Jason Steinberg is the Managing Partner of Jmac client Pretty Big Monster, a full-service digital agency focused on creating content for brands using augmented and virtual reality technologies. Jason is passionate about creating novel AR and VR (or “metaverse”) experiences that consumers love. When it comes to shaping our digital future, he advocates thinking outside the box.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Jason about the formation of PBM, his most exciting projects so far, and where he sees the metaverse heading next.

What was the inspiration behind forming Pretty Big Monster? What vision did you have for the agency?

My partners and I started Pretty Big Monster to focus exclusively on AR, VR and immersive experiences. We made a bet that as paid media opportunities continued to fragment, these tactics will be increasingly effective and sought-after as the efficacy was proven out. So far, we’re feeling pretty good about that bet.

How would you describe the metaverse to someone who isn’t aware of what it is?

The popular conception of the metaverse is what Ready Player One presented, which is an open virtual world where you’re a digital doppelganger of yourself, but you’re free of earthly constraints like physics and how you can change your appearance. 

It’s characterized by persistent virtual reality worlds where people can interact, and those worlds continue to exist even when someone’s not in it. So it’s like a digital mirror of our world. But that’s still not the full definition, because the metaverse also includes augmented reality, which combines aspects of both the digital and physical worlds.

But ultimately, I think we’re going to have many metaverses — not virtual reality, not augmented reality, but all of this wrapped up together. It’s no different with social media today: we have Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Snapchat, and all of these are sort of like their own individual metaverses. 

What do you predict the future of the metaverse (or these metaverses) will look like?

I think it’s going to be as varied as there are people with imaginations. I think there will be some operating principles, just as the internet has operating principles and underlying structure. 

But it’s difficult to say that there’s any one way the metaverse will work. And I think that’s a wonderful thing. One of the things I love about the internet is there’s just so many different ways of “internet-ing” out there. So I don’t want to claim that I know what the metaverse is going to be like, because that’s simply not true.

What is one goal that you have for PBM that you hope to accomplish in the near future?

We really want to help brands embrace AR and VR, and show that immersive experiences can effectively fulfill their business-oriented KPIs — whether that’s with engagement, conversions to purchase, whatever it might be. And we’ve had some early successes around that. 

The other thing that we want to do is create extraordinary experiences that transport audiences either into the world of a brand, or take that brand and bring it into our world so consumers can engage with it. Because that’s what people want to do — they want to be with the things they love. And this is a wonderful way to do so. 

What do you consider to be the most exciting project you’ve worked on so far?

We had the opportunity to recreate the Overlook Hotel from The Shining — the iconic hallway — and you can explore that hallway and see the ghosts along the way. You also have an opportunity to engage with other content, such as videos and trailers, try a social AR lens, take a quiz, or just poke around and see the ghosts that appear.

Another one that we did that was very similar was the Battle of Exegol for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and we were able to transport people into the middle of a raging battle between rebels and the Empire. More often than that, as they enjoy exploring, they will click into an e-commerce environment and be happy to do so.

Is there anything else you’d like to add about PBM or the metaverse?

I think that the internet is only just now beginning to live up to its potential. It’s cool that we have everything connected. It’s cool that we have Wikipedia at our fingertips. But I don’t think we’ve really fully embraced it. I think augmented reality really is where the star is. Once we start to have spectacles that work properly — beyond Google Glass and Snapchat Spectacles, but glasses that provide that same functionality as your phone screen does — we’ll begin to unlock the true potential. 

We’re on the verge of a whole new way of interacting as human beings, and I don’t think it’s that far away. I don’t even think we’re going to notice it when it hits us. It’ll seem natural, just like the internet seems natural today.