In this episode of Meet Me in the Metaverse, host Ashley Musumeci, Director, Go-To-Market at Media.Monks, sits down with Jordan Cuddy, Chief Client Officer at Jam3, and Avanthika Ramesh, Senior Product Manager, NFT Cloud at Salesforce, to explore how building a resilient data foundation will help brands get a head-start into the Web3 future. Watch and listen below.

In this episode

2:13: Customer engagement changes in Web3

5:48: Ensuring long term value and utility of your Web3 activations

11:24: Choosing the right platforms

16:27: How to build people’s trust in brands

21:33: Activating responsibly

24:23: Change management needs

Solving the Web3 identity crisis.

Web3 offers new customer touchpoints, and with them come new kinds of personal data like anonymized wallets or communication in new channels. But elements of privacy and consent that were required in Web2 engagements still carry over into Web3, says Ramesh, introducing an identity crisis for brands to solve. “Even if you are bridging Web3 and Web2 data to bring all these identifiers about a consumer together, it’s really important that the user opts in and provides consent to merge these identities,” she says. This challenge has led to the release of new, Web3-connected CRMs from businesses like Salesforce who aim to solve the need for a full, 360-degree view of the customer.

For brands who want to engage meaningfully with consumers in the space, Cuddy encourages starting with a purpose. Jam3 helped Adidas take its first, sneaker-worn step into the metaverse to build hype for its new collection of Ozweego shoes. “What our strategy team found was that there was a shift from ‘Where can I go in the metaverse’ to ‘Who can I be in the metaverse.’” The team realized that options for self-expression in the metaverse were often limiting. Ozworld Alter Ego, a generative platform that creates a unique avatar based on personality and style, made perfect sense for a brand focused on self-expression through fashion.

As brands seek a unified approach to their data-driven marketing, a strong Web3 strategy makes for a valuable addition to their existing data foundations. From experimenting with new channels to developing your own platform like Complex did, there are many ways to test and learn your way to Web3 success. And by delivering experiences that people value, you’ll incentivize customers to share data that will help strengthen customer relationships.

Eager to learn how to build solid data foundations in Web3 and beyond? Catch the full episode of Meet Me in the Metaverse above.

Because they are a direct reflection of a brand’s values, products and services, platforms should embody the brand identity in their look and feel. Above all, they should strike the perfect balance between functionality and impact. That, however, may be easier said than done. The process of developing, implementing and maintaining great platforms calls for a high level of subject-matter expertise—and here are some of our learnings from years of building brand legacies in this space.

The brand impression is determined by the digital ecosystem.

Digital platforms have evolved from playing a supportive role in the customer journey to becoming one of the main destinations in the brand’s ecosystem. That means that the experience they get will dictate their impression of the brand. “I like to say that we need to design for the ‘first date,’ because in that initial encounter, the interface is the brand,” says Creative Director Niels Dortland. "If a dotcom is flat and unremarkable, consumers will extend that perception onto the brand."

As opposed to other channels in the ecosystem, dotcoms offer a fully ownable space. Because of this, astute marketers strive to make them the number one place where consumers interact with the brand. “You can’t be certain where the consumer will land within the digital ecosystem, but you can make sure your dotcom is the one they choose to come back to,” explains Dortland. “Investing in platforms that offer a great digital experience is investing in relationship-building with customers and business growth.” 

While simplicity and clarity are great attributes for a platform to have, it doesn’t stop there. To stand out in a sea of sameness, we need to add another layer to the experience. Here’s the secret: the key to uniqueness lies in the brand’s identity.

Use your brand’s truth to rise above the noise.

Digital platforms are part of a broader ecosystem, and each one of these touchpoints should reflect the brand’s identity while serving a strategic purpose in the customer journey. “The way in which we add texture to an experience and make it truly authentic is by finding the brand’s truth and designing around it,” says Dortland. “If every platform is branded around that truth, that means they will be completely different to that of their competitors.”

On The Climate Pledge platform, which we built in collaboration with Amazon, content comes to life through interactive elements and rich textures that fit WCAG 2.0 accessibility guidelines. When landing on the home page, visitors first see an animated intro video that spreads the optimistic ambition of the project, making for an impactful first impression. On Toblerone’s D2C platform, meanwhile, users are not only captivated by the stunning color palette, but also by the interactive features that allow them to create personalized gifts. Because they reflect the brand’s identity and tone of voice, both of these platforms are widely different, yet equally memorable.

Of course, what visitors find impactful is always a moving target. With people seamlessly jumping from offline to online and into digital spaces where everything is customizable, expectations are high for what a bespoke user experience should look like. There’s a higher demand for creator-led experiences and personalization—which spurs brands to leverage the user data in ways that benefit consumers. 

First-party data elevates the potential of digital platforms.

The brand truth dictates the look and feel of your digital platforms, and data should also inform the design. Platforms facilitate interactions like product search and the purchase of goods and services, providing brands with new information about their consumers. In that process, any data collected should be used to offer experiences that are tailored to people’s needs, interests and even personalities.

