MERGING THE DIGITAL WITH THE PHYSICAL
September 8, 2022
Web3 is still shaping up with a continuum of rapidly emerging capabilities and technologies and my research and work in this area mostly points to the following six topics for marketers to consider in the next 12 months:
Number six of six topics to consider when getting ready for Web3.
Amplify your story
Marketers are tasked with merging the digital with the physical, so why not unite these experiences by measuring what matters most in any experience – human emotion? Emotion provides a framework for the human experience and is a key differentiator. It’s about representing the collective experiences that a person feels when interacting with centres. The human experience is driven by human centricity or the idea that people are much more than statistics or data because they are driven by emotions, needs and relationships.
Every shopping centre has a story to tell in the community. It is essential not to lose sight of the story you want to tell, aligning the right marketing channels and tools. For centres, this is the next iteration, an extension of the role they play as a space for people to meet, spend time and create memories. It’s about upping engagement and fostering trust. Seize the opportunity that is largely unrealised in the industry today; that of telling powerful stories through emotional marketing, and reinforcing the community in the digital and physical world. Share what centres are, and the good that has been done in the past. Elevate and leverage the meaningful experiences to make an authentic connection with your customers; spark an awakening, a memory or desire with rich interactions that start in the physical environment and are amplified in the virtual one.
Physical experiences allow consumers to look each other in the eye. They grant them things to share. Storytelling in the physical world is about bringing centres to life. Consumers’ physical relationships and communications are bound to the digital world and centres’ experiences must be too.
Re-imagine
Remember, the foundation is set. In this next phase of ideation and evolving strategies, we must move forward with an opportunity. Web3, the metaverse and phygital world won’t go away. We need to work alongside these innovations to leverage successful strategies to learn from and use as the stepping stones for success in the Web3 world. Setting attainable goals each year, and then committing to taking the small steps to achieve them, is key. Web3 will automate and make life easier, with fewer decisions to be made, helping us improve our lives.
At the end of the day, human connection and relationships, experiences plus trust will win. Physical centres, however, must combine the convenience of online, tapping into the emotional element. This will further amplify and remind consumers of the trust we have for our shopping centres and the role they have played in our lives and memories.
One thing is for sure, marketers need to tell the story with the spotlight being on the community. This is one of honesty and the human experience, integrating the technology within our strategies to offer a smarter way to experience centres and how the phygital world works seamlessly to enhance the journey.
It’s time again for us to learn, adapt, reinvent and reimagine… the metaverse awaits.
All six topics are featured in Shopping Centre News:
THOUGHTS TO PONDER
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