ANA NEO is reaching out to Gen Z consumers first, with big ambitions in the pipeline.
“It’s more to have fun, to enjoy yourself in the metaverse.” That was the response I got when I asked Masaru Watanabe, Board Member & COO of ANA NEO Inc. about the gap in the market ANA NEO’s GranWhale is tackling.
“I think we can utilise our platform before you go on a trip to have a virtual experience to better understand the destination,” he continued. “We also provide guides at each destination, and those guides give you intellectual information about the destinations. Very interesting hidden stories about Kyoto, for example.”
The GranWhale is the newest project by ANA NEO, the metaverse travel service provider and tech arm of ANA (All Nippon Airways). It’s being touted as a virtual experience that focuses on how consumers engage with global destinations.
“We wanted to have something symbolic, and the whale is of course one of the biggest creatures,” elaborated Masaru when speaking about the reason ANA NEO chose a whale as their digital host. “We decided that inside the whale, we would create different areas like the mall and the park – it boiled down to the size for these virtual spaces”.
As a virtual travel hub, ANA GranWhale has been conceptualized to allow users to traverse diverse destinations and cultures worldwide by employing gamification within the metaverse.
Masaru Watanabe, Board Member & COO of ANA NEO Inc. speaking at WiT Japan & North Asia 2023
At the core of ANA GranWhale’s appeal lies the introduction of V-TRIP, a concept that enables users to go on virtual journeys at any given time. Users can create personalised avatars, while the platform facilitates trips to numerous locations across Japan, including renowned destinations like Kyoto and Hokkaido, in addition to global locales. With the guidance of informed tour leaders, users can visit historical landmarks and take in the scenery, so to speak, rendering the ANA GranWhale experience distinctive within the metaverse space.
“It’s more about gathering information before you go on a trip,” explains Masaru. “And even if you’re not going on a trip, you can enjoy yourself with family and friends – and maybe decide on a destination for the next time you travel.”
Currently accessible within select regions of Asia—specifically the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia—ANA GranWhale is harnessing the potential of virtual travel to potentially bolster inbound visitor numbers to Japan.
During his presentation at WiT Japan & North Asia 2023, Masaru noted that ANA NEO wants to foster sales of distinct regional merchandise through its e-commerce framework. The initial phase of the platform’s release will see it available as a smartphone application via the App Store and Google Play platform, whereas the detailed roll-out plan for GranWhale’s expansion across Japan and other regional markets will be announced in stages.
Monetising e-commerce within the Whale
“We have various ways to monetise,” says Masaru. “From a B2B point of view, if many end-users join our metaverse platform, we generate revenue from advertising. On the other hand, when customers travel to Kyoto with our special guides, they will pay a small fee to select the guide – some of whom are famous (celebrity) talents.”
A significant aspect of the GranWhale is the creation of the Sky Mall—a space that links brands to virtual stores and monetisable areas within the metaverse. From a purely financial perspective, these are the areas that make the metaverse so lucrative. By being a 3D representation of online retail, and by replicating physical storefronts that we’re familiar with without physical limitations, many digital creators like ANA NEO are only beginning to scratch the surface of business opportunities within this virtual realm.
The Sky Mall also offers limited edition special collectibles that are exclusive to GranWhale. But the true “pot of gold” lies with gamification and the customisation of one’s avatar, something that Masaru emphasised.
“Once customers would like to purchase digital attire or clothes for their avatar from a certain brand, that’s also a form of revenue. These touchpoints can be monetised, we hope.”
Masaru also explained how the GranWhale is plugged into the larger ANA ecosystem. For example, ANA Mileage Club members can leverage their accrued miles to procure avatar fashion items and digital products on the ANA GranWhale platform and purchase other services and offers. This incentivises prospective users to consider becoming members of the ANA Mileage Club and vice versa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIvuxjh5m3I
Gen Z and the Whale’s future
It goes without saying that the GranWhale appeals to a younger consumer demographic by default. Masaru says, “In our first stage, we would like to approach Gen Z and digital natives, because they have an influence on other customers. But in the future, we hope that older customers would also enjoy our platform – but we need to speak to the Gen Z and younger markets first to expand our business.”
However, expanding a virtual platform isn’t as easy as it sounds. It might not have physical constraints, but there are issues to resolve along the way. Masaru says, “The number one issue to solve is cost. To develop these spaces with 3D graphics, it costs a lot of money. How we optimise cost to keep a balance between development and revenue is a challenge to running our business.”
He added, “We would also like to develop our virtual trips to be closer to reality. We are getting approval from all these different destinations and stakeholders before starting development of virtual trips, and that takes some time – to make them understand [what we’re talking about].”
ANA GranWhale concept art. Image courtesy of ANA NEO
ANA NEO’s ambitions for the GranWhale extend beyond just travel. “We want to be a metaverse lifestyle platform,” said Masaru. Speaking about past research, he explained, “It’s said that eventually, people will spend a couple of hours per day in the metaverse, so it’s crucial that we aim to [capture that upcoming market].”
“We’ve just launched Sky Park. In the long-term, we are going to develop the Sky Village. We don’t only provide travel-related experiences, but also lifestyle services. These include education and finance services, which will be launched later on.”
Will virtual trips replace real trips?
One question that always pops up in metaverse discussions is the role of virtual travel and if it’s poised to become an alternative to packing your bags and heading off to a physical destination. Metaverse graphics may not be all that just yet, but a few years and proper VR implementation could turn the metaverse into a truly immersive experience.
It isn’t likely for virtual travel to replace the real deal, sans a few situations, says Masaru. “We believe our V-TRIPS stimulate a synergistic effect between the virtual and the real. For now, we’re not going to replace real trips with virtual trips.”
“However, in the future when I’m a lot older and cannot travel to, say, South America, I can enjoy it as a virtual trip. And in that case, these trip replacements will be fine. Elderly people who can’t travel can still enjoy trips with their grandchildren, for example.”
Masaru also noted, “Of course, as an airline, we don’t believe that virtual trips will replace real trips. The better the virtual experience is, the more people will be stimulated to see it in real life.”
