Hivestack launches metaverse-focused research division for out-of-home advertising

Ad tech company Hivestack has announced the launch of a new research division that will focus on out-of-home (DOOH) advertising for retail in the metaverse.

Led by former Microsoft research managing director P. Anandan, who will act as a special advisor to drive the initiative, the division comes as a response to the growing trend for retailers to enter the metaverse with digital stores.

In a release, Hivestack said the rise in metaverse stores will enable new advertising opportunities for marketers, enabling elements such as in-store walls and virtual digital endcaps.

The company’s founder and CEO, Andreas Soupliotis, said it launched the initiative to develop the technology needed to make programmatic DOOH a success in the metaverse.

“With the launch of our research division, we are prototyping how ad tech can be used to programmatically activate ad opportunities in virtual retail stores in the metaverse,” added Soupliotis.

He continued: “In this environment, the consumer is technically inside their homes shopping via virtual reality (VR) headsets, but their avatar is out-of-home. Much of Hivestack’s full-stack technology for digital out-of-home activation and monetisation applies to retail metaverse advertising, but some important computer science gaps remain to be addressed.”