On-demand webinar: Metaverse. Everything about the Internet of the future

Everyone is talking about the metaverse - but what is the actual potential of the current technology trend topic? And what role do artificial intelligence, virtual reality, blockchain, cryptocurrency and NFTs play here? The fact is that a market worth billions is opening up and companies need to develop an understanding of the potential of the metaverse. Only then can we assess how we can maximize our benefits from the Internet of the future.

In our webinar, Thomas Böhme (Director Channel & Alliance at rooom AG) and Christian Rainer (Head of Paid Advertising at diva-e) showed you

• the beginnings and developments of the Metaverse up to the status quo

• possible applications in different business areas

• concrete examples of application scenarios

• recommendations for taking the step into your own metaverse

• an outlook on what is yet to come

Carolyn Engels: Yes, welcome and good morning to this webinar on the topic of Metaverse. We are delighted that so many of you have joined us on this platform today to watch the webinar. My name is Carolyn Engels, I've been with diva-e since the beginning of the year, I'm head of the marketing team and I'm also responsible for webinars, among other things. That's also one of the reasons why I'm sitting here today. And, yes, the many registrations have also shown us that we have definitely hit a nerve with this webinar. And, of course, we hope that you enjoy the webinar and that you can take away lots of ideas and inspiration for your day-to-day work.

Of course, we want to keep the intro reasonably short, because we have a lot planned for today and don't want to do too much preamble. Nevertheless, it is of course appropriate to briefly introduce the speakers. This webinar is a partner webinar, i.e. diva-e is cooperating with its partner rooom. The webinar came about through joint discussions. Together, we realized that the topic of metaverse is one that is really, really driving our customers at the moment. It's a topic that is not just a trend topic, but one that really needs to be investigated and understood because there is so much potential here. And we have realized that if we combine our knowledge and expertise in this partnership, then we are actually the ideal duo to introduce this topic and share information accordingly.

You have two fantastic speakers today. One is Christian Rainer. Christian Rainer is Head of Paid Advertising at diva-e, has been with the company since 2019 and, together with his team, takes care of the complex topic of paid advertising. So they really take care of everything that has anything to do with paid marketing activities. And on the other hand, you have Thomas Böhme with you today as a speaker. Thomas is Director Channel & Alliances at rooom. Thomas has a particular hobbyhorse, the topic of customer experience, and he now has over 24 years of professional experience in the IT sector, which means you can't fool him or tell him much about it. He's an old hand in this field, so to speak. And as you can see, with this duo, with these two gentlemen, you are in the best possible hands. So you have nothing to worry about. Let's take a very brief look at the agenda so that you can see once again what you can expect in this webinar today.

Firstly, let's start with the term metaverse. What is it anyway, where does it come from, hasn't it been around for a while and what is a modern, up-to-date definition of the topic? We look at a few areas of application in companies, because the topic is of course chic and fancy, but the question is, of course, how do I actually use it profitably in business areas in order to optimize processes and, of course, optimally increase sales. We take a closer look at the topic of brand experience & commerce, then take a detour into the exciting field of marketing in the metaverse. We then take a look at what we think is still to come. And, of course, there will also be a bit of space at the end for your questions, which we are particularly looking forward to. This platform is a platform that rooom has developed. And the fact that it looks the way it does and that it all works technically is mainly thanks to Natalie, my colleague from rooom, to whom I would now like to hand over the floor very briefly.

Natalie Weigelt: Thank you. Yes exactly, Natalie von rooom, Head of Marketing. And I would like to give a very brief insight once again, guide you through the platform so that no questions remain unanswered. At least as far as communication during the event is concerned. And I'll share my screen very briefly.

And there you can see the platform. I'm currently here in the live, yes, area, which means you can see the stream here, which I hope you're also watching right now. We are very happy if you give us a little reaction during the event. So please give a thumbs up or a round of applause for the respective speakers, a little feedback. We are very happy about that. Otherwise, we are of course also happy to receive questions. Just type them into the little box here and send them off. At the end of the webinar, yes, depending on the time, we will go into it again. Yes, depending on how much we can manage, how much time is left. But you are welcome to ask questions during the webinar and we will respond to them. We have also prepared one or two questions ourselves. You are also welcome to use them, to vote. The two speakers will also respond to them again in order to get a small picture of the mood, yes, and to provide some more information about the speakers under the program item. The livestream or webinar will also be available afterwards. Please go to the program if you are also live now. You will then find the presentation again under this program item, and information on the speakers further down. The video recording will be available afterwards. You will also have the opportunity to find out more about the two partners and the speakers. And after the webinar, if you still have questions, we would like to invite you to visit the networking area again. The two speakers can also be contacted there again, and you are welcome to ask questions again via chat or create and visualize your own business card. You can then do this in your personal area. Exactly. And with that, I would like to hand it back to the speakers and look forward to a great webinar and, yes-.

