It seems that the future of web3 is physical. At least that's what we’re being led to believe with trends coming from large-scale real-world experiences that bleed the lines between realities. These aren’t built by people dipping their toe into the web3 world. No, these experiences are being built by new wave creators and innovators showcasing a new potential and opportunity for audiences to step into the digital world… Proving for a fully immersive experience, you don’t always need a VR headset… (well sometimes you do, but who wants to do that?).
Doodles SXSW
Owning one of Burnt Toast’s pastel-infused Doodles doesn’t just give you bragging rights (...), but it also acts an invitation into the Doodles community. That community gets to have a say in future features, products and events, which is what happened here. This is more than experiential marketing is done really well, it's co-created by the community – its very existence is infused with web3 ethos.
Some of the physical experiences (like the minting machine pictured) are a great way for those intangible moments to be made tangible – creating an emotional connection to the moment.
RTFKT NYC
In a previous article, we put a spotlight on Takeshi Murakami for his incredible works, not only with RTFKT Studio and Cryptokicks, but also in the exhibition “An Arrow Through History” which displayed the Clone X avatars amongst other pieces in both physical and virtual worlds.
Takeshi illustrated how being innovative with the mediums in which you bring art and creativity to audiences can breathe life into new generations and capture an audience's imagination.
Cult & Rain
The event was held in Tottenham Court Road’s latest immersive space “OUTERNET” Launching their Metaverse world “Cultr World” which has been built by SWIVELMETA, a company that specialises in social commerce. Stepping into the event space you’re surrounded by gigantic screens that bring Cultr World to life on a scale that feels cinematic, however, it’s not just a rich visual, it was the functioning metaverse space, as avatars from around the world joined the guests in London could see the room filling up. With the option to interact via VR headsets. To top it off, a Livestream DJ performance from California made its way into both the physical and the digital space bringing the community closer together.
Ultimately, this was all to raise the profile of Cult & Rain’s luxury NFT sneaker, delivering some physical counterparts to their digital generative sneaker. The sceptic in me wants how more of the web3 principles could be delivered through physical experiences, however, it’s great to see startups in this space taking on a big stage.
Don’t sleep on this movement
Blended experiences aren’t anything new, as technology like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality develops even further we’ll see more and more brands create experiences that have gateways into new worlds. But the significance of this movement we’re documenting here is the digital natives moving into the physical space. Never mind capturing the imagination of a new audience.
Brands should pay close attention to how they create these hybrid experiences because their approaches will be authentic and culture-led, all designed to serve that mysterious online audience made up of anonymous Twitter handles and bored ape avatars.
