From storytelling to storyliving: How Samsung is building its metaverse for tomorrow

“Who right here owns greater than three Samsung merchandise?” Michelle Crossan-Matos surveyed the group. To my shock, a charitable present of palms goes up — from followers, journalists, executives, and attendees at Samsung’s NFT.NYC occasion. 

Since its inception, the Korean electronics firm has thrived within the shopper and enterprise areas, with 72% of U.S. homes having a number of of its merchandise. Interbrand presently ranks Samsung fifth-highest by way of model worth, proper behind Google. That is not too shabby for a corporation that originated as a grocery retailer.

In its pursuit of better model consciousness, Samsung has spent the previous six months testing the digital waters of the metaverse, digital platforms that more and more companies are seeing progress alternatives in. For a deep dive into the corporate’s newfound frontier, I spoke with Michelle Crossan-Matos, the Chief Advertising Officer at Samsung Electronics America. 

The next interview has been edited for readability.

It is a pleasure to have you ever, Michelle. I might like to begin at the start of this Samsung metaverse journey. What was the aha-moment that impressed the corporate’s foray into Net 3? 

It’s totally transferring for me after I take into consideration how this all began. I used to be raised in a poor neighborhood in Scotland with not a lot training. Whereas it took a mixture of exhausting work and luck for me to get out, I consistently take into consideration the youngsters that I grew up with — those who weren’t as lucky. 

Our first enterprise into the metaverse was Samsung 837X, a digital expertise that replicated Samsung’s flagship workplace in New York Metropolis. Past giving the youth that inspirational feeling of being on the streets of NYC, I needed to create a spot the place they might study concerning the improvements and goodwill in know-how. That was the rationale why we pursued the metaverse, to be trustworthy. It gave this constructing (Samsung 837) an opportunity to be in each child’s bed room.

There is definitely been an inflow of tech manufacturers over the previous yr, large and small, getting extra concerned with decentralized platforms. What makes Samsung’s technique any totally different?  

There is a main factor that we’re doing in a different way: we’re on totally different platforms. It is a multiverse of metaverses technique; Roblox, Fortnite, Decentraland (837X), and now Discord. I bear in mind listening to about this multiverse thought at first and pondering what a tongue tornado it was but in addition the sheer impression and attain that we had been about to attain. 

The conversations that we’ve within the metaverse aren’t about product options per se. It is about how they ladder as much as our better and larger priorities. What number of sustainability campaigns have you ever seen within the metaverse? Guests who come onto Samsung 837X can find out about how we’re repurposing know-how, upcycling, and taking initiatives that higher the planet. We’re educating within the metaverse and, hopefully, empowering our customers as nicely. 

Additionally: Samsung broadens Web 3 presence with Discord launch

Let’s discuss extra about this multiverse of metaverses. Up to now yr, you’ve got hosted a viewing social gathering for the Galaxy S22 launch on Samsung 837X and, only recently, a digital live performance on Roblox. What had been your expectations going into the occasions? 

I might say that we had humble expectations however had been hopeful on the identical time. Previous to internet hosting the digital occasions, we had benchmarked comparable activations from different manufacturers — musical performances, gamified experiences, and all. The factor was that we had been 5 occasions the scale of these manufacturers. By leveraging our present advertising channels, why could not we be a bit of extra formidable? 

Throughout the weekend of our Galaxy Famous person occasion in Roblox, there have been multiple million customers on the server. Think about having a million individuals stroll into your storefront? It has been an enchanting journey to date, and the reception has solely made us increasingly more desirous to do greater issues.

What would you say has been the most important problem with increasing into the metaverse?

A part of what excites me concerning the metaverse is the unfamiliarity and untapped potential of it. We’re consistently studying tips on how to finest work together with our shoppers, testing totally different platforms and autos, and finally studying and rising as a group. So whereas it took us months to organize for our first activation throughout CES this yr, it has been a relentless studying expertise for everybody concerned.

Do advertising methods in the true world apply to digital ones?

On the entire, sure, as a result of the shoppers that we’re concentrating on are largely based mostly on the knowledge that we have already gathered from social channels (Twitter, Fb, Instagram, and so on.). I did, nevertheless, go for natural advertising versus paid as a result of I needed to see the true potential of the metaverse. Paid campaigns type of fabricate the numbers, so after I noticed the billions of impressions generated by in-house sources alone, I knew that we had been on to one thing. 

We have additionally found that sure channels appear to reply higher to metaverse messaging. Twitter, weirdly, has been essentially the most profitable of all. 

Do you’ve gotten any recommendation for companies who’re on the fence about metaverse integration?

If you happen to’re planning on beginning your personal metaverse, this is my recommendation: be daring, spend the time to learn, analysis, and perceive the ideas inside, and keep true to your model. Firms might have doubts concerning the enterprise, however the fact is, in case your clients are there already, why should not you be?

Years in the past, after I was an assistant model supervisor, we used to at all times ask, “Would your granny perceive that?” when brainstorming concepts. Within the metaverse, the stress check now modifications to “Would your youngsters perceive that?”.

Extra: Is your business ready for the metaverse?

Lastly, I’ve to ask, what’s subsequent for Samsung’s future within the metaverse?

We wish to do way more within the metaverse. That is for positive. We all know our technique, so now it is a matter of creating these activations extra partaking and progressive and timing them with tentpole occasions like Unpacked. And we will take it a step additional quickly with offline and on-line quests, creating an interplay between bodily and digital worlds, so you may need to preserve an eye fixed out for that.