“Metaverse” will be deleted

American Eagle illustrates a different approach to reorganization: just drop the term “metaverse” from the title. In February 2021, the brand appointed Nathan Poekert as director of social media, culture and metaverse marketing, but last month that role transitioned to director of social media, brand content and digital innovation. American Eagle declined a request for comment.

There’s reason to believe that the term “metaverse” has had a negative impact over the past year, forcing brands to adopt more acceptable terminology. Tim Cook for example, has said that Apple avoided the term because the average person doesn’t understand its meaning. Other accounts found this out Consumers fear the metaverse– another reason for brands to express their efforts in another language.

Also read: How Nathan Poekert connects with Gen Z consumers

Web3 terminology has been more clearly challenged in relation to NFTs. Brands, knowing that “NFT” turns off many consumers, have chosen to label their tokens “NFT”. “Collective Avatars” “Trading Cards” and “Stamps”.

Gartner’s Morut sees the weakening of the term “metaverse” more as a reflection of its actual mission.

“The skills of a chief metaverse officer are very similar to those required for digital transformation more broadly, which is still a key goal for boards and CEOs,” he said. “Given that, it’s possible that we will diversify the focus of some Chief Metaverse Officers to better address the current needs of companies.”

Stay on track

Meanwhile, some brands are staying the course when it comes to their Metaverse officers. Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a talent advocacy firm, hired Joanna Popper as chief metaverse officer in May 2022, a position she currently holds, CAA confirmed. However, more broadly, Popper focuses on developing go-to-market strategies for emerging technologies, such as generative AIsuch a person familiar with the matter.