Carolyn Engels: Great. Thank you very much, Natalie. Then I'll share my presentation or the window again and then you should see all of that and then I would say I'll hand over directly to Thomas.

Thomas Böhme: With pleasure. And good morning from my side too, and it's great that you're all here. I'll just move on to you. I do so many meetings in English that I always find it difficult to distinguish between you and you know. I hope that's ok. Then I'll quickly request the remote control.

Exactly. Natalie has already said that we would of course also like to capture a bit of a mood picture of how you are already, yes, connected to this topic of Metaverse. And, yes, something is happening now. Because, of course, it's also important to say that this topic is very present on the one hand, especially for us as a software provider in this environment. That's why it's always good to ask what everyone else thinks about it. And we basically conducted a small survey on this. Natalie had already shown us where you can find it. We just wanted to take a look and get some feedback. How interested are you in the topic of metaverse without us having started to clearly define the term and, yes, are there perhaps already areas of application? And, yes, I'd like to go into this area now and vote on it. Then I'll give you a very brief moment to get there, but in principle I can continue talking so as not to waste too much time.

And, yes, perhaps before we get into the subject in concrete terms. I think that some people are not yet familiar with rooom as a company name. Some may have thought, ok, that's one O too many. No, we deliberately describe ourselves with three O's because we are, yes, believers in the three-dimensional world. Six years ago, we also had the idea of revolutionizing the digital world to a certain extent. We are currently celebrating our sixth birthday. We now have more than 120 employees, mainly in Germany at four locations, but now also have a location in the USA. And yes, our great passion is the whole topic of 3D, augmented reality, virtual reality and extended reality. That's what we called it all a year ago. There's now an umbrella term for it, which makes it a little easier, and sometimes perhaps a little more abstract. And of course we are very proud of what we have achieved in recent years. Among other things, we've won lots of awards for the platform we've developed. I think we've done a lot of things right and this is of course also reflected in the customers we've acquired so far, who joined us on this path early on and also believe in this three-dimensional world. And of course it also makes us a little proud when Forbes Magazine writes about us. But not so much that it's Forbes Magazine, but much more about the approach, namely this Democratizing The Metaverse, which is very important to us.

That this is not something that many people perhaps also believe, that when it comes to the topic of what this metaverse actually is, that many people think: "Ok, that's something like that, Facebook, meta. Dear Marc Zuckerberg invented that." Of course not. He also borrowed from it, certainly presented it very prominently and the naming does the rest. For many people out there, I think it's really just about saying: "What is this actually? Does it affect me? Do I have to deal with it? Is this somehow like Second Life, which I can forget again? It has no future anyway." We would now like to demystify and clarify this a little bit in this webinar. And simply connect the question: What actually is this metaverse? And from our point of view, yes, it is a further development of the internet as we know it. And back in 2006, there was already a metaverse roadmap drawn up by a few smart people who dealt with this topic. And that's why I liked it so much, that's why I have this screenshot with me, because they got to the heart of the matter. Namely, what happens when video games meets Web 2.0? And that was exactly the approach we took. In the computer world of games, 3D is the norm, whereas in the world of business applications we are actually simply two-dimensional. There are obviously historical reasons for this, but things have always moved in this direction. But there were early attempts to change and revolutionize this to a certain extent, because it is quite clear that we live in a three-dimensional world, in a physical three-dimensional world. And that's why 3D is actually the norm for us.

I'm still struggling with the operation, which is sometimes a little delayed. Now it's moving on. Yes, and that's why we actually see the metaverse as an evolution of the Internet as we know it. In the first wave, it was just a development, in the second wave Web 2.0 the focus was on, yes, mobile experiences, social experiences and now we actually have a further evolution in the sense of Web 3.0 and you could of course also say Web 3D. Which is what I think it is in the end. And, yes, what does something like this look like? In principle, it's an immersive experience, which means that the users who immerse themselves in this world do exactly that. It is an immersion in a world, it is an experience that can be very different. We are very much pursuing the approach that this should be done via a browser, because that is what users out there are used to and use. Of course, there is also the option of using VR glasses. Of course, we are still in a certain niche market here, but it will certainly continue to develop over the next few years. On the other hand, we then have this point of - yes, that the possibilities should of course be decentralized from our point of view, if that comes about. That doesn't mean on one platform, but because that's the name of something like Universe, Multiverse, Metaverse, it should also be on several platforms from our point of view. And the whole thing should be interoperable, i.e. the exchange must be possible and there must be a corresponding persistence, i.e. it should be a permanent facility. It is not just something that is only there temporarily. And what many people are also asking themselves is, yes, how will this actually change our lives, our behavior, our shopping habits and many other things and the way we live together. Personally, I believe that it will have little impact on the traditional way we work and interact with each other. Of course, we've been living in a situation for over two years now where there have been shifts, inevitably due to the pandemic. This means that traditional retail, traditional business, has naturally moved a little more into the online world. But I think we're also seeing a bit of a countermovement. In other words, people naturally want to interact with each other and that's a good thing. What will shift from our point of view is simply the relationship, so to speak. The Internet as we know it, i.e. what we have today, classic websites, corresponding online stores, these worlds. And the other thing, of course, is the metaverse itself.

