Client Stories, News March 23 2022

NatWest enters the metaverse with Green Rock

Al Berry

Executive Strategy and Innovation Director

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NatWest is entering the metaverse with Green Rock Media to create an immersive exhibition featuring photos of women business owners to challenge stereotypes. Embracing this new technology to engage consumers, this will be the bank’s first step in this virtual direction.

Portraits of Success, a metaverse gallery hosted on Spatial.io will show 30 portraits of female entrepreneurs from a diverse set of businesses across the UK. This is the culmination of work between NatWest and Getty Images in showcasing images of women business owners who are realistic and diverse. This is in contrast to the unimaginative photos of women in business that are often available for use in the media.

Guests will be able to explore the space as an avatar, find out details about the female founders, their businesses and learn how NatWest supports and advocates for women in business. The 30 images represent a wider collection of 4000 images, that are available through Getty Images to licence and make up part of a collection that address the diversity of businesses female entrepreneurs represent in the UK today.

To create the experience Green Rock has been working with developers at multi-reality studio Plai and Spatial.io to create a unique gallery area called ‘Portraits of Success.’ The gallery space will hold the Getty Images portraits and key information from the Rose Review.

Always keen to push creativity in new tech spaces, Green Rock is carving out an environment for future events such as webinars and talks, fireside chats or other presentations. Spatial.io is a leading metaverse gallery experience that allows brands, businesses and creators to show their work in a virtual world. The platform can be accessed via browser, mobile or VR headset and allows visitors to explore the specially designed spaces.

“We know that the images of women in business used by the media leaves much to be desired. That’s why Getty Images and NatWest’s project to smash stereotypes by exhibiting pictures of women in different industries is so refreshing.
We chose Green Rock for its understanding of technology and audiences. Presenting the exhibition in an interactive virtual space means we can reach so many more people with the project. We already have exciting plans for how we can further use the virtual NatWest gallery space in the near future”
Julie Baker, Head of Enterprise at NatWest Group

“We’re always looking to drive innovation in a meaningful way for clients. It’s great to partner with NatWest as such an ambitious brand that is exploring and understanding the potential of new virtual worlds and the metaverse. Green Rock is continuing to build on its strategic credentials and platform expertise in this emerging technology and offer brands a trusted partner who can help them navigate the possible and the plausible. We have already witnessed this becoming a huge growth area for us this year”
Al Berry, Executive Director of Strategy and Innovation, Green Rock

Metaverse virtual worlds deliver interactive and immersive experiences to users, with many of these platforms built on blockchain technology. The global metaverse market is estimated to grow from $45.4bn in 2019 to a staggering $1.5tn in 2030 (source: PwC | Seeing is Believing).

Where can I see it

The NatWest Portraits of Success virtual galley will be live on the Spatial.io platform from today. Click here to visit

Al Berry

Executive Strategy and Innovation Director

With a track record of award-winning marketing communications and content innovation, Al brings over 20 years of brand and marketing expertise to his role at Green Rock as Executive Strategy and Innovation Director.