What’s more, when the value exchange for someone’s data is clear, brands can establish a healthy feedback loop where they are providing a great service and gathering more information in the process. “The key to designing the right experience is listening to people’s behavior as they interact with the digital ecosystem,” says Dortland. “Our value lies in using data for customer understanding, which will ultimately help us design experiences that elevate brands, drive conversation and growth.” The more engaging the experience, the more data it will generate in return, meaning platforms can become increasingly more effective.

Platforms are more successful in a consistent brand ecosystem.

Essentially, platforms are key to enabling consumers to interact and transact with brands. They host digital experiences that optimize the customer journey and drive consumers’ loyalty. However, platforms are part of a larger brand ecosystem that needs to be consistent.

If these touchpoints can’t be disconnected, neither should the teams that focus on each one. Working with partners that can develop an app from the ground up, create content for your brand’s social media or even deliver branded activations leads to a more cohesive narrative—a single truth that manifests itself across channels.

All of these considerations will help you forge deeper connections with your audience—and while building the perfect platform may not be easy, the good news is they are fully under your control. The customer journey never looks the same, but one thing is certain: behind every meaningful interaction is a bespoke platform strategy connecting the dots between people’s needs and a brand’s offering.

A consumer journey study is research conducted through direct interaction with or observations of your target consumers by way of interviews, field studies, focus groups and other methods that can help you better understand your customer’s path to purchase. Beginning with initial purchase inspiration to the final stages of product purchase and post-purchase product usage, a well-crafted study will illuminate purchase trigger behavior and influential touchpoints, and help guide the marketing team with actionable insights that can better influence those touchpoints along that path. 

The study can also help identify gaps in the consumer purchase funnel to help marketing turn product considerers into product buyers. For example, you might ask participants in your study why they decided to purchase a competitor’s product instead of your own to identify the main purchase barriers for your product and uncover potential solutions to overcoming these barriers.

Ready to initiate a consumer journey study? Here are some things to consider.

The Dos (and Don’ts) of Conducting a Study

The questions that you and your team decide to ask in a consumer journey study should help you better understand how to connect with your target consumer and pave the way for an ongoing relationship. Many common questions focus on purchase triggers (i.e. the reasons behind deciding to purchase a new item), different shopping channels (i.e. in-store and online channels), and satisfaction with the newly-purchased product. Oftentimes, it will also be important to gather demographic data about your key shopping segment (such as age, gender, parental status and household income) to better understand who is actually purchasing your products.



Let’s look at some best practices for launching and executing a consumer purchase journey study. These best practices are based on our own experience working with our clients and are designed to help you navigate the complex consumer journey landscape.



Focus on primary decision makers. In many households, it’s common for one or two people to be in charge of purchase decisions, such as a parent on behalf of his or her children. In this scenario, the parent would be considered the primary decision maker, not the children. In your consumer purchase journey study, it’s important to ask survey respondents about their role in the purchase decision-making process because you want to understand the purchase triggers and most influential shopping touchpoints of those who will ultimately decide whether or not to purchase your product. 

Consider long-term versus short-term purchase behaviors. The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly reshaped the retail landscape and transformed many consumers' typical purchase behaviors. For example, according to eMarketer, “click and collect” sales (i.e. sales of products purchased online and picked up in-store) increased 106.9% in 2020. However, not all of these COVID-driven changes are likely to stick, and it’s important to determine what behaviors are likely long-term versus short-term. For example, you can ask survey respondents in your study how they anticipate purchasing a product or service a year from now and compare that to how they have recently purchased a product or service. 

Understand the attributes and behaviors of those who considered, but did not purchase, your product. In your research, you will likely identify a few consumers who considered your product but ultimately did not purchase it. What happened? Why did the shopper decide to buy a competitor’s product? By understanding the attributes and behaviors of those who considered but ultimately did not purchase your product, you can identify potential product features or capabilities that might convert some of these considerers into purchasers. 

Conduct your consumer purchase journey study on a recurring basis. As the retail landscape continues to evolve, there will always be new channels and influential shopping touchpoints that emerge, such as livestream video shopping channels on Amazon and the recent emergence of in-app shopping on TikTok. Depending on your team’s resources and capabilities, consider running a consumer purchase journey study on an annual or semi-annual basis in order to capture the ongoing changes in your target consumer’s purchase journey. 

Partner with retailers and manufacturers to implement consumer journey findings at the retail level. Given that global eCommerce retail sales grew 27.6% while overall retail sales declined 3.0% in 2020, it’s no surprise that the websites of retailers and manufacturers are some of the most important and influential shopping touchpoints. Consumers turn to these channels to learn about products, read customer reviews and compare items. Once you have completed your consumer purchase journey study, consider sharing these insights with your key retail partners in order to implement these best practices at the retail point of sale.

By implementing these best practices in your next consumer journey study, you’ll strengthen your brand or product’s relationship with your target shopper and identify new ways to connect with your key consumers. Instead of being on a “road to nowhere,” you’ll have a clear roadmap of your intended consumer’s path to purchase.

Considering a consumer journey study? Our team of experts can help.