Seoul, Korea – Korean telecommunications provider SK Telecom(SKT) has announced its collaboration with Malaysian telecommunications provider CelcomDigi Berhad, Indonesian game developer Agate, and Philippine IoT platform provider and consumer electronics company Cosmic Technologies, creating mutually beneficial business opportunities through publishing partnerships for SKT’s metaverse platform, ‘ifland’.

For this initiative, SKT recently signed MoUs with Agate and Cosmic Technologies, and will further expand its previous partnership with CelcomDigi to carry out activities to boost ifland through localised content and marketing, and primary customer support.

Through the collaboration, Ifland will be updated with four additional languages, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino and Spanish. The platform will also be equipped with curative services so that it can promote tailored content for users in different countries and SKT will provide the necessary services to improve service quality.

SKT expects the partnerships to bring mutual benefits. The partners will be able to gain experience in the metaverse service without making initial investments for service development, and SKT will be able to offer content tailored to each country or region and conduct effective localised marketing via its partners.

Going forward, the company will provide more administrator rights to its partners to vitalize the use of ifland in each different region, and in the long run, it will seek partners in the U.S., India and Europe to accelerate the global expansion of ifland.

Talking about these partnerships, Yang Maeng-seog, vice president and head of metaverse CO at SKT, said, “We partnered up with three representative IT companies in Southeast Asia and are now able to promote the platform through tailored marketing that will be provided through our partners.” 

“Through these partnerships, we will continue to do our best to provide ifland users with content and services that understand their culture and society by partnering with more local companies,” he concluded. 

SKT began expanding ifland to the global market by launching the service in 49 countries in November 2022. Since then, it has been making efforts to increase ifland’s global presence by discovering a wide range of attractive content and features for global users, such as virtual meetups with K-pop stars.

Singapore – Singaporean bank DBS has recently unveiled its metaverse concept for ‘DBS BetterWorld’, a gamified adventure that leverages the use of the metaverse as a force that promotes sustainability.

In line with the ‘Towards Zero Food Waste’ initiative of DBS in 2020, the virtual experience highlights the global food waste challenge and what Businesses for Impact supported by the DBS Foundation are doing to address the issue.

As part of the experience, players must complete a series of activities inspired by five Businesses for Impact supported by the DBS Foundation and their unique approach to mitigating food waste. 

The five businesses involved are upcycling craft beer makers Brewerkz and Breer, sustainable food retail store GreenPrice, and urban farming practitioners Edible Garden City and Rooftop Republic.  

Players based in Singapore will be treated to extra rewards which can be redeemed via special QR codes accessed using DBS PayLah!. DBS has also included easter eggs for players to discover, including cameo appearances by characters from the bank’s web series, ‘Sparks’. DBS BetterWorld will be accessible to the public once the sandbox’s alpha season 4 is launched.

Karen Ngui, head of group strategic marketing and communications at DBS, and board member of DBS Foundation, said, “DBS believes that it is possible to leverage the metaverse as a force for good. It can be harnessed as an interactive platform to increase awareness of important ESG issues and creatively spotlight those who are finding innovative ways to address them.”

“For starters, with DBS BetterWorld, we have chosen to delve into the challenges of food waste and food resilience, issues that DBS and the DBS Foundation have been championing, in a unique and engaging way. As metaverse technologies mature, we hope to create mechanisms for communities and businesses to translate the outcomes of their virtual initiatives to real world impact,” she added. 

Tokyo, Japan – Virtual reality (VR) company HIKKY has announced that its latest event ‘Virtual Market 2023 Real in Akiba’ will bring various metaverse experiences into real life. The event, which will happen from July 29 to 30, will be held at the Bellesalle Akihabara venue in the popular Akihabara district.

According to HIKKY, some of these experiences include food-related metaverse experiences, testing of virtual reality tools, and experiencing how to use virtual avatars to interact with fellow users.

Moreover, several brands have also joined to launch brand experiences within the real-life metaverse experience. They include pen manufacturer Pilot, photography company Canon Marketing, the Japan Racing Association (JRA), technology company Sony, the Kyushu Railway Company, broadcast company TV Asahi, TCL RayNeo, Toyo Construction, amongst others.

The ‘Virtual Market’ event has been HIKKY’s largest VR event. It first started as a place to buy and sell 3D data products between individuals, but in recent years, major companies that want to enter the metaverse business have expanded the sale of real products, creating new possibilities for VR commerce.

Hong Kong – Sanrio Hong Kong, a lifestyle company featuring the pop icon Hello Kitty and other well-known characters, partners up with MetaGaia, an AI-enhanced open metaverse, to unveil a new metaverse destination known as ‘Hello Kitty Seven Wonders’.

