ADVERTISING IN THE METAVERSE
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As in its early development, metaverse has become a popular marketing topic with broad participation among marketers and consumers. Due to the global pandemic and lockdowns that hit offline marketing channels, people seek online and virtual interactions (Taherdoost, 2022). It accelerated the changes in consumers’ habits and participation in digital media. The term metaverse was first introduced in 1992 in a Sci-Fi Snow Crash (Stephenson, 1992), describing a space where users can join as avatars through terminals with virtual reality features (The Economist, 2020). And with the development of web3, metaverse has evolved into a hyper-connected online universe. Kim (2021) defines the metaverse as the network of virtual environments where individuals can communicate and interact with one another and objects in real-time using their digital representation or avatars. Brands lead and help consumers to find ways to enter the metaverse space, accelerating mainstream adoption. Philipp Plein, a Swiss fashion brand, purchased 65 parcels of land with 1.4 million dollars in the metaverse platform Decentraland with about 800,000 registered users (Hiken, 2022).