How do brands create engaging metaverse experiences?

The metaverse represents the next frontier of brand engagement, offering unprecedented opportunities to create meaningful connections through immersive, interactive experiences. Unlike traditional marketing channels, these virtual environments demand authentic participation that resonates with younger audiences while remaining true to core brand values. Successful brands don’t simply transplant existing marketing approaches but instead embrace the unique possibilities of virtual spaces to foster genuine community engagement and emotional connection.

Dive into our comprehensive guide to discover how your brand can create metaverse experiences that captivate rather than alienate the digital-native generation.

The metaverse represents a network of persistent, shared virtual spaces where users can interact with digital environments and each other in real-time. For brands, it’s an evolving frontier that offers unprecedented opportunities to connect with audiences in more immersive and interactive ways than traditional digital channels allow.

Today’s metaverse isn’t a single unified space but rather a collection of platforms and experiences ranging from gaming environments like Fortnite and Roblox to virtual worlds such as Decentraland and The Sandbox. These platforms have become increasingly important touchpoints for reaching younger audiences, particularly Gen Z, who view digital spaces as natural extensions of their social lives rather than separate realms.

Brand participation in the metaverse has evolved rapidly from experimental activations to more strategic presences. Fashion brands have hosted virtual fashion shows, music artists have performed virtual concerts attracting millions, and consumer goods companies have created interactive brand experiences that blend entertainment with subtle product integration. What unites successful brand activations is their understanding that metaverse engagement requires a fundamentally different approach than traditional marketing—one that prioritises participation over passive consumption.

Truly engaging metaverse experiences combine several key elements that transform passive brand interactions into memorable participatory moments. At their core, successful metaverse activations prioritise genuine value exchange rather than traditional advertising approaches.

Authenticity stands as perhaps the most critical factor. Younger audiences, particularly Gen Z, have finely-tuned authenticity radars and quickly dismiss brands that appear to be jumping on trends without understanding the culture and expectations of virtual spaces. Engaging experiences must feel natural to the platform they exist within while remaining true to the brand’s identity and values.

Interactivity is equally important—passive experiences that simply transplant traditional advertising into virtual spaces rarely succeed. The most compelling metaverse activations invite participants to co-create, customise, or directly influence outcomes. This might involve personalising virtual items, participating in challenges, or contributing to evolving narratives. Community-building aspects further enhance engagement by creating opportunities for shared experiences and social connections around the brand, transforming individual interactions into collective moments that build lasting brand affinity.

Aligning metaverse experiences with brand identity requires translating core brand values, personality traits, and visual elements into interactive virtual expressions that feel both consistent and authentic. This translation process demands a deep understanding of both the brand essence and the unique possibilities of virtual environments.

The most successful brands approach this alignment by identifying the fundamental emotional connections they seek to create with audiences, then determining how those connections can be fostered in virtual contexts. Rather than simply replicating physical world experiences, they ask what aspects of their brand identity can be uniquely expressed through the interactive and immersive qualities of the metaverse.

Maintaining consistency across physical and digital touchpoints doesn’t mean identical experiences—it means ensuring the emotional response and core brand promises remain recognisable regardless of the medium. Visual elements like colour palettes, iconic symbols, and design languages should be adapted thoughtfully for virtual environments, often requiring collaboration between traditional brand guardians and digital creators who understand the technical and cultural nuances of metaverse platforms. This collaborative approach helps ensure experiences feel authentic both to the brand and to the virtual spaces they inhabit.

The technologies powering effective metaverse experiences range from established immersive tools to emerging blockchain applications, with the most successful brands focusing on accessibility and purpose rather than technology for its own sake.

Augmented reality (AR) offers perhaps the most accessible entry point, allowing brands to create blended experiences that overlay digital elements onto the physical world through smartphones and tablets. These experiences can range from virtual try-ons for fashion and beauty products to interactive brand activations in physical locations. Virtual reality (VR), while requiring more specialised hardware, enables fully immersive branded environments that completely transport users to new spaces.

Blockchain technology underpins many metaverse platforms, enabling verifiable digital ownership through NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that allow brands to create collectible virtual assets or provide exclusive access to experiences. However, the most successful implementations focus on the value these technologies bring to users rather than the underlying technical aspects. Interactive 3D environments, created using game engines like Unreal and Unity, form the foundation of many metaverse experiences, allowing for rich, responsive virtual spaces that can adapt to user actions and foster genuine engagement through meaningful interaction rather than passive consumption.

Measuring success in metaverse marketing requires expanding beyond traditional marketing metrics to capture the unique value of virtual engagement. While conventional KPIs like reach and impressions provide some insight, they fail to capture the depth and quality of interactions that make metaverse experiences valuable.

Participation metrics offer more meaningful measurement, focusing on how actively users engage rather than simply how many were exposed to the experience. This includes tracking time spent in branded spaces, completion rates for interactive elements, and the complexity of user interactions. Behavioural indicators such as repeat visits, user-generated content creation, and virtual item acquisition or customisation provide deeper insights into genuine engagement.

Community-based metrics help assess how experiences foster connections among participants, including measurements of social sharing, conversation volume, and sentiment around the activation. For experiences involving digital collectibles or NFTs, secondary market activity can indicate sustained interest and perceived value. The most sophisticated measurement approaches combine these metrics with qualitative research to understand the emotional impact and memory creation of metaverse experiences—recognising that meaningful brand connections often transcend what quantitative metrics alone can capture.

Developing an effective metaverse brand strategy begins with understanding that these virtual spaces require fundamentally different approaches than traditional marketing channels. Success comes from embracing the participatory nature of these environments rather than trying to adapt conventional advertising models.

Authenticity remains paramount—brands must develop experiences that genuinely reflect their values while respecting the culture and expectations of metaverse communities. This often means collaborating with creators and community members who understand these spaces intrinsically. Experimental approaches, with an emphasis on learning and iteration, generally outperform rigid campaign structures in these rapidly evolving environments.

Understanding Gen Z preferences is particularly crucial, as this generation views digital spaces as natural extensions of their social lives rather than separate realms. For them, metaverse experiences aren’t about escaping reality but extending it in meaningful ways. At Bängeri, we’ve observed that the most resonant metaverse activations create genuine value exchange—offering participants meaningful experiences, creative expression, or social connection rather than simply promoting products. By focusing on these principles, brands can build metaverse presences that foster deeper connections and community engagement that extends well beyond the virtual experience itself.

Ready to make your brand Gen Z-approved? Let’s start the conversation at genz@bangeri.fi