In this episode, Gartner experts Kyle Rees and Rachel Steinhardt discuss current and future states of the metaverse, what American consumers are thinking about the metaverse now, and how CMOs should assess their brand’s place in these new virtual worlds. Kyle Rees is a Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner for Marketing Leaders practice. He advises clients in the industrials, chemicals, and aerospace and defense sectors on marketing, digital and brand strategy.Rees has more than  10 years of marketing experience across retail, real estate, hospitality and government. Previously, Rees was part of a team that implemented a CRM modernization project on contract with the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition to this, he led constituent targeting and outreach efforts, conducted audience and customer satisfaction analysis, and designed and launched a cross-channel brand strategy for one of the department’s subagencies.Rachel Steinhardt is Director, Research. Steinhardt manages the Consumer Insights research team and is content leader for the Platforms and Channels core topic within the Consumers and Culture Key Initiative. She leads high-profile, signature consumer research projects from conception through rigorous quantitative and qualitative processes, deriving findings, distilling insights and building teachable deliverables. She helps shape annual Top Trends and Symposium research slates, and coaches researchers and analysts in primary and secondary research methodologies, synthesizing findings into insights and incorporating narrative techniques that best deliver actionable client recommendations.Steinhardt has worked as a technology journalist with a decade of experience covering business tech from Silicon Valley, as well as consumer electronics and web culture for a variety of magazines and popular sites.