Through this, Hello Kitty fans will have the opportunity to create their own communities and connect with their favourite characters in a brand-new virtual world by visiting the digital destination within the MetaGaia app.

Additionally, outdoor installations to promote Hello Kitty Seven Wonders were opened last week at Citygate Outlets, an outlet mall in Hong Kong. This temporary pop-up event enables visitors to enjoy augmented reality experiences through the MetaGaia app as well as to browse Hello Kitty merchandise and participate in mini-games. The pop-up event is scheduled to run until August 31, providing an exciting opportunity for fans to immerse themselves in the Hello Kitty universe.

Commenting on the partnership, Gordon Kwok, CEO of MetaGaia, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Sanrio Hong Kong and bring the beloved characters of Hello Kitty and her friends into the world of MetaGaia. The MetaGaia metaverse offers endless possibilities for exploration and socialisation, and the addition of Hello Kitty will enhance that experience for our users.”

Singapore – The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced the launch of its immersive experience ‘Singapore Wonderland’ on the popular sandbox game Roblox. Said experience is part of STB’s efforts to reach new audiences in innovative ways, and allows users to experience Singapore as they accomplish various tasks in a virtual world.

The tourism board has teamed up with Publicis’ gaming specialist Publicis Play and Roblox developer Wonder Works Studio to develop the immersive experience over five months. 

Singapore Wanderland puts a playful spin on real-life attractions in three mini-games, where players earn magic orchids to transform a garden with STB’s destination mascot Merli. Gardens by the Bay, Mandai Wildlife Reserve and Marina Bay Sands are featured in the mini-games, alongside iconic attractions such as the Merlion Park, Singapore Flyer, Adventure Cove Waterpark and The Fullerton Hotel Singapore.

Moreover, the experience is based on popular entertainment formats on Roblox, and aims to drive affinity for Singapore by featuring elements inspired by the country’s destination icons. 

For example, users can express themselves through fun personalisation options. They can amass virtual collectibles to customise their avatars, such as a Supertree hat, a Singapore Flyer Backpack and a Lotus race car.

Kenneth Lim, assistant chief executive for marketing group at Singapore Tourism Board, said, “STB is constantly exploring creative ways and fresh channels to engage new audiences and connect with potential travellers. Singapore Wanderland demonstrates how we push the boundaries of innovation while inspiring travel to Singapore. We welcome visitors to explore Singapore virtually, and for tourism partners to collaborate with us in the virtual world to create impact in the real world.”

Tokyo, Japan – Creative agency TBWA\Hakuhodo has launched an internal game called ‘The Escape’ which takes the agency’s team building into the metaverse, where it combines the idea of an evacuation challenge game and disaster preparedness drills all within the virtual space.

The game begins with an earthquake at the office, and multiple players work together to evacuate the office while rescuing injured colleagues and handling a fire accident. Players can be immersed in a realistic 3D office space wearing VR headsets, crouching down to secure their own safety and performing firefighting activities to accomplish the required missions one after another.

“The Escape” was launched this month to coincide with the start of the 2023 fiscal year in Japan. Since the program can be conducted with a maximum of 8 people, it is expected that participating in the same content and communicating with each other will contribute to team building and raise awareness of disaster prevention in the office.

Kaname Aratame, creative director for Disruption Lab at TBWA\Hakuhodo, said that they focused on providing a realistic sense of crisis, which is impossible in conventional evacuation drills, such as the inconvenience caused by poor visibility and office furniture becoming obstacles in the event of a disaster.

“Building the office, destroying it, and then escaping from it – it is the experience that you can get only on Metaverse. It is not an exciting experience but by reproducing a full-scale realistic office with accurately putting disaster prevention goods as its physical location, players can naturally acquire disaster prevention training, which is often passed off as someone else’s problem,” Aratame said.

Singapore Changi Airport Group has made its debut to the metaverse by showcasing ‘ChangiVerse’, a metaverse experience created to help audiences connect with Singapore Changi Airport and explore its notable sights through the digital space.

Created with global professional services Accenture, ChangiVerse is the first virtual experience created by an airport that has debuted in Roblox, a global shared experience platform with millions of daily users.

Changi Airport’s debut in the metaverse is also an effort to reach a wider group of digital users and fans who are interested to explore more travel destinations differently.

Moreover, the said platform digitally represents Changi’s physical airport where visitors can access fun activities, social experiences, and interactable spaces such as bustling café or festive glamping tent and minigames whilst earning unique collectibles to give their digital avatar some extra flair.