And that brings us to the topic of areas of application. And when we did the dry run, we said, ok, we have a lot of topics that we want to include here and give you. Unfortunately, there's not enough time today, so I can only touch on this once. But where we will go into more detail is the whole topic of brand experience and its impact on commerce. We will also be giving this some space today alongside the topic of paid advertising. Otherwise, of course, we have a very strong topic with, yes, collaboration, future collaboration. And we can see it today. We are now in a livestream today. On our platform, but this is a 2D platform that we have for the time being. I think we will also use our three-dimensional platform next time, where we will also have the opportunity to be out and about with avatars. Because quite honestly, I think everyone will agree with me that due to the last two years of home office and lockdowns, we have of course said, ok, Zoom meetings like this are very efficient or teams. But on the other hand, of course, it's not a special experience now either. This is something that can certainly be improved and we are doing this with the platform that we offer here, which you can also see to some extent today. But we are also moving much more in the direction of having live avatars, so that I can really talk in a three-dimensional world, so that I can exchange ideas, so that I can work together. On the other hand, what I consider to be an even more exciting topic, where we still have enormous potential ahead of us, is the whole topic of smart learning. Here too, of course, people have become accustomed in recent years to the idea of traditional online training. You go into a portal somewhere, then you listen to a few videos, then maybe there's a bit of text, and at the end there's a fun quiz or a certification. It's all not very intoxicating. And of course, what drives us and what we want to promote are completely new learning experiences. Be it that we really bring them into landscapes where learning is fun. Both in adult education, but also, of course, in the education of our children. Because we have such enormous opportunities to really immerse ourselves in worlds and enable learning in a completely different way than we are used to today. In other words, really leaving the traditional classroom. And there are some really great areas of application. Both in the service sector, of course, but also for complex manufacturing and even for explaining machines that I would otherwise have to fly people somewhere for training. And the fourth area is somewhat related to the topic of customer and smart learning. Of course, customer service is often about how I can help people efficiently and support them in finding the right solution. And we have developed a solution called 3D Manual. This means that there is still enormous potential in this area. Very often, you simply get a user manual with a product. Sometimes this is helpful, often not. In the best case scenario these days, you go to YouTube and watch some do-it-yourself videos. That's sometimes quite helpful, but it's often not always helpful because you rarely have the same situation. And that's why it makes a lot of sense to have step-by-step instructions where I can really see how it's done. As I said, we would like to go into this in more detail, but we still have a whole series of webinars ahead of us where we will certainly address this topic.

That's why I'm moving on to the topic of brand experience & commerce in the metaverse. Because very specific use cases are emerging that can already be commercialized today and already offer a real return on investment for companies. This is also shown by the studies that have already been carried out. If we now start with the topic of brand experience, then we are of course at the point I mentioned at the beginning. To say, what is the advantage over a traditional website, which today often look very good, but at the end of the day it is a collection of images, texts and videos. I just can't immerse myself in this world. And here, of course, I have a completely different story with such a three-dimensional world. The visitor really becomes part of this story, that brands can act in a completely different way, that brand messages can be placed in a completely different way. Right up to the topic, which Christian will show later, of how I can then of course also play out advertising in this environment. Because these are incredible possibilities and those of you who are online gamers or play computer games will know what I mean. Because you can of course lose yourself in such worlds. And we have simply brought along an example of what this looks like. We were at Fashion Tech two weeks ago. I hope the video plays. Yes, it does. To show what is already possible today. This is a virtual fashion show, which means we have developed a corresponding 3D space. A classic catwalk that we have created. And I think what you can see here is still pretty crazy for many people at the moment. It's what's known as volumetric capturing technology. This means that I place living people, who I have previously recorded accordingly, in this virtual world and then of course have completely different possibilities in the presentation. And right now, in September and October, there are lots of fashion shows in Milan and Paris. This means that it is often only possible for a small group to be there. But in future, of course, it will also be possible to livestream haute couture. You can sit at the front, you can watch it yourself. So you're in a completely different environment than you're used to today, where I can look at chic dresses on a website, but in the end it's somewhere chic dresses that are shot from different perspectives. And these are by no means the possibilities that already exist in this environment today. And at this point, Christian, the question is of course a little bit different. As a digital agency, you are also very broadly positioned in this environment. What are your experiences, so to speak, in terms of the business-to-consumer sector in particular? Christian Rainer: Yes. Yes, the most important point in this context is of course always the keyword "ad placement". Where do we send users from the ads? And if we can also give companies the opportunity to send their users, their customers or potential customers into a world or send them to a platform where - and I think you can see this very well from this short excerpt from the video alone - the whole thing can also create a digital experience on a completely different emotional level. On the one hand, to really provide customers who are brought to this platform via a potential ad or who are invited to a certain event, for example, with a binding and relationship-building experience. That brings joy. It brings joy to customers and, on that basis, it also brings joy to yes, business-to-consumer topics or-, and-. Where brands, I'll say now, have the momentum in an increasingly competitive environment to position themselves even more strongly and to think more about how they can build this emotional bond with customers, the platform simply, yes, offers a clear benefit compared to the classic website. Because the senses are also addressed in different places. And then certainly also the momentum, yes, the scalability and yet also a certain individualization in the experience that is then also conveyed.

