11 min read

In 2021, the word metaverse was remembered by everyone who is interested in the internet and technology. Meta corporations and Microsoft almost simultaneously announced work on unified virtual worlds, and the focus on the “internet of the future” even led to the renaming of Facebook (but only the companies, social networks left their familiar name). While companies are still far from developing their metaverses in their ideal view, the metaverses already exist — in many respects primitive, not very convenient, but they exist. Today we will take a closer look at the metaverse to understand how they will be useful for hosting events and how they will change the event industry.

Ask an SXSW attendee about their favorite piece of the experience in 2021, and you’ll get a wide range of answers: drinks on the rooftop of the Contemporary Austin, hanging out in the Cedar Street Courtyard, or swinging by the Paramount Theatre for a red carpet event, to name a few. The in-person version of SXSW was yet another casualty of Covid-19, so none of those activities happened in the physical spaces. They were part of SXSW Online XR, which involved virtual recreations of downtown Austin and opportunities to interact with other attendees via VRChat.

The conference industry’s dive into the metaverse is just beginning, even as face-to-face events return. At CES 2022, NFTs and blockchain-based currencies — two major components of the metaverse — will be a central part of the conversation, and ReedPOP recently unveiled a “Metaverse Memberships” subscription program that offers benefits for both physical and digital, in-the-metaverse Comic-Con events.

Since the metaverse is already starting to reshape the event industry, let’s take a closer look at the benefits it offers.

With a metaverse event, you can have unlimited attendance. During the pandemic, Epic Games hosted a rock concert within their online game Fortnite. Millions of people were able to watch Travis Scott perform live. While the current technology is not advanced enough for millions of people to all see and interact with each other simultaneously in the same virtual space, attendees were able to see each other in groups of 50. Therefore, even though you may not be able to cram hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously into your next event, you could still have thousands or tens of thousands or more at your event. All of the major sports leagues are ready for this, and you can expect them to start implementing their ideas sooner than later. The same goes for universities offering and changing their online curriculums.

One of the biggest benefits of the universe is the money-making opportunities, and there are plenty of monetization opportunities for those who are willing to create virtual events. For years, video game makers have earned revenue by allowing users to upgrade their virtual experience. Like physical world conferences, you can have VIP access to events. You can also allow people to upgrade how they interact with the environment and what they look like in the environment and shop for things (which can then be delivered physically to their homes).

The fashion brand Ralph Lauren has launched an event in the Roblox metaverse, writes Fortune. Players can enjoy active sports such as ice skating and sportswear from the designer’s 1990s collections during the Winter Getaway event. Branded items will cost approximately $1.25 to $3. Analysts at Morgan Stanley said last month that sales of luxury goods, including digital fashion, could reach 50 billion euros by 2030, and the popularity of collectibles will grow, the newspaper writes. Virtual space has significant market opportunities for retail development. Given the results seen from previous metaverse integrations, Ralph Lauren truly believes that this is the future source of income. In addition to this, NFT tokens are an integral part of Ralph Lauren’s future in the digital world.

Digital fashion is one of the emerging trends that all major fashion houses are now actively developing. For example, Gucci partnered with the British Fashion Council to host the 2021 Fashion Awards in the Roblox metaverse. The council thus decided to celebrate the first-ever digital fashion design award.

When you are organizing an event, you have to adjust your designs to fit the event hall. For example, you have to take into account things like the layout. Each venue/space has its own dimensions that you have to workaround. Beyond that, each space has its own physical limitations beyond dimensions such as pre-existing features like electrical outlets, doors/windows, ceiling height, etc. The layout you draw up should consider all of these. You also have to ensure the style and size of furniture you decide to use in your event space coordinates with the purpose and layout.

Thanks to the metaverse, your creative ideas will not be limited by the event hall, and you can pick out the colors, lighting, furniture, and everything else to your exact specifications. In the metaverse, you are not limited by building codes or even the laws of physics. In fact, the conference hall that you ultimately create can have unlimited meeting halls and rooms so people can attend as many events as they wish and interact with as many people as possible. If you are hosting an astronomy conference, why not host it on the moon or some distant planet? If you want to organize a Harry Potter meetup, recreate the entire Hogwartz experience. You are no longer limited by budgets and other issues that are preventing you from creating the meeting space of your dream.

If all of the benefits mentioned above have not yet convinced you about the metaverse, you need to keep in mind that more and more people are asking for it. In a study done by Wunderman Thompson, 74% of those familiar with the term “metaverse” are interested in attending a digital business conference. Even those who are still unsure of what the metaverse entails are curious. Fifty-five percent of respondents who have never heard of the metaverse still want to check out a conference in unfamiliar territory.

In the metaverse, engagement levels and audience participation increase in metaverse events. Attendees engage in shared experiences using avatars, and they are co-present in the same spaces, but with each participant forming memories from their own unique experience. They can walk, talk, dance, shake hands, share, like, comment, and engage throughout an event. Engagement can even be measured in detail — something in-person events struggle to achieve.

Finally, let’s think about the environmental impact of hosting virtual events and the carbon reductions that come with it. Think about all of the carbon emissions that come with attendees from all over the world descending on a particular location. We only need to think back to COP26, where world leaders arrived in their private jets and 10-car convoys to appreciate the carbon savings that could be made if some in-person events relocated to the metaverse.

It’s important to remember that the metaverse is not here to replace in-person events. It is simply here to give you a unique way of running experiences.

While the metaverse offers a lot of benefits to event companies and attendees, these benefits can only be realized by partnering with the right technology company that will be able to create exactly the right environment you need. After all, if you create anything you want, why not offer the incredible experiences you always wanted? Skywell Software has extensive experience creating custom metaverse solutions for some of the world’s leading brands. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.

Metaverse in the Even Industry: Host Your Next Event in the Metaverse was originally published in AR/VR Journey: Augmented & Virtual Reality Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.