Luxury fashion brands embracing new role of chief metaverse officer

As covered by Vogue Business, “it’s very much on the minds of some of the most leading brands that understand they need that next generation.”  The role already exists at external consultancies like the Futures Intelligence Group. As for fashion brands themselves, metaverse collaborations are handled by a range of various roles and departments. Typically, these include digital experiences / digital marketing / event marketing teams with participation across multiple functions.

At Gucci, for example, there is a new role of director of new business gaming and collectibles. At Ralph Lauren, the metaverse-related projects are overseen by chief digital officer, chief content officer, or chief innovation officer.

“With fashion brands, metaverse-related decision-making often goes to the very top, so chief digital officers and chief marketing officers are involved. However, if a brand wants to push more aggressively and pioneer something in the metaverse, it would be natural to appoint a chief metaverse or gaming officer,” explains Rudy Lee, chief strategy officer at virtual social platform and avatar maker Zepeto. “It won’t be long before the meaning of ‘metaverse’ in the brand’s business plan surpasses marketing because it can be connected to meaningful sales metrics.”

Cathy Hackl, chief metaverse officer and CEO of the Futures Intelligence Group, expects the most progressive brands to at least start considering the introduction of the role internally by 2023. “The chief metaverse officer would liaise between necessary people for a range of projects. These could include virtual goods, avatars, NFTs, gaming, extended reality, and more,” she explains. “Additionally, they would need knowledge of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, cloud computing, gaming engines and digital design.”

In the meantime, brands are going to increasingly partner with tech platforms or creators, who will also serve as consultants.