Thomas Böhme: Absolutely, absolutely. Exactly. And that's - there's a lot more to it. I mean, first of all, of course, it's classic brand awareness that we're creating here. A corresponding space. But we're not stopping there, but what-. I don't hope that the video continues to play, but I wanted to get to the point, exactly.

What I find really interesting, of course, is the possibilities that virtual or 3D commerce offers, and that's my favorite topic at the moment. For the first time, we now really have the chance to combine the best of two worlds. In other words, what I call the classic experience, the in-store experience. In other words, I'm in a store, I get very good advice, I have a good feeling, I get great service. I know that doesn't always happen in life these days, unfortunately many companies have developed in the opposite direction. But I often still have that. And on the other hand, I have online shopping, which is of course quick and convenient, but often not a real experience. I have a slider, products are featured up and down. Then I have product detail pages, then I see a product from the front, left, right, back, I can buy. Yes, that's just something that's fun today and here we really have the opportunity to link them together for the first time. And to create a solution that combines these two worlds and really turns online shopping into a shopping experience. And now, hopefully, we'll move on to the next page. And this is just one example. Today we have made a conscious decision to focus more on fashion, yes, B2C. That is-. Because it is of course always very appealing and because each of us, including you as listeners, are of course also consumers. On the other hand, please don't run out of the webinar and say: "It's not my target group. I'm a manufacturer of marine diesel engines. What use is this area to me?" I'll get to that in a moment. But these are the possible applications for the showcase that we have developed, and this is just the model that you can see here right now without an avatar. We also have it with an avatar, which means I can really use a configurator as well. I can not only look at the dress in blue, but also in green. Especially, of course, in the physical sector, to be at the point where I say-. Often, I'm going to say the retail trade can't cover all these areas. They can't put every model somewhere, regardless of whether it's clothing, furniture or vehicles. Everyone has a limited amount of space. And this QR code, which is still visible here, the-. I would also like to ask you to simply scan it with your smartphone, simply with your photo app. And I think that's something else that's really important to us. The connection not just purely in the virtual world, but the connection to our physical world, namely augmented reality, so that I can also bring these products into my home, so to speak. And that's not just in the sense of this dress, so that I can see it once and get a closer look at the fabric, but it's often very practical things too. For example, I don't know, we have Puky as a customer. I can actually bring the bike home virtually, I can put it next to my daughter, my son. I can see if it fits, what the color looks like, I can walk around it. And of course that's a completely different buying experience. Of course, when the store is open, I see it differently and better, but it often gives an impression and for pure online shoppers, it's of course something we want to prevent, namely the issue of return rates. Because, of course, there is a tendency for many people to say: "I'll order three products and return at least two." And what we also have on our platform in terms of the roadmap is, firstly, the connection of our Product Viewer, which you have already seen here using the example of the dress, to the corresponding online stores. There are already various connectors to the leading e-commerce systems on the market for this. But, sorry, what goes beyond that is, of course, the possibility that is much stronger, namely so-called annotations. In other words, I have additional instructions. For example, to stay with this example, I can of course also say on this dress that I now have, for example, care instructions and the like. Perhaps I have further suggestions as to what could also go with it. And now we come to the topic of B2B, because I actually find that much more exciting, but often not as vivid. The whole topic of exposure graphics really gives me a huge opportunity to improve the customer experience, especially in the spare parts business, because I can go right down to the smallest screw. And if a customer stands in front of me in the store and says "here, I have a broken part somewhere", for example on a baby carriage, then I can pick it out straight away. I don't have to spend ages looking for a twelve-digit product number somewhere or a spare part number, I can pick it up straight away. And these are of course huge advantages, not just in the pure marketing of such products, regardless of whether it's B2C or B2B. They can also be services. Of course, I can also market real estate very differently in this environment. We have many customers who don't have any physical products at all, but also use virtual spaces like this to better explain their services and, of course, to differentiate themselves from the competition. And, of course, the whole topic of product configuration is something that is developing even more strongly. I've already mentioned it. And by product configuration, we don't just mean the classic coloring of products, as we know it from the automotive sector today. It really also means that I then have a variant configuration in the B2B sector. That I also have the option of selecting additional parts with such a product configuration and that I can really take a look at these parts. Right back to the fact that they are not just static, but that I can also see how they move. And here too, of course, the question for you, Christian: How - have you already made inquiries in this direction? How do you see these possibilities?

