Top 5 metaverse moments you need to know about right now

This month: Good news for traditional brands, bad news for tech giants

No. 5: Swiss luxury watch brand unveils metaverse-ready timepiece

H. Moser & Cie., a luxury watch brand based in Switzerland, released a limited-edition watch that not only is decked out with Web3 capabilities but is also actually pretty cool. The timepiece, dubbed the “Endeavour Centre Seconds Genesis,” is engraved with a unique QR code that links to a series of digital services, including a special NFT of a video showing the last screw on the piece, e-warranty and KYC (“know your customer”) capabilities for those interested in secondary markets. While the watch was first announced in December, MSN this week wrote a profile that delved deep into its purpose and function.

Owners of the watch will also receive a special access pass to Moser’s metaverse space, although it was not clear which platform it would be using. And even if all this Web3 mumbo jumbo doesn’t impress prospective buyers, its physical material just might: The case and crown are made from 3-D printed titanium, the QR code is engraved with safari crystal and the background is Vantablack, the darkest material on the market, absorbing 99.965% of all light.

If you want one, though, you better act fast. Moser only made 50 editions of the watch. Oh, and each costs €29,000, or just over $30,000.

No. 4: U.S. senators worried about teens in Meta's metaverse

U.S. Senators are worried about Mark Zuckerberg's plans for the metaverse. In a letter sent to the Meta CEO, Senators Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged Zuckerberg to halt Meta’s plans to allow kids aged 13 to 17 into its Horizon Worlds platform.

The letter invoked Meta’s poor track record in protecting children online, particularly teens, which has led to feelings of distrust from parents, pediatricians, policymakers and the general public. For instance, the company has reportedly been well aware of the damage its apps including Instagram cause teen girls, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2021, though such knowledge has inspired little change in how it conducts business.

“As our constituents grow increasingly concerned about the effects of online platforms and social media apps on teens’ well-being, your plans to imminently pull these young people into an under-researched, potentially dangerous virtual realm with consequences for their physical and mental health is unacceptable,” wrote the senators in the letter.

No. 3: Microsoft kills off industrial metaverse team

In more bad news for tech giants, Microsoft axed its entire team devoted to helping customers find industrial use cases for the metaverse. As The Information first reported in February, the team was formed only four months ago, but now all roughly 100 employees are gone—a testament to how quickly the virtual space is fluctuating.

The layoffs were part of a sizable reduction at Microsoft in January, which saw cuts of 10,000 employees amid fallout from over-hiring at the start of the pandemic. The Industrial Metaverse Core Team was primarily tasked with building software for control systems behind power plants, robotics and transportation networks. Clients that interacted with the team included Coca-Cola, Unilever and Anheuser-Busch InBev.

The reduction is a sign that Microsoft is prioritizing other areas of its business as it attempts to rein in costs. Its recent $10 billion investment in OpenAI reveals a much different sentiment toward the burgeoning generative AI space. However, Microsoft claims that it has made no changes to its commitment to augmented and virtual reality, a spokesperson told The Information.

No. 2: Influential inks influencer marketing deal with The Sandbox

Influencer marketing agency Influential has cut a deal with The Sandbox to bring creators into experiences on the virtual platform. Influential will train its clientele on all things Sandbox and how to operate within the ecosystem. The agency will also run campaigns with Fortune 500 brands, for which creators will help drive audiences to The Sandbox via social promotions.

Influencer marketing has become a highly effective tactic for brands to target young consumers, but Web2 influencers have yet to make a strong impact on Web3. The collaboration between Influential and The Sandbox could change this, especially given the virtual platform’s roots in gaming. Web3 creators, however, have already experienced some pain in the world of crypto and NFTs, which could be a hurdle to even the more established influencers.

The partnership could also bring a much-needed presence to The Sandbox, which has yet to find its way into the mainstream. Reports last fall indicated astonishingly low daily activity on the platform, and while The Sandbox has tried to set the record straight, there is still a lack of clarity around just how many people it caters to. Despite this confusion, The Sandbox has deals in place with Warner Music Group, Adidas, Atari, Gucci Vault and Ubisoft.

No. 1: The Home Depot brings Kids Workshops to Roblox

The Home Depot had this month’s top metaverse moment by bringing a virtual twist to its popular Kids Workshop program. A storefront in Roblox, identical in appearance to The Home Depot’s stores in IRL, allows kids to gather materials around the store and assemble projects of varying difficulty, from birdhouses to small cars. The Home Depot’s Kids Workshop program brings together 400,000 U.S. children each month to build projects with wood and paint.

“Our Virtual Kids Workshops offer the familiarity of The Home Depot—a weekend trip that many young people already experience with their families—and combines it with the discovery, problem solving and fun that Roblox is known for,” said Molly Battin, chief marketing officer at The Home Depot. The activation was built with agencies BBDO and IF7.

Other home improvement brands have used the metaverse as a space to take their business digital. Lowe’s launched a platform last summer for creators to use its tools in a virtual environment, and John Deere has utilized digital twinning, or creating a digital model of a physical one, to explore industrial efficiencies.