Flash Forward: Metaverse Think Tank Cheat Sheet
- In April, as part of Paris Blockchain Week, the newly created LVMH Metaverse Committee held an exclusive event to explore luxury in the metaverse.
- Cathy Hackl, CMO for the Futures Intelligence Group, Anish Melwani, head of LVMH America and a star-studded list of speakers from across Web3 and LVMH came to educate and define the digital vision for our Maisons.
- From sourcing raw materials, supply chain traceability and the secondary market, to the customer journey, marketing to a new generation and direct to customer relationships, the Think Tank explored ways Web3 can solve the problems facing LVMH in 2022.
- To better understand NFTs, blockchain, the Metaverse and how Web3 can help our Maisons, LVMH has launched a new educational platform with everything you need to know.
On April 13 & 14th 2022, as part of Paris Blockchain Week Summit, the newly created LVMH Metaverse Committee welcomed 60 people from strategic positions across the group to explore the digital future for luxury brands. “The goal,” as Nelly Mensah, head of Web3 and the metaverse at LVMH said, “is to create a baseline understanding of the metaverse.” It certainly did that.
A series of workshops, demonstrations, discussions and talks, the Think Tank welcomed some of the most influential names and brands in Web3, the metaverse and LVMH. Today we’d like to zoom in on the event, learn who spoke, what was said and what it could mean for your Maison in 2022 and beyond.
So whether the word ‘metaverse’ fills you with confusion, or you are a seasoned Web3 explorer with an Exclusible NFT in your Ledger wallet, the Think Tank offered something for everyone in LVMH.
Unpacking The Metaverse At The LVMH Think Tank
The idea was for LVMH brands to exchange strategies and define a collective approach to the metaverse. To get everyone up to speed, the event started with Web3 101: buying cryptocurrency, securing your wallet, (not a Louis Vuitton wallet, the metaverse equivalent to a bank account. Only in Web3, you are the banker.) decentralization, NFTs and the biggest question of all: what exactly is the metaverse?
In short, the metaverse combines the digital and the physical. It is, as Cathy Hackl, CMO for the Futures Intelligence Group said, “the extension of the internet.” The community anointed Godmother of the Metaverse, Cathy can often be seen on TV explaining the more important concepts of Web3 and the metaverse. She is an expert and her talk for LVMH is a great introduction to the space. We can’t recommend it highly enough.
Why is the Metaverse Important For Luxury & LVMH?
Now you know what the metaverse is, if you work at Fendi or Givenchy, you may be wondering why it is important. It’s a good question, which Anish Melwani, head of LVMH America and a member of the Metaverse Committee understands, “It is imperative for LVMH to define what luxury means in the metaverse. The metaverse is a big part of the digital landscape for generation Z. Virtual worlds are going to be part of our future. The question is: how are we going to bring the values and philosophy of luxury and our Maisons in the real world, to the metaverse?”
Luxury is the meeting of savoir faire, craft, attention to detail, originality, creativity and curiosity. The Think Tank taught us this is the same philosophy driving the Metaverse. Yes, consumers are changing, habits, demands, and needs are evolving, but, as Nelly Mensah pointed out, “at the same time, emotion, connection, physical experience, self expression and belonging all remain the same.”
That point is key to understanding why our brands believe the metaverse is the logical progression for luxury, and why LVMH is investing so much time, energy and money in the technology. The metaverse gives our Maisons the tools and platforms to expand on the community, physical experience and emotional connection at the heart of our products. Rather than the digital future detracting from the ingrained beauty and scarcity, it adds a whole new level of creativity and imagination. We are excited to embrace it.
How Can The Metaverse Solve The Challenges Facing Your Maison?
Sourcing raw materials, supply chain traceability, the secondary market, the customer journey, marketing to a new generation and direct to customer relationships are five of the biggest challenges facing our brands in 2022. Web3 and the metaverse can help us solve these challenges.
It might sound like science fiction, but with NFTs you can secure the supply chain, track goods on the secondary market and reward loyal and exclusive customers. With the metaverse our brands can build mesmerizing experiences, connect with customers in new and imaginative ways, create relationships which last generations and create loyal communities. Indeed, they already are.
Givenchy are developing a tighter community with their fans via metaverse collaboration. They will be launching a digital sneaker with Sketch Fab soon. Hennessy flexed their metaverse credentials with an NFT drop and Louis Vuitton launched a game and NFT collection last year. With Livi, we’re very proud to say LVMH is the only luxury company with its own Metaverse Ambassador! And if you’d like to meet her, Livi will be presenting our Innovation Awards during the Viva Technology Show in Paris.
What is certain is the metaverse will play an increasingly larger part of the luxury industry in the coming years. As Chantal Gaemperle, Human Resources Director at LVMH said during the Think Tank, “I believe that it is a new frontier that is opening many questions, we certainly must be part of the debate. There are so many opportunities to explore and learn.”
If you’d like to know more about Web3, the Metaverse, NFTS and how LVMH is building Luxury 3.0, our dedicated Web3 on-line education hub is waiting for you. There you will find more detailed explanations on the metaverse, NFTs, and cryptocurrency as well as how AURA, the luxury blockchain, can help your Maison with product traceability and the challenges related to product life cycle and much more.
The opportunities for Maisons in Web3 are numerous, but it’s important to understand this is just the beginning and if everyone at LVMH works together, we will lead the luxury field in the metaverse.
As mentioned, many of our Maisons are already participating. We will be sharing more on those projects, as well as more detailed articles on Think Tank over the coming weeks.
Until then, we’ll leave you with a last quote from our very own Nelly Mensah,
“The most important thing that will stay the same is the LVMH innovation spirit. We are constantly disrupting processes, experiences, materials and I think we can do the same thing with the metaverse.”
