2023’s Web3 Opportunities
As we embark on a new year, we look back at 2022 as the year brands took a leap into the Web3 space, creating novel campaigns to engage with their customers in the digital space. In 2023, we expect brands to continue these efforts to create new, fun ways to improve their customer engagement through Web3 activations.
With that in mind, here are four predictions on how brands will use Web3 in 2023.
NFTs are the Next Era of Brand Rewards for Consumer Loyalty
We can expect to see brands begin to engage with NFTs more as they bake these digital activations into their loyalty and reward programs. As we already see with Nike, Swoosh, and Starbucks, rewarding engaged community members is the new era of brand marketing and customer retention.
Web3 Will Continue to Climb but not Without Hurdles
The recent FTX collapse has sparked a lot of uncertainty and fear within the crypto/NFT market, but despite this situation, we are still seeing a lot of interest from brands to launch Web3 activations. Because the metaverse’s focus is on community, brands will find different and new ways for consumers to digitally interact with them and each other.
One of the metaverse’s greatest strengths is its ability to build community. The rise of the metaverse won’t occur without hurdles, though. We will need elevated virtual reality technology and much more robust avatar standards and architecture to drive continued adoption.
Despite a Tumultuous Year for Web3, Brands are Optimistic
We have seen Minecraft ban NFTs on their platform and now we see Apple trying to add regulations limiting NFTs. Because the concept of NFT is centered around technology and decentralization, it is evident why large, powerful centralized companies want to enforce ways to limit the growth.
However, as we see continued interest from large brands, we believe that Web3 will continue to expand, eventually reaching mass adoption. Additionally, as we have historically seen, when
there are restrictions to new technology, new innovation and ideas come to life.
Web3 Breaks New Ground for Brand-Consumer Relationships
With new privacy laws being enforced, Web3 could be the answer that brands and businesses are looking for in the future. Within Web3, we see NFTs as a brand loyalty program that could identify and curate a closer group of consumers than ever before. Also DAOs will allow people to have a stake, enticing them to be active participants in the community.
Holistically, Web3 not only provides technology to build new things, but it also empowers brands to communicate with their consumers more intimately. For consumers, they can now connect and interact with not only the brand more, but also with other fellow consumers who share the same passions and interests. Web3 will unlock new opportunities for brands to foster deeper and longer-lasting relationships with their consumers.
Looking into 2023, it’s clear that Web3 and the development of digital assets is still high on the list for many brands across different industries. Although economic conditions are not ideal at the moment, we’re excited to see what 2023 brings to this rapidly growing area in technology and the new ways brands will interact with their customers across different digital domains.
Billy Huang and Jack Cameron are the co-founders of Insomnia Labs.
