Web3: the dawn of a new Epoch

I remember in the mid-2000s reading about how a new kind of internet would imminently change everything. 

We would transform from passive consumers of information and media, to active participants empowered to publish online and engage proactively with brands, with media outlets, and even with celebrities. We’d soon be able to connect with literally anyone and everyone, anywhere on earth, if we so chose. 

The buzz at the time heralded the advent of what became known as Web 2.0, which is the internet we all use today on a daily (if not hourly) basis. 

Today, we find ourselves at a similarly transformational inflection point in the evolution of the internet. The next phase, Web3, is profoundly important and, I believe, will affect an even greater and significantly more positive paradigm shift than the transition to Web 2.0 around 15 years ago. 

Web3 is decentralized and more truly democratic. The internet will no longer be controlled by a small number of huge private companies, and the rewards of value creation will be distributed more meritocratically . 

There are various manifestations of Web3 that are gaining traction – DeFi, the Metaverse, NFTs etc – but the truth is that it remains a nascent ecosystem in which only a small slice of the online population is participating. 

I believe that’s going to change, and soon. The signals are strong: many venture capital firms are launching big Web3 funds, top talent is migrating to Web3 startups and all the major tech companies are investing billions on Web3 strategies. 

At this point it’s a matter of when, not if, Web3 achieves mainstream adoption. And it’s shaping-up to be the biggest wealth creation event in history. 

And as a consequence of this, many marcomms agencies are launching Web3 products and service lines in an attempt to get in on the ground floor of this explosive new industry and position themselves as the natural partner to startups and brands looking to navigate the Web3 world. 

Where I believe Clarity has broken away from the pack is by building a Web3 offering – Epoch Partners – that’s truly native, born from within the Web3 community. We recognise that this is a fundamentally new world, with new rules, new opportunities and completely different challenges. We recognise that applying legacy Web 2.0 marketing methodologies and approaches to the Web3 space will in all likelihood prove futile. 

Some brands have successfully launched Web3 projects that have achieved significant traction (see Adidas Originals ‘Into the Metaverse’ NFT sale, for example). However, these success stories remain few and far between. The truth is that the majority of brands have failed in their efforts to bring consumers into the Web3 universe in a meaningful way. We aim to change that. 

On the other end of the spectrum, the plethora of highly-capitalized Web3 startups have generally struggled to cross the chasm and drive meaningful adoption amongst the vast majority of the online population that have yet to experiment with Web3 technologies. We aim to change that too. 

At this point we don’t have all the answers, but we certainly have plenty of innovative ideas and some of these ideas are already delivering huge value for our clients in this space. 

So if your brand is looking to drop an NFT that actually drives engagement with the Web3 community (as opposed to just getting some kudos and press for doing something that sounds cool), or if you’re a startup in the Web3 space grappling with how to find new users in the mainstream, we’d love to chat. Drop me a line: [email protected].

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