Christian Rainer: Exactly, as diva-e as a whole, the inquiries are definitely coming in. In the context, I'll say now, more specifically with my team on the marketing side, yes, the inquiries in this form are not yet so concrete. But we are increasingly seeing the development and interest in this context. I will go into this in a little more detail later on. But what is also incredibly exciting in connection with the topic of 3D platforms at this point is, of course, being able to centrally map an individual shopping experience, also in the context of internationalization projects, for example. And then there is also a consistent story, so to speak, for different customers, who can still have their own shopping section as VIPs, for example. Or they can also come together in a virtual boutique. And this opens up an unbelievable number of opportunities, where companies from different directions are increasingly venturing to start their first experiments. And then, for example, to break new ground when it comes to showcasing their own areas in the context of "as a manufacturer, I would perhaps also like to showcase my partners, my retail partners better". And here, of course, the platform offers a completely different opportunity to transfer and offer additional advertising space in a way that is really attractive and an interesting experience for the customer.

Thomas Böhme: That's where we're actually right on the subject. In this respect, I'm happy to pass on the topic of advertising to you.

Christian Rainer: Thank you. Like this. Exactly. The topic of advertising in the metaverse and of course-, now we have-. Thomas, thank you very much for these insights into the possibilities of creating really great emotional experiences for customers on a digital level via virtual spaces. The best platform is always subject to the question of what use it is if nobody knows it, if nobody sees it, if nobody comes to the platform. And there is of course also the question of how we can attract customers in the metaverse or for the metaverse who can then also enter into the corresponding experience with the platform. The question itself - even the best platform is useless if nobody has heard of it - is ultimately one of the core elements that make up diva-e as such. Or the idea behind diva-e as a transactional experience partner, so to speak, to bring together the element of transactions for companies and, yes, high-quality experiences that customers are looking for. In this respect, we have over 900 employees at over ten locations in Germany, but also in the USA and Bulgaria. And we are currently transferring web technologies from the entire platform business to the corresponding marketing. And this is also the area where my team, or colleagues from my department, come into play.

When it comes to really getting users and customers excited about the relevant platforms, getting them excited about our customers' business model in order to build up added value and value-adding customers.

Before I delve deeper into the opportunities and challenges surrounding ad placement in and for the metaverse, I would like to ask you to give us a brief impression of your opinion. We would also like to tie in a little with the question posed by Thomas earlier. What is the level of interest now, for example, or especially here among the participants?

Exactly, thank you. Advertising in the metaverse. The one use case, and it's important to distinguish between these two areas. One is certainly the one that is more relevant today and in a short-term way or with a short-term perspective. The topic of how to create virtual experiences in worlds that are, so to speak, aimed at bringing products and services, yes I'm saying for the real world, for our world, into sales, into distribution. To advertise products and services that want to bring added value to everyday offline life. In addition, and this is the exciting case, there are still many question marks, which I will come back to in a moment. The topic of developing products and services holistically for the metaverse, for the fake world on the one hand, and then also advertising these accordingly in the metaverse on the other. And that's where we quickly see the momentum developing into an area where we are talking about almost infinite possibilities. Because, of course, the whole thing can increase exponentially. Well, that was one step too far, but it doesn't matter. Exactly, at the end of the day, the opportunities that arise and the keyword direct-to-avatars is currently a figure from JPMorgan, which estimates the entire market at over 50 billion at this point in time. It's all about actually offering products directly for avatars and therefore certainly also a topic, an extremely growth market, to think about how I can advertise my products and services in a targeted manner. Why should I actually place ads in the Metaverse at this point in time? This is a question that each of you can actually answer for yourselves. At the end of the day, there are now the first individual platforms and it is a combination of the gaming world and the new technological possibilities of the web.

But why should I do it now, what is the momentum that I can take with me? And from our point of view, it's definitely important to think about this first and foremost at this point in time. Not just to run off blindly, but to get a clear picture of why I want to do this. To say, do I just want to stand out, do I want to be able to emphasize this innovation aspect for myself as a company, so to speak. Or is it specifically the case that I already see Generation Z or Generation Alpha as my target customers now or in the medium term with a focus, so to speak, and therefore want to address these customers, or the people who are already moving more strongly in appropriate spaces via gaming, for example. Or to build up a certain potential loyalty through emotional ties for future experiences. And in this respect, it is so important to think about or deal with this, because ultimately Metaverse is also clearly perceived as an innovation at the moment. And accordingly, it is precisely this young target group or the younger target groups with an affinity for gaming and technology, who are already moving in this direction at the moment, who now have precisely this element of expecting this innovation as part of the brand experience. This makes it all the more important for companies to think about their entire marketing strategy, their target groups now, so to speak, and then also at the time when more than just these first pioneers and first movers who already want to move into virtual worlds. But when the whole thing has reached the level of maturity for the mainstream, so to speak, to be able to deliver the requested and required experiences in the form of interactive advertising media, for example, which also taps into precisely the possibilities that the spaces offer and fuels the experience, so to speak. And at the end of the day, the most important point is to be aware of the fact that, for example, 80 percent of users are definitely more willing to buy at this point in time if they interact with an ad that appeals to them personally. And if we now use a little imagination to think about the opportunities that arise from the platforms. And then to offer the whole thing in conjunction with potential ad placements and an experience for our customers based on marketing via the Metaverse, then the possibilities are almost endless. At this point in time, we can certainly say with a certain amount of tongue-in-cheek or what the technology that may already be available to users at this point in time offers in terms of possibilities. We have seen that when it comes to graphics processing, when it comes to the transfer from 2D to 3D, we are certainly not yet at the point where we can transfer a three-dimensional space to a mobile device. Or if not yet, perhaps not quite there yet in terms of graphic processing, as we are on two-dimensional worlds.

