Should brands develop their own metaverse space or join existing platforms?

The metaverse represents both an unprecedented opportunity and a complex challenge for forward-thinking brands. As digital and physical worlds continue to merge, strategic decisions about how to establish your brand presence will significantly impact your ability to connect with next-generation consumers. The right approach balances creative ambition with practical implementation, audience preferences with technical capabilities, and immediate engagement with long-term value creation.

Dive into our comprehensive analysis to discover which metaverse strategy will position your brand for digital success in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Before diving into the metaverse, brands must evaluate several strategic factors that will determine their approach. The decision between building a proprietary space or joining existing platforms should align with your overall business objectives and digital strategy.

Audience alignment is paramount – understanding where your target consumers already spend time in virtual environments helps determine which approach will yield the most engagement. If your audience is actively using platforms like Roblox or Fortnite, meeting them there might be more effective than asking them to visit a new, standalone experience.

Technical capabilities and resources represent another crucial consideration. Developing a proprietary metaverse requires significant technical expertise in 3D development, blockchain integration, and immersive experience design. Many brands lack these capabilities in-house, making partnerships or platform-based approaches more practical.

Additionally, consider your timeline and long-term objectives. Custom metaverse development requires months or years of investment before launch, while existing platforms offer faster implementation. Your brand’s appetite for innovation, control, and differentiation should guide this decision alongside practical resource constraints.

Creating a proprietary metaverse environment gives brands complete creative control over every aspect of the virtual experience. This autonomy allows for fully customised environments that perfectly embody your brand identity, values, and aesthetic without platform-imposed limitations.

Data ownership represents another significant advantage. With your own metaverse space, you retain all user data and behavioural insights, creating valuable first-party data streams that inform broader marketing strategies. This contrasts with platforms where data access may be limited or shared with the platform owner.

Brand differentiation becomes more achievable through proprietary spaces. While many competitors might establish basic presences on mainstream platforms, a thoughtfully designed custom metaverse creates memorable experiences that set your brand apart. This exclusivity can drive deeper engagement, particularly with audiences seeking novel digital experiences.

Long-term value building is also possible when you own the environment. Rather than being subject to platform changes, algorithm updates, or policy shifts on third-party metaverses, your brand builds persistent equity in a digital asset you control entirely. This can translate to more sustainable engagement over time.

Joining established metaverse platforms provides immediate access to built-in audiences and active communities. Platforms like Roblox (with over 200 million monthly users) or Fortnite offer pre-existing traffic that would take years to build independently, allowing brands to focus on engagement rather than user acquisition.

Technical infrastructure represents another compelling benefit. These platforms handle the complex technological underpinnings of virtual environments – from servers and security to rendering and physics engines. This significantly reduces the technical burden on brands, allowing them to focus on creative experiences rather than backend development.

Cost efficiency is particularly relevant for brands testing metaverse strategies. Established platforms typically offer much lower entry costs compared to building proprietary environments, with predictable pricing models for space, activations, and promotions. This makes experimentation more accessible, especially for mid-sized brands with limited innovation budgets.

Speed to market cannot be overlooked. While custom metaverse development typically requires 6-18 months before launch, brand activations on existing platforms can often be implemented in weeks or months. This faster timeline allows brands to respond to trends, complement campaigns, and test concepts more nimbly.

Gen Z users approach virtual environments with unique expectations that should directly shape your metaverse strategy. This digitally native generation views the authenticity of brand experiences as non-negotiable, quickly identifying and rejecting metaverse presences that feel like transparent advertising rather than genuine engagement.

Co-creation represents a core value for Gen Z in digital spaces. Rather than passive consumption, they expect to participate, modify, and contribute to brand experiences. This preference often favours platforms with robust creation tools and customisation options, whether in proprietary spaces or on established platforms that support user-generated content.

Community connection drives Gen Z engagement in virtual environments. They seek spaces that facilitate meaningful interactions with both peers and brands. Your metaverse strategy should prioritise social features, shared experiences, and community-building regardless of which approach you choose.

Cross-platform fluidity characterises Gen Z’s digital behaviour. They move seamlessly between different virtual environments and expect brand experiences to follow similar patterns of accessibility. This often points toward multi-platform approaches rather than isolated proprietary spaces that exist separately from their broader digital ecosystem.

The financial considerations between building your own metaverse or joining existing platforms differ dramatically in both initial investment and ongoing operational costs. Understanding these differences helps brands align their approach with available resources.

Proprietary metaverse development typically requires substantial upfront investment, often ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of pounds depending on complexity and scale. This includes costs for 3D environment creation, interaction design, backend infrastructure, security implementation, and integration with existing systems. Additionally, ongoing maintenance, content updates, and technical support represent significant recurring expenses.

Platform-based approaches generally offer more predictable and scaled pricing models. Entry costs vary by platform but are typically much lower than custom development. Many platforms offer tiered pricing based on virtual space size, features, or audience reach. While this approach reduces initial investment, brands should consider potential long-term costs as experiences expand or usage grows.

Return on investment timelines also differ significantly between approaches. Custom environments typically have longer paths to ROI, requiring sustained engagement to justify development costs. Platform-based approaches can demonstrate faster returns through immediate audience access, though with potentially lower engagement depth or data ownership.

Effective measurement in the metaverse requires brands to establish clear success metrics that align with broader marketing objectives. The approach should balance traditional KPIs with metrics unique to immersive environments.

Engagement depth provides more valuable insight than simple visitor counts. Metrics like average time spent, return visits, and interactive touchpoint completion help quantify meaningful connection. For proprietary spaces, these metrics offer direct feedback on experience quality, while on platforms they help compare performance against competitors and platform averages.

Community building metrics track how effectively your metaverse presence fosters connections. Measure user-to-user interactions, shared experiences, user-generated content creation, and community contribution to understand social engagement. These indicators often predict long-term success more accurately than passive consumption metrics.

Brand perception impact should be tracked through sentiment analysis, direct feedback mechanisms, and changes in perception metrics before and after metaverse engagement. This helps quantify how virtual experiences translate to real-world brand relationships and whether the chosen approach (proprietary or platform-based) is effectively communicating brand values.

Cross-channel integration metrics help connect metaverse activities to broader marketing outcomes. Track how virtual engagements influence website visits, social media interaction, email signups, or even physical store visits to establish comprehensive ROI beyond the metaverse itself.

At Bängeri, we help brands navigate these complex decisions by bringing authentic Gen Z perspectives directly into your strategy development. By incorporating the insights of the generation most active in these spaces, we ensure your metaverse approach resonates with your most valuable future audiences.

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