The Metaverse For Communicating And Marketing Purposes: Opportunities And Challenges

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the uses of the metaverse to create informational and advertising content to promote products and services in the Middle East and North Africa region; A particular focus has been placed on the United Arab Emirates. The authors aim to highlight the opportunities as well as the challenges of using metaverse technologies for marketing purposes. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with public relations and advertising experts. The results showed that although the UAE is a very advanced country in the use of artificial intelligence technologies, there is still reluctance by the sample to use the metaverse as a tool to promote products and services; the conviction that the target audience is not yet reliable, and that it is too early to consider the metaverse as a purchasing and marketing tool are among the reasons. In terms of opportunities, respondents estimate that the metaverse is producing a new set of tech tools capable of attracting audiences, boosting engagement, and improving the quality of marketing content creation in the coming years. For perceived challenges, the metaverse is seen as unstable and ever evolving; this makes it difficult for companies to operate, especially in planning and executing marketing campaigns.