Marketing in the Metaverse: A Digital Brand Experience for Black Belt Community Builders

Abstract

The metaverse, immersive, digital environments where social interactions can take place, is emerging and top brands and celebrities are leveraging it as a tool for marketing. In exchange for providing users with entertaining experiences, brands receive exposure and access to potential consumers. At a minimum, accessing a metaverse experience requires a computer and an internet connection, making it accessible and straightforward to get started in. This design research focuses on the development of a metaverse model that not only acts as brand promotion via an entertaining experience, but also 1. Acts as an educational tool and 2. Translates users to active supporters by giving users direct access to an e-commerce site. An NPO, the DDS is used as a case study and a virtual gallery and shop environment was created. The gallery is a digital experience documenting creations, identities, and memories resultant from the DDS’s summer of 2021 workshop series.