Marketing 3.0: what challenges for businesses?

The media frenzy around web 3.0 seems to have died down. In question, the collapse of bitcoin at the end of 2022, the bankruptcy of FTX and failure from Meta's Horizon Worlds metaverse. Since the beginning of the year 2023, the spotlight is now on ChatGPT and the artificial intelligence (AI) generative. However, evolution rapid and constant technology brings about the emergence of a new web, very different from that from yesterday. So, what are the challenges of this new web? To what extent should companies prepare for a significant reconfiguration of their marketing approaches? Explanations with Hervé Drush, specialist in the integration of marketing into the marketing and communication strategies of companies.

Over the past 25 years, the evolution of digital technology has massively changed uses and behaviors: mobile, e-commerce, video games, etc. This is without also taking into account new challenges and expectations: security and transparency of digital identity, data control, reduction of dependence on major GAFA players, protection against data hacking, disinformation and fake news, etc.

Therefore, to respond to these issues, numerous initiatives have already been put in place. Where a problem remains, opportunities to create value exist. For example, beta.gouv, the French state's digital services incubator, launched the platform EasyFile to secure the transmission of data between tenants and owners. The company thus plays the role of a state trusted third party, avoiding the risk of your private data (salaries, taxes, etc.) being found on the Internet. More than 225,000 files have already been processed.

Technologies serving uses

Blockchain, cloud computing, virtual reality, metavers, generative AI… Behind often obscure terms, these technologies provide new answers to improve the digital experience.

As Starbucks CMO Brady Brewer recently pointed out, “technology is just a tool, and it doesn’t matter if customers don’t know they’re interacting with a blockchain.” There is no shortage of opportunities to create value: stronger cybersecurity, better data control, increased personalization, community and immersive experiences, and many more.

Here again, the examples are numerous. We can cite NFTs, these tamper-proof digital property certificates based on the blockchain. Indeed, the uses prove useful in practice: digital tickets in the world of football to avoid double ticketing, certificates of ownership in the world of luxury to avoid counterfeiting of products, tamper-proof diplomas, etc.

Some major brands, like Starbucks or Decathlon, have also marked the start of 2023 with their NFT initiatives to promote engagement and loyalty among their customers.

Read also : Web3, miracle or mirage?

New generations already in another web

The generations of web users follow each other and are not alike. Generations Z (born at the turn of the millennium) and Alpha (2010-2024) in particular have massively converted to video games.

DFC Intelligence, a strategic research company specializing in video games, estimates that there are more than 3.2 billion players in the world, or just over 40% of the world's population. And, according to a 2022 study by Cabinet Newzoo, 90 % of young people from generations Z and Alpha are engaged with content related to video games. According to the same source, 74 % of those surveyed use video games to connect with other enthusiasts.

And, the audiences of Discord or Roblox type communities continue to increase. For these players, immersive 3D worlds are part of their daily lives. No need to wait for metaverses such as Sandbox or Meta's Horizon Worlds to experience the virtual reality craze. Roblox, which has an average of 58.8 million daily active users in the fourth quarter of 2022, already offers brands the opportunity to create branded immersive platforms. Like H&M, a brand new addition to Roblox with H&M Loooptopia which allows players to create virtual clothes and wardrobes for their avatars, by playing with the choice of fabrics and patterns.

Generative AI, a breaking point

There is no doubt that AI and generative AI producing text, images and video will accelerate the emergence of a new web. There are already numerous integrations of solutions of this type. Offered by an Israeli company specializing in the development of generative AI created in 2017, the D-ID service, for example, sets up avatars to provide customer service to companies. A service that will become relatively common. The solutions are simple, effective and affordable, even for VSE-SMEs. We can also cite AI-based chatbots. They will revolutionize customer relations and self-care in the short term. Specialized avatars will now be able to answer your questions. They are called Mya in the recruitment world or Louis and Lucie at Air France, chatbots intended for customer requests related to baggage.

Companies facing the challenge of marketing 3.0

For businesses, rethinking marketing approaches is essential. The current shift, like the gigantic revolution imposed by AI in working methods, is radical. We are entering a new era of the web which must be taken into account. “The release of web 2.0 is a given,” declares Maxime Labiere, metaverse manager within the MK2 Cinéma group, one of the major players in the film industry in France. “It’s a new state of mind to develop. We are entering a web structured around three key notions: identity, community and ownership. Companies must rethink their propositions around these three elements. »

Marketing 3.0: how to prepare

Understanding the reconfiguration of expectations is essential, that's what preparing for marketing 3.0 is. It means freeing yourself from the technological vision and thinking about new uses in line with the expectations of a new type of Internet user who no longer recognizes themselves in the old digital world of yesterday. It means reconnecting with the notion of consumer insight and understanding how we can provide innovative responses, thanks to the multiple possibilities.

Preparing for this new web will require systemic steps by companies:

• Fill the knowledge gap through training on the subjects of web 3.0, metaverses and AI.
• Set up shared monitoring (technological, new uses).
• Identify the limits of the current web and the expectations of Internet users in their sectors.
• Make sure to integrate young people into their teams with different web practices.
• Imagine new economic models respecting and remunerating users' ownership of their data or their productions.
• Innovate and test!

So, web 3.0, dead? Absolutely not. We are entering a new phase of the web and it is important to understand that technologies, needs, generations are evolving and that the correct definition of web 3.0, It is to simply realize that winning marketing recipes from yesterday will not be those of tomorrow.