wearables.”
– Joe McDonnell, Head of Insight, WGSN
Read more…

Q: As the metaverse continues to drive buzz, what should brands be doing now?
“Before diving in, brands need to understand the four key pillars of the metaverse, which they can imagine as a pyramid. Now, it all starts with the consumer, which sits at the bottom of the pyramid, as it’s the foundation for everything that comes next. As for the three remaining key pillars of the metaverse, it’s all about community building, which is the foundation for co-creation, which is then the foundation for commerce or meta-commerce.”
– Cassandra Napoli, Senior Strategist, WGSN Insight
Read more…