McDonald’s wants to get McMeta

Hungry in the metaverse? McDonald’s has got you covered.

The fast-food giant filed 10 trademark applications earlier this month to get meta, including one for a virtual restaurant that would deliver to your actual home.

• The filing, submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 4, also covers “virtual concerts” under the McDonald’s and McCafé brands. (At least, there, we can hope to never run out of BTS’s special sauces?)

“I think you’re going to see every brand that you can think of make these filings within the next 12 months,” Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney who first tweeted the news, told Forbes. “I don’t think anyone wants to be the next Blockbuster and just completely ignore a new technology that’s coming.”

• Panera Bread, just last week, also filed a trademark for the “Panaverse.” (And we know that NRF embraced the buzz.)

Game on: But, how does a company stand out in the metaverse? Success will be defined by brands that prioritize community building, Charles Habro, co-founder and CEO of Geeiq, a gaming/metaverse consultancy and data platform, previously explained to Retail Brew.

“These games are places where people want to have fun, and they want to relax, and they want to socialize. They don’t really want to be advertised to,” he said.—JS

Source: MorningBrew