Media.Monks will take on media strategy, planning and buying, and measurement for Unity globally. With subject matter expertise in gaming, VR, Web3 and the metaverse, Media.Monks’ integrated team will scale up media to engage Unity’s core gaming business and its B2B audience.

“Media.Monks is the right fit for our business given our shared expertise and belief in how RT3D, the metaverse and the next phase of the internet are changing not only gaming but many other industries,” said Carol Carpenter, CMO, Unity. “We are excited to partner with them to unify our media efforts globally, and work together to deliver unique solutions for customers.”

In addition to the media AOR assignment, the Media.Monks creative development teams use Unity software to deliver real-time 3D solutions for clients across a wide range of industries. Recently, the Unity technology powered Media.Monks’ development of an award-winning AR experience, ‘Anne Frank House: The Bookcase for Tolerance,’ honored at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in the Digital Craft category, and many more including The Webby Awards, The One Show, ADC Global and D&AD.

Learn more about the work Unity and Media.Monks are doing to build successful B2C brands in the metaverse by tuning in to an on demand discussion between Unity’s VP of Accelerate Solutions, Ryan Peterson, and Media.Monks' SVP, Tim Dillon. Tim will discuss insider lessons and insights gained from working with major consumer brands––from getting started in the metaverse, ways to leverage a real-time 3D game engine to making a genuine impact, and more. Listen now.

This review was led by Tenx4, an agency search consultancy who specializes in helping Global B2B Brands identify the right agency partner. “We’re on a mission to fix the broken agency RFP process to be about ‘the fit’ rather than ‘the win’ and it is clear that the partnership between Unity and Media.Monks is the perfect fit,” said Ashley Cohen Chandler, Partner, Tenx4.

First, let’s just talk about the elephant in the room: everyone is incredibly excited about the metaverse, and you’ll find that it’s a running theme throughout many (but not all) of the trends our team has highlighted. So if you’re looking for more ways to understand what “the metaverse” means beyond simply being a virtual world, consider this a nice way to get up to speed with many of the metaverse-adjacent technologies that are sure to mature in the near future. Now, without further ado, let’s dive in!

10. Fashion Gets a New (Virtual) Look

One of the earlier topics we explored this year, in collaboration with our fashion and luxury team FLUX, was the virtualization of fashion. The report anticipated many of the conversations that are now closing out the year—namely, the role of personalized avatars and digital assets within the metaverse. “If there ever was one timely trend we managed to point out and detail, it would be this one,” says Sander van der Vegte, Head of the Labs.Monks. One takeaway that Sander finds especially compelling about the virtualization of fashion is the opportunity that it opens up for a more sustainable industry. “I think sustainability is going to make a big step in 2022,” he says.

9. Digital Humans Come Alive

As a corollary to virtual fashion, digital humans were another trend we explored at the very start of the year that has gained new relevance in recent months. By casting a spotlight on Vtubers (content creators who represent themselves in the form of a virtual avatar), virtual influencers, AI-powered agents and more, our report examined how our perception of what it means to be human may be shifting.

Again, virtual agents and avatars in the metaverse will only accelerate the adoption and acceptance of virtual humans, especially as technology closes the uncanny valley. Andrei Ungureanu, Creative Tech Intern, says: “The digital humans lab report really opened my eyes to how much technology has evolved in breaking the uncanny valley. I always viewed this stuff as gimmicks for attracting attention to games or brands, but by seeing all of the applications I see more value in this area.”

8. Extended Reality Gets its Moment

Extended reality isn’t new; consumer VR headsets were made available as early as the 90s, and social media users have enjoyed AR lenses for years. But neither technology has reached its true potential—though that may quickly change in the next year thanks to lowered device costs and increased adoption throughout the pandemic. “I think the biggest trend for the next and coming years is that expensive and hard-to-use tools will become more easily accessible for the typical user,” says Lennart Croese, Creative Tech Intern, who mentions not only virtual reality headsets but also other emerging technologies like deep fakes.

7. Mirror Worlds Emerge

As extended reality becomes more accessible and palatable to end consumers, AR cloud technology—essentially a 3D spatial map overlaying the real world—is set to give way to a “mirrorworld” that doubles our own. Innovation Director Geert Eichhorn notes that many of the major players in AR are already working towards this goal, with Niantic’s Lightship platform, Google’s Cloud Anchors API and Snap’s acquisition of 3D mapping developer Pixel8Earth each serving as key examples. The benefit? More locally relevant, multi-user experiences. “AR Cloud may start to emerge finally, which will allow us to create very precise experiences and gather technologies together,” adds Luis Guajardo Diaz, Creative Technologist.