Hung Jean, group senior vice president of Changi Airport Group’s enterprise digital ecosystem & business division, said that the creation of ChangiVerse aims to strengthen the idea that the airport is more than just a transport node, but it’s also a fun and magical destination to create memories.

“ChangiVerse is also about engaging our customers and serving them better through innovation and experimentation, in line with our belief of customers being at the heart of everything we do,” Jean added.

Wee Wei Ng, Southeast Asia market unit lead for Accenture, added, “We are privileged to collaborate with CAG to drive digital-physical convergence through ChangiVerse. By combining digital and physical worlds, ChangiVerse can simulate the airport environment, creating immersive experiences that elevate human interactivity to new dimensions, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation.”

In 2022, Changi Airport Group has dealt with Accenture to extend its partnership for the enhancement of travellers’ experience when visiting Changi Airport in Singapore.

Bangkok, Thailand Thai media corporation T&B Media Global, in partnership with digital product company Two Bulls/DEPT®, has launched Translucia website, a metaverse project that combines interconnected multiverses to provide a space for users, creators, and businesses in accessing its products and services.

The platform is also built to promote prosperity and equity of access to all digital citizens, regardless of background whilst aiming to make Web3 and metaverse available to the public in an accessible and engaging way. 

The launching also marks the first milestone of the partnership between T&B Media and Two Bulls/DEPT® which was kickstarted last year. 

Jason O’Donnell, managing director at Two Bulls/DEPT® said that they are thrilled to be a part of the collaboration and development of Translucia Metaverse, whilst adding that it has the ability to change the way people engage.

James Kane, founder & CEO at Two Bulls/DEPT® added, “We’re proud to have found a partner in T&B Global that shares both our values and beliefs that with technology, we can create a better tomorrow. There’s immense opportunity to lead in the metaverse space right now, and we’re glad to see that Translucia is taking charge without losing sight of their values and the greater good for society.”

Other international partners for this project include Dogstudio/DEPT® for video creation, Accenture Singapore for copy and translations, Blackflame China for concept art, Sunovatech India for 3D assets, and Pellartech for Blockchain.

Tokyo, Japan Japan’s leading telecommunications firm KDDI, in partnership with marketing communications agency Geometry Ogilvy Japan, creates a virtually produced film to showcase aU (Alpha–U), its new web3 metaverse platform brand.

In partnership with its parent company WPP, the agency crafts a 30-second clip which showcases four artistic illustrations made by GenZ artist Mayu Yukishita which were used as building blocks connected using AI midjourney and stable diffusion to generate interpolated animation of the platform brand.

The clip was also associated with visual effects to assemble the scenes, mixed with music and narration using japanese language.

Yasushi Arikawa, executive creative director of Geometry Ogilvy Japan, said that this AI-generated creative expression was inevitable for KDDI’s new brand αU that offers services that focus on Web3 and the metaverse.

“This film, in which AI and a virtual singer tell a story about the concept of “Already, one world” that blends the real and virtual worlds, takes us beyond the “uncanny valley” to an emotionally charged story,” Arikawa added.

Geometry Ogilvy supports all the creative direction for the new Alpha U collaboration, including all branding, communication design, events, and press conferences.

The launching was also done in partnership with Sydney-based production house Alt.vfx, and their subsidiary global creative studio T&DA, along with design agency New Holland Creative and THINKR.

Singapore – With more consumers embracing the culture of the metaverse, latest consumer research by Yahoo reveals the expectations of consumers towards the phenomenon – from the aspects of virtual social communities, avatars, immersive entertainment, and creative freedom.

The survey covered 15,000 respondents from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, which are mostly Millennials and Gen Z that make up the ‘metaverse generation’.

The study found that Gen Z and Millennial demographic want distinctly different things from the metaverse whilst aiming to enhance and upgrade experiences. In addition, both generation sees different realities or digital avatars, which gives a cue for marketers that free creation is essential. 

Furthermore, the study found out that the said cohort of consumers focus on the appeal of digital assets, embracing virtual collectables such as artworks, profile pictures, gaming goods, limited-edition cards, videos, and music pieces. With these, the metaverse generation is also more receptive to brands that aren’t afraid to jump into the metaverse for their marketing or advertising campaigns and, therefore, pay more attention to a brand’s events and products.

Moreover, security is also a concern of these consumers where they try to find for a safer and more accessible space to protect their privacy and personal information in the metaverse.

Zoe Cocker, director of innovation and creative studio at Yahoo, says that despite the hype towards Metaverse, there is less knowledge about the expectations of consumers.

“This hyperlocal level of detail and insights goes beyond wider trends you are seeing in the press, making them actionable for brands wanting to build in this space and create real value for divergent audiences,” she added.