When we rounded up the top 10 articles for 2022, we saw a few trends. Unsurprisingly, the Russia/Ukraine war and its impacts were top topics, with three out of the 10 stories looking at the conflict from different perspectives. The metaverse and NFTs took four of the slots. The other three articles discuss best practices for testing marketing messages, the state of the Southeast Asian logistics industry, and what the world might look like after globalization.

1. What Is Message Testing, and Why Does It Matter?
   Lauren Bledsoe and Meaghan Bradley, Directors of Solutions, GLG
   When you are tasked with the challenge of thinking about how to differentiate your company from the competition, you need to make sure your marketing efforts are effective in targeting the right audience with the right message. You believe you know your customer’s needs. Can’t you just go to market with that? Not necessarily.
2. Steel Market: The Impact of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