6. Motion Capture Captures Consumer Attention

Augmented reality and mirror worlds aren’t the only technologies that will bring the virtual and physical worlds together. With a desire to seamlessly interact with virtual objects and spaces, motion capture technology—with the use of suits or even digitally, like the Oculus Quest’s built-in hand tracking—will become an important link.

Once reserved for film and video game production, motion capture suits may soon make their way into everyday users’ hands with consumer-level versions—providing more precise motion tracking than purely software-driven solutions like computer vision. With Vtubers gaining in popularity, it’s easy to spot the demand for more natural and 1:1 movements. “To embody ourselves in virtual worlds, we’re going to need more accessible ways to represent and visualize ourselves,” says Javier Sancho Rodriguez, Project Manager.

5. Healthcare Gets a Digital Checkup

The pandemic prompted mass adoption of telehealth and other innovations in healthcare—but not without contention. “Healthcare is one of those industries that is influenced by social, political, economic and technological opinions and affects us all so personally, and yet there is so little we can do individually,” says Rushali Paratey, Creative Technologist. “Any innovation or prototype in this field is looked at under the microscope, which makes it extremely tricky to get something into the wheel of the system—but I like thinking about difficult things!” She speaks from experience: as part of our report on how to heal healthcare, Rushali helped the team develop a prototype that translates medical jargon into plain English that anyone can understand, demonstrating digital technology’s power to empower patients.

“Our report hinted at how innovation powered by data could revolutionize the way we see and improve health,” says Geert. “This could have global implications when it comes to identifying new diseases, patterns and cures. DeepMind’s recent breakthrough in determining a protein’s 3D shape from its amino-acid sequence is a strong example.”

4. Game Engines Level-Up Content Production

Game engines—a software framework that includes several tools and features to aid in video game development—aren’t just for games anymore. Unreal Engine, developed by Fortnite developer Epic Games, has been famously used in shows like Westworld and the Mandalorian, not to mention several other films and series. And as the metaverse drives demand for immersive worlds and digital assets, game engines will become crucial in the development of digital experiences now and into the near future.

3. We Break Some Rules–And Write New Ones

One undercurrent running behind many of the trends of the last year is a desire to break free from convention and old ways of doing—an attitude that drives our team’s thirst for innovation. There’s probably no better example of this in action than enthusiasm around the blockchain and NFTs, which can transform everything from how we shop online to how we pay content creators and much more. All this is to say: expect more disruption as users continue to shake up power structures and democratize their communities.

“I think the biggest innovations will be the ones that satisfy our collective need to break out of restrictions,” says Rushali. “The pandemic caused a lot of restrictions, so we are going to break out of those in the digital world: cryptocurrencies run by decentralized autonomous organizations or maybe even communities governed by them on platforms like Discord or Clubhouse, where people can connect under their own rules.”

2. Crypto Goes Mainstream

Speaking of crypto, many brands took the opportunity to experiment with NFTs and virtual assets throughout 2021. Yet for many, discussion surrounding NFTs remains focused on market speculation and quickly cashing in on hype, detracting from the more revolutionary and utilitarian purposes of the technology. Javier shares his wish for 2022: “We’re already seeing crypto-based products and metaverse as part of our mainstream discourse, but it is very polarized and motivated by a lot of wrong reasons. My hope is that this will settle down into a more nuanced discourse and we can use these opportunities to do good.”

1. Self-Expression and Identity Evolve

The internet has long been a liberating place where people can represent themselves on their own terms. And while anonymity has slowly faded through real-name registration rules on some platforms, metaverse worlds—like Roblox and VRChat—reinforce the utopian vision that you can be anyone online.

In addition to that, the ability to adopt different personas can have profound implications for brand building and storytelling. “There’s added pressure to not just deliver any type of content, but content that makes us feel something, be someone and challenges us to think differently.” Angelica adds.

Although it’s constantly evolving, this technology is not necessarily new—and neither are the opportunities that come with it. When done right, XR can push reality beyond its limits, creating new experiences that may be artificial, yet fuel real and lasting memories. At first, XR may seem like your typical sci-fi innovation, so it’s easy to get wrapped up in the novelty. However, where the experiences truly shine lies in their emotional resonance, making them a useful component to campaigns and activations across brands and industries.