The next point in this context is certainly also, and of course the whole thing plays into this, but at the same time it also underlines this fast pace and the incredible pace that is being built up or developed in this respect. Certainly if we consider where ads can currently be placed, where can I reach customers at this point in time. The biggest elements in this context are platforms that have now positioned themselves as cross-target group or cross-company, such as Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft. These are platforms that actually come from the gaming world. But there are also platforms like Decentraland as a central marketplace that specializes in offering precisely these products for potential avatars, so to speak.

And the topic of NFTs, which will be discussed in detail in a future webinar, will also form a central basis for this. But I think the picture already makes it clear what is missing at the moment. And especially in the advertising business and in the paid advertising business, the momentum that we know from the current situation: We have Google as a central platform, we have Meta, or formerly Facebook, Instagram as central advertising platforms for social interaction. Where I already have the opportunity to pick up and address target groups all over the world in different places by going to one platform, so to speak. And this platform does not yet exist in this form in the metaverse, or with a view to the metaverse. And with a view to, first and foremost, the democratization of the metaverse and the decentralization of the individual platforms, as Thomas mentioned earlier, this of course also poses the challenge of interoperability. To say, on the one hand, if I now-. For example, how do I get a Connect to transmit the brand experience that I, as a manufacturer, might be teasing via a fashion show, possibly also via the partner boutique? So that a customer that I direct there has the same options, so to speak, in terms of being able to actually buy the dress that they have seen in my store. And perhaps also in the pre-selections that have been made.

That is one thing. The other, however, is if I have the issue that I am advertising a virtual good on one platform and it is purchased there, how can I ensure that I can also use this virtual good directly on other platforms if necessary. Keyword: I buy a dress for my avatar at Joop!, but then I want to wear this virtual dress in the avatar, so to speak. And this issue does not yet exist due to the standards that have not yet been developed. Which of course also means that there are blurred brand boundaries. To say, I can't ensure the brand experience in a controlled manner everywhere, even in connection with or in conjunction with the brand. And then, of course, there is also the momentum, if I now create a correspondingly more emotionally charged experience in the virtual world, how do I then transfer the whole thing to the real world? And the whole thing - or without overwhelming my own customers with too much advertising. And then there's always the question of data protection. And also ethical questions about how to act on the individual platforms, so to speak. And I may no longer have access or even direct access on individual platforms to actively control my brand or the way in which my brand is presented if I go live here via ad placement. Why should I still take this on board and deal with it now, because I think a very, very important point in this context is certainly the element of saying that we don't even know at the moment when the run on the metaverse will really come. To be completely honest, we don't really have a feel for it at the moment either. There are initial pioneers working in different directions, but it is developing so quickly and that is the momentum of learning to deal with this fast pace. And in order to implement this rapid learning and action on the part of advertisers, it is also necessary to develop a corresponding, yes, learn-and-act mindset, so to speak. How can I set up ad placement in the metaverse at this point in time, so to speak? The first step, so to speak, is to get to grips with the principles of programmatic advertising. We assume that marketing via the metaverse, across the various platforms, will continue to develop accordingly and will work very much on the basis of auction-based marketing of individual advertising spaces and individual inventories. Even to the point where real estate offered in the metaverse, such as billboards on façade walls, can be accessed in a similar way to digital out-of-home. And at the same time in a variety of individualization, because data-based targetins according to target groups achieve a completely different validity and a completely different scalability at this point, especially with regard to avatars, of course. And then, so to speak, advertising in the metaverse actually becomes either an additional channel in the marketing mix that I should discover, recognize, test and experiment with. But then there are also the opportunities to really tell the story of this, yes, immersive brand experience, so to speak, via advertisements, which also enable a stronger experience, so to speak, and to simply gain experience from your side or as a company. What works for us, what works for our brand, what works for our products. And at the moment, there are certainly still certain first mover benefits that are taking effect. At the same time, however, there is also momentum due to the fact that there is still no central platform standard. Certainly also a kind of revival of the topic of partnerships and also with regard to partner worlds and influencers. The fact that there are much more decentralized opportunities for individual creators to position themselves through their own worlds, so to speak, and offer corresponding virtual experiences. If, as a company, I want to offer my customers a holistic, extended and much more inspiring customer experience on digital platforms, I naturally have to think about which partners I want to work with and where. And this is certainly also a further development of what is perhaps still known today as affiliate marketing. The whole thing then also on digital channels with corresponding other platforms to ensure that what I offer on my platform can also be extended or that I can also integrate customers from other platforms attractively and smartly into a uniform experience on my platform. Is it expensive then? Yes, of course it's expensive. And even if we-, if you're or above all-. Well, now he's gone one too far, we've gone one too far. Unfortunately, I can't get it back right now. Thank you. Is it expensive? Yes, it is expensive. First and foremost, if I as a company don't know exactly where I want to go. Basically, the market prices or the auction prices at the current time are a tick cheaper than other inventories in the area of programmatic advertising at the current time. Of course, I only have, let's just say, limited options in terms of inventory at the moment. I need to get a clear picture of whether I want to reach this target group at this point in time.

