"The metaverse is starting to take shape everywhere and through so many different conversations," Hotwire Global EVP and head of client services Christa Conte tells Doug Simon.

Conte says that one of the big takeaways from the recent D S Simon report on PR and the metaverse is that "communicators are really the ones that are driving a lot of the conversations around the metaverse."

The role that PR plays in this new arena is making sure that businesses and brands "are delivering the right messages at the right times and now in the right places." Conte notes that this comes with a whole range of new responsibilities. "We're event management, we're social strategy, we're research and insights, we’re data and measurement." That makes it all the more important, she says, that communicators take a holistic approach—"whether it's a traditional physical space or within the metaverse space."

According to Simon, more than 70 percent of communicators are already building metaverse sites. Conte says that clients who are new to the space need to pay close attention to "understanding their message and what they're trying to communicate. It's really thinking about what are the ways that we're going to connect with audiences, the easiest and the most naturally."

Conte also stresses the new opportunities that the metaverse offers, such as "being able to travel to a new place, interact with new people in your network." It also lets communicators "really create a 360 environment."

Making the most of that 360 environment, she says, takes "agility, being able to plan quickly, to adapt... really getting involved and hands on is the only way to really tackle it."

PR professionals, Conte tells Simon, are "definitely ahead of the game" when it comes to the metaverse. "We're at a really great place to build with our clients, with brands, what that platform and what the future of communications can be like. It's so important to get a message out that's clear. Building that message with a technology that allows for that extra level of immersiveness, allows for that experience to be part of the message, it's a really critical time for communicators to do that with their clients."

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D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.