This week, Samsung is honoring Climate Week NYC with metaverses, as well as in-person community-building activations. Environmentalists and consumer electronics fans will be engaged on Discord, in real life at Samsung’s New York flagship store, called Samsung 837, as well as the brand’s metaverse hub, Samsung 837X, located in Decentraland.
Earlier this month, Samsung launched a metaverse scavenger hunt and NFT drop in a week-long sale event.
Climate Week NYC is in its 14th year and is organized by the non-profit Climate Group.
Metaverse fashion show with a twist. On September 20, Samsung live-streamed a fashion show that took place in real life at the Samsung 837 location in New York City and could be viewed in the metaverse at the virtual Samsung 837X location in Decentraland.
Additionally, one of the physical designs seen on the runway in New York was also available as a digital wearable device that Decentraland users could show off on their avatars. This “digital twin” was designed by Gabrielle Mendoza, while the physical design was created by Andrew Burgess for the actual show.
More events are scheduled throughout the week, ending September 25.
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Responsible recycling. Behind the runway glamor are Samsung’s stated pillars of environmental responsibility. Embedded in the actual garment designs and reflected in their metaverse digital translations are the four pillars of Samsung’s recycling initiative: e-waste, paper, plastic and metal.
Since 2012, Samsung’s recycling program has collected and recycled 1.2 billion pounds of e-waste, the equivalent of 50 laptops or 500 smartphones every minute, according to the company.
With this first fashion show using the hashtag #RecycleUp, the company is creating a platform for eco-responsible influencers and designers.
Why we care. If the metaverse is more than a fad or a slogan — and the clout behind the big brands activating suggests it’s much more — then marketers need to create momentum for the metaverse.
That’s Samsung’s goal in planning a series of engagements that keep users coming back for a number of reasons. These reasons, just pulled from this month’s activations, include virtual events, wearables, NFT-based discounts on real-world goods, and climate action. The excitement of scavenger hunts also gamifies the experience and allows consumers to move across multiple channels – Discord, Decentraland, social media, e-commerce, and even brick-and-mortar stores.
Dig deeper: Acura shows us how to use the metaverse and NFTs to sell cars