Otherwise, from our point of view, the most important step at this point in time is to actually start thinking about it. And it is precisely this transformative character that is necessary - or that is necessary in order to be able to carry out targeted ad placement or marketing on the metaverse in the future. To say, how do I learn and develop my own advertising materials, but also my entire marketing processes, so that I can then also provide my customers with a corresponding experience. This should not be neglected or ignored. Once everything is in place, we definitely have the point and the advantage that we have an almost infinite reach, so to speak. On the one hand, we can really offer our customers better emotional experiences internationally from a central platform, so to speak. We actually also have, let me say, a limitless opportunity to build up our own infrastructure, either alone or with partners. In order to play on the various possibilities from sponsoring an avatar, which then bears the label on its chest as an advertising space, so to speak, to real estate assets. And above all on the virtual level, especially when it comes to addressing avatars as potential users and customers, so to speak. There is also an almost infinite possibility of personalization, i.e. at least until avatars perhaps also need citizenship in order to be protected as citizens under the GDPR.

So from our point of view, here are the three things we simply want to say in this context. When it comes to advertising in the metaverse, you need to think about what goals you actually want to achieve with it. However, it definitely makes sense to position yourself at this point in time so that you are a trustworthy party. And also to deal with the topic of first-party data in connection with networks and partners, so to speak, in order to set up this learn-and-act framework or mindset for yourself in the company. In order to then be able to really transfer the experiences of media available today in the sense of programmatic advertising media in conjunction with AR and VR to digital and virtual spaces in the future. And with that, I would like to hand over to Thomas once again.

Thomas Böhme: Or rather, we are already a little overdue and I would perhaps like to take the opportunity to get rid of your questions, which we will be happy to answer, before we perhaps give you a bit more of an outlook. Natalie had already given me one earlier. There was a question about the whole topic of try-ons. Especially in the fashion sector, of course, but it also applies to other products. Of course, there's a lot going on at the moment. I mean, we're already familiar with it. I think Mister Spex, for example, has been offering virtual try-ons of glasses for years. Yes, it already exists, but of course it still involves a lot of effort and there's still room for improvement in terms of development, so that I really have it the way most people imagine it. To have a photorealistic virtual experience just as much as a physical one. I think we're on the right track, but we haven't yet reached the point where I think users want it. That's why it's still going to be a work in progress.

Otherwise, the question to Lynni and Natalie would be, if there are any further questions in the chat now, then I think we should answer them first.

Carolyn Engels: Yes, with pleasure. I can just read out one question. One participant asked whether you can see the clothes, so this goes to you, Thomas, whether you can see the clothes on yourself in the mirror via AR, for example. Whether this possibility exists.

Thomas Böhme: Exactly, I just answered that. That was the question, so to speak. Yes. With upward development.

Carolyn Engels: All right, ok. Then we have another question, namely how long it takes to set up a virtual world, for example a virtual boutique.

Thomas Böhme: Yes, as always. The answer is, it depends. But there is one piece of good news. So what is very important to us, at least as a rooom and software provider, is that we work with templates. Just as companies are used to doing with content management systems that are already available on the market for websites. As you can imagine, this is exactly how our platform is structured, only in 3D. Of course, there are already templates on the site. So this one showroom that we saw earlier is a template. But we can - we've developed a whole host of templates, I think we've already developed around 100. These include underwater worlds, possibilities on the moon, all kinds of different things. Outdoor spaces. That means you can get started relatively quickly. That means you can have an initial result within a week. Of course, if you want something completely individual, which is adapted to your own needs and is perhaps not just a showroom, but a bit more, a whole world. Of course, the effort is higher and therefore the time is longer.

Carolyn Engels: All right, thank you. Then a question that goes more in the direction of Christian. Someone wanted to know once again, just as a bottom line, where we see the greatest potential for B2B brands in terms of marketing. It's a very general question, but Christian, perhaps you can give us your personal opinion.

Christian Rainer: Yes, well, my personal opinion. As I said, it's like this. At the moment, especially when it comes to marketing, we are all facing a bit of a challenge. The opportunities are growing every day with new platforms that are being set up. And in the B2B sector, in order to address new customers at this point, the momentum is certainly there at the moment, or to say from the recommendation, to create your own platform. And on the basis of your own room or your own event, which may also take place virtually in the metaverse, to invite your potential customers to a corresponding experience. Which is certainly also a momentum, so to speak, to function even better in the approach, because I can also emphasize even more participant interaction than it works now, as in the case of our webinar, via a 2D platform. As far as the ad placement itself is concerned, I would say that we actually have a challenge at the moment in terms of how to address people - I'm going to say it depends on the available inventory. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense to look for large advertising spaces at the moment because they don't yet exist in the form of an explicit approach at B2B level. On the other hand, however, there is certainly momentum to think about this with shared platforms or from the virtual spaces that are now increasingly emerging. How can I promote my products, for example at corresponding events, in sponsoring or in my own marketing, for example in user interaction?

Thomas Böhme: I can perhaps add to that. We have just signed a contract this week with a, yes, large, well-known advertising partner and it will go in exactly this direction. So really advertising placement in the metaverse for B2B brands too. This means that I can now, let's take a virtual trade fair, simply place advertising and play it out in a personalized way. So the possibilities are already there for us today.

Carolyn Engels: Okay, all right, thank you very much. One more question. One participant said he had a somewhat heretical question. Namely, can we in Germany use the potential of the metaverse at all with regard to the technical infrastructure, keyword 5G, 6G?

Thomas Böhme: Yes. A clear yes, because we rely on the WebGL standard, for example, and that is a good balance of, yes, performance, costs and quality. That means you can use it as normal with the appropriate device, you don't necessarily have to have a 5G connection and a VR headset. You can do that today or use the latest Nvidia card. The technology is already there. From that point of view, a clear yes in terms of capacity. As far as the framework conditions are concerned, there is still a lot to be done. The ones we see there. But there are already good opportunities. We are currently involved in a research project with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, which deals with the anonymization of patient data in the Metaverse. In future, I will be able to ask doctors and medical professionals questions anonymously. They know what I have and who I am, but of course they don't know that I'm Thomas Böhme and I live in Jena and have completely different information. But there are also completely new possibilities, so that's a very clear yes. And we now also have a-. Sure, people always complain about the network structure, but we still have a-, we're still at the front of the league and our platform is also in use in the Middle East in Africa. In this respect, we also have opportunities in areas with completely different network coverage.

Carolyn Engels: Thank you very much for answering the question. As far as I can see, there are currently no further questions. Now, of course, the question is: Shall we go a little further into the outlook, what does that look like for you, Thomas and Christian?

Thomas Böhme: I think it's like the movie on Netflix now. We're framing a nice transition for the next session, of course, which we want to do soon. And then to say what the prospects are. We can talk about NFT, about volumetric capturing, i.e. completely new things. About combining physical and virtual reality. I think we'll just do that next time. And I think that's probably a nice cliffhanger for the next webinar or maybe a physical meeting.

Carolyn Engels: I think that's a good idea. Then we've already got the suspense here or-, let's stretch the suspense quite far so that lots of people feel like registering for the next sessions. Then I would simply hand over the closing words to Natalie once again.

Natalie Weigelt: Thank you. I hope it was a comprehensive insight for everyone. As I could see in the survey, many people are definitely interested and open to learning more about it and, above all, yes, to learning how they can do marketing in the metaverse. In other words, we hope that the first "aha" moments have now been experienced. As you have just heard, we are definitely planning to provide more in-depth insights, so there will be more to come. Please continue to follow us and come back to the platform. The video of the webinar will be available afterwards, as will the presentation and, above all, we look forward to receiving feedback. This means that there will be another small request. How did you like it? Which topics should we really address next time? You can find it all here, so please come back. And, yes, if there is still a little time left, perhaps leave a question in the chat directly with the two speakers if something is still unclear. Or just get in touch again, we are also very open and perhaps look forward to future projects. And with that, I would now like to say goodbye to everyone, including the two speakers. Does anyone else have any final words?

Thomas Böhme: No, except thank you very much for your time. And yes, I hope it has given you some good insights and otherwise have a good day.

Natalie Weigelt: Exactly, the reactions at the program point just looked like it went down well. So I hope that everyone enjoyed it.

Thomas Böhme: Very nice. Thank you very much. Have a good time and see you soon.

Christian Rainer: Thank you very much. Thank you Thomas once again for sharing your thoughts, it was a lot of fun.

Thomas Böhme: I'm happy to return the favor, Christian.

Carolyn Engels, Natalie Weigelt: Goodbye.