Start at the Customer Journey

Even if more and more brands are finding the value in XR, some still feel it’s exclusive to the most digitally-mature. But in reality, XR has become accessible enough for every brand to adopt it. “Oftentimes, vendors focus on the technological aspect of it all, the tools they have and all this jargon,” explains Creative Director Patricio Berrios Lobos. “This makes it harder for brands to understand the real value of XR beyond the tech gimmick. We have to focus on the value for the user.” 

Experiences both big and small, complex or simple, can each deliver impact. Think about product demonstrations in VR or trying on an outfit in AR—both of which can create a perception of ownership for users as they engage. By putting them at the center of an immersive experience, XR can help build a real connection between them and a brand’s product.

A marketer’s goal is to turn the customer decision journey into engaging moments that resonate emotionally—and XR can impact these moments by transforming consumers, their spaces and their looks into the true protagonists. Especially with AR, the cherry on top is that it amplifies the shareability of the experience, as everyone feels enticed to share those they connect with.

“When you think about the stories you can tell from the lens of immersion and the emotions you can evoke, that’s when you realize the potential of XR,” says Berrios Lobos. “There’s an important element of play and joy that gets people actively engaged with the brand in a way that video or print just can’t achieve.” These moments of play are best served as part of a bigger narrative and strategy. Don’t build XR as just a one-off experiment; rather, truly consider how it can complement the overall journey.

Inspire Action Through Emotionally Driven XR

Again, XR’s value extends across industries—and isn’t just for commercial experiences. In fact, both VR and AR have become powerful tools in education and applied learning. Extended realities can turn complex concepts into interactive experiences—and although these may be artificial, a first-hand approach to learning can profoundly change a student’s perspective on a variety of subjects. 

Not long ago, we joined forces with SpaceBuzz, a nonprofit that focuses on teaching children about the importance of protecting planet Earth. Betting on the power of applied learning and technological advancement to further encourage curiosity, we built a multi-sensory VR education program that virtually launches them into space to see our planet in all its wonder and fragility. Seeing the Earth from space themselves instead of learning through the filter of others helped kids draw their own conclusions and create their own educational narrative.

But not all applications of XR have to be an out-of-this world journey. Partnering with Olay, we created a VR experience to immerse brand ambassadors in the science behind skincare—transporting them to the surface of the skin at a cellular level. Taking an entertaining approach to an otherwise complex topic, we helped the brand educate its advocates on the different causes of unhealthy skin, and challenged them to create their own treatments by mixing Olay ingredients. The result: better understanding of the brand’s unique formula.

More individual experiences without an on-site installation, like an AR game, can also build awareness. To help promote Red Bull’s national and regional activations, we built a suite of five AR games within the brand’s app—each one rendering a virtual landscape around a real Red Bull can. Users can play the games after purchasing a Red Bull product, with a chance to win a grand prize. 

Both on-site experiences and those at easy reach on everyone’s smartphone can positively impact your brand. While the latter offers greater accessibility and reach, dedicated venues can enable more immersive, technologically-advanced activations.  “When people are on site, we can build more complex experiences and have more fun overall,” explains Quentin de La Martinière, Executive Producer, Extended Realities at Media.Monks. “We tend to take more risks, because we’re there to guide them every step of the way and to make sure our message is getting across.”

Greater Adoption Means More ROI

As we move forward, the evolution of this technology will make it easier for mainstream consumers to afford and adopt. VR has benefitted in the past two years by the release of consumer-friendly headsets like the Oculus Quest, while WebAR and 5G connections offer engaging AR experiences without the need to download an app. “With WebAR being just one tap away, you don’t have to ask that much from the users,” says de La Martinière. “A mobile browser is enough to see how a pair of shoes would look on you. This idea of frictionless access to content is becoming the norm.”

With more people having XR experiences within easy reach, the potential ROI becomes more enticing for brands. But to optimize it, one thing is key: “As long as your focus is in the right place, and you know what you want to accomplish with XR, the balance will be positive,” de La Martinière explains. Add to that the technological advances, and XR ceases to be out of reach. “When done right, there’s no need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to create XR experiences for your brand.”

The possibilities are endless with XR. Regardless of what you want to accomplish with it, having a clear goal in mind is pivotal to deliver on its promise. Adopting this technology for the sake of appearing innovative is not nearly as valuable as truly leveraging the opportunities that come with AR and VR to deliver compelling, emotionally rich experiences.  And, as the technology continues to grow in fidelity, so too will it grow in user base and ease of access, making it crucial for modern brands to embrace its potential to impact the customer journey through personalized, user-driven experiences.