It wasn’t long ago when the metaverse seemed to be everywhere.

In 2022, brands opened virtual bars, banks, and burrito-rolling contests on metaverse platforms like Roblox and Decentraland. Playboy even opened a mansion in the metaverse. But in the two years since, brand announcements on new metaverse activations have largely grown quiet, and conversations around the technology have mostly shifted to conversations about whether it was overhyped and who’s still using it.

Now there’s a new VR product in town. Apple released its $3,500 Apple Vision Pro mixed-reality headset in February, and brands like e.l.f. Cosmetics, Alo Yoga, and Lowe’s are already testing it out. While the experience may appear similar to strapping on an Oculus headset and entering the metaverse, brand marketers told us they’re bullish on the Vision Pro and what it could mean for the future of branded immersive experiences and spatial computing.

“This is for sure how we’re all going to use computers someday,” PJ Stephen, VP of customer experience at digital agency Valtech North America, told Marketing Brew.

Not your average headset? In its current form, the Vision Pro’s hardware, which Stephen describes as “wearing a five-pound computer on my face,” could serve as a barrier to entry for some users and brands. The Vision Pro also has some experiential limits, like users not being able to smell, touch, or taste the images displayed—something that is just as true in a metaverse bar as it is in a Vision Pro app.

What makes Stephen more bullish on the Vision Pro is that hardware can be integrated into existing tech consumption habits, and the experience appears in the context of users’ IRL environments.

“I don’t think anyone will ever want to go to the metaverse as a destination,” Stephen said. “What’s really clear about the Vision Pro is that it’s not about going somewhere else—it’s about bringing things into your space.”

Continue reading here.—KH

No, it’s not Adam from IT. And it’s not even the office ping-pong table or the breakroom’s espresso machine.

We’re talkin’ about Slack, everybody’s fave AI-powered platform for work. Yep, you read that right: Slack’s got a cache of AI-powered features that can help you crush your meetings, projects, onboarding—you name it.

Say hi to huddles for quick check-ins, clips for recording and sharing video, and Slack Connect, which lets you work in channels with people outside of your company. Adios, long email threads.

Not to mention that Slack can automate routine tasks and integrate with all of your go-to apps and productivity tools.

Slack like a boss.

Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment, a firm dedicated to helping brands build women’s sports marketing strategies, is partnering with iHeartMedia to create an audio platform exclusively for women’s sports content.

The platform, called the Women’s Sports Audio Network, will include ad-supported content like podcasts and daily sports coverage that will be available on podcast platforms and on iHeart’s broadcast and digital channels, according to a joint press release from iHeart and Deep Blue.

It’s set to go live in a couple of months, Deep Blue founder and CEO Laura Correnti said when she announced the partnership at Deep Blue and Axios’s Business of Women’s Sports Summit on Tuesday in New York.

“When you’re driving your kids to school, when you’re going to the mall on the weekends, you’re going to just start hearing, ‘Today in women’s sports,” iHeart CMO Gayle Troberman said at the summit. “Every day, across every sport, we’re going to scale access.”

The new platform comes at a time when brand and audience interest in women’s sports is climbing, and while a majority of sports fans in general are listening to audio content like sports podcasts. There remains, however, a lack of women hosts and women’s sports-focused content among the top sports podcasts.

The Women’s Sports Audio Network aims to help close that gap. It will include content from WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and ESPN sports reporter Sarah Spain, the latter of whom will host a daily show spanning news, stats, and interviews. Spain’s show will be among the first to roll out with the network, Troberman said.

Read more here.—AM

Puff, puff, pass it on: Cannabis was en vogue for brands this 4/20.

The annual day celebrating cannabis consumption has long been observed by connoisseurs of the sticky plant. But as more states have legalized cannabis—we’re up to 24, in addition to the District of Columbia and Guam—mainstream brands are rolling out the green carpet.

Here’s a look at some of the campaigns companies ran this year to entice some of their more smoke-minded patrons.

Popeyes, the iconic fast-food franchise, offered a Munchies Menu featuring a $4.20 chicken sandwich deal. The special menu also included cajun fries, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes with cajun gravy.

Jimmy John’s rolled out a Deliciously Dope Dime Bag for those feeling “extra munchy.” The special included a sandwich stuffed with smoked ham, jalapeno ranch, crispy jalapenos, and extra herbs, in addition to chips and a fudge brownie.

&Pizza’s Daze of Stonemas, which ran all week, concluded on Saturday with a special $4.20 pie, along with free &pizza-branded rolling papers.

Rockstar Games, the developer of the famous Grand Theft Auto video game series, offered in-game, 420-themed bonuses on Short Trips and Biker Business Sales.

A higher cause: The ACLU leveraged the increased spotlight on the plant to continue its fight against the war on drugs. The organization is selling T-shirts, posters, aluminum grinders, and more emblazoned with the phrase “Legalize and Repair.”—JN

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