The Kuble agency recognized early on that far-reaching changes were on the horizon in the online world with the metaverse and Web3. The team has therefore already in the Year 2021 first events carried out and moved into virtual premises.

Due to the great demand for knowledge that facilitates the entry and enables the understanding of the new technology, the agency launches the Metaverse Academy. Experts from various fields impart their expertise in courses using immersive methods: All participants wear Oculus glasses and meet in the Horizon Workroom at noon from 12:30 to 13:15. All courses culminate in NFT certification.

The "Relationship Economy & Metaverse" course starts on May 3. It consists of four modules and is aimed at people who are interested in a new era in dialog marketing. "In a Relationship Economy, it is relationships, credibility and trust that make up the value of offers," explains expert Marion Marxer. "How can we use the Metaverse to strengthen our relationships and credibility? That's exactly what we show in the Metaverse."

The "Web3 & Metaverse Strategist" course starts on May 30. Six modules will cover topics such as how to create an avatar, how wearables and NFTs work, and how to design and implement specific use cases. Participants will learn how to strategically assess the new environment. From June 27, this course will also be available in English.

INTERVIEW

"We want to be pioneers for a new way of imparting knowledge".

Gustavo Salami, founder and partner of the Zurich agency Kuble, talks to Anna Kohler of m&k about the newly founded Metaverse Academy. 

Anna Kohler: Gustavo Salami, as founder and partner of Kuble, you recently founded and conceived the Metaverse Academy. How did that get started?

Gustavo Salami: Since we bought land on Decetraland in November 2021, we as an agency have been immersed in the topic and have studied it intensively. In the process, we became aware of how different and limited the understanding of the topic is - at the same time, the interest is very great. So it quickly became clear to us that an academy was needed to impart the relevant knowledge. We four partners then decided to pursue the idea. A month later, the academy was up and running.

You are offering two courses starting in May. Who is the offer aimed at?

Basically to all people who are curious and want to understand the metaverse better - both privately and professionally. The first two courses are related to the communication industry. But soon more courses will be added, which will also address other industries. No prior knowledge is assumed. But because the lessons take place with the Oculus VR goggles, you should already own or purchase a pair of goggles and gain initial experience with them as soon as possible.

Participants wear Oculus glasses and meet in immersive spaces. How can I imagine this?

We have chosen two Metaverse applications. On the one hand Workrooms from Meta and on the other hand for Spatial. Workrooms is better in terms of avatars and spatial sensation. Spatial, on the other hand, has better features to take advantage of the new possibilities of the virtual world. You can think of it as everyone being in a virtual room together, seeing each other and being able to communicate with each other. Like a training room - but in the metaverse.

After completion of the modules, there is an NFT certificate. Is this recognized or do I still need a classic version?

If someone wants or needs a classic version, we can of course do that as well. The point here is to familiarize the participants with the subject matter. To get the NFT, they need to have understood certain basic Web3 topics.

Is the metaverse a relevant marketing tool of the future - or just a small river in the stream of Marketing measures?

The metaverse will have an important role in our lives and therefore also in marketing. At the moment, it is hardly possible to place advertisements as we are used to. But there are of course many new possibilities on decentralized platforms because of the blockchain with wearables and NFTs for the avatars. A lot of traditional marketing measures will certainly be replaced with that. Other marketing measures that we already know today will be used in the metaverse as soon as good coverage can be achieved and certain standards have become established.

How do you assess the metaverse and its consequences for the world? Will we all eventually live only as avatars in the metaverse and let our analog world become deserted?

No, on the contrary: the analog world is becoming more interesting because of the virtual world, and vice versa. But of course it depends on whether the pioneers of the metaverse - i.e., companies and agencies, among others - manage to appeal to and inspire as many people as possible with their use cases.

If you want to play at the top, you can't get around the Metaverse.

It has always been the case that companies get into trouble if they miss out on technological change - and not just since the Internet. Those who get there early gain advantages. And you have to make mistakes in order to learn and develop. At the moment, you also still have a first-mover advantage in almost every industry.

Where do you see the Metaverse Academy in the future? What is the vision?

Our vision is to inspire people to learn from and with each other. The Metaverse is not only a learning object, but also a learning tool. In this respect, we want to be pioneers for a new way of imparting knowledge and we are open to exchange with schools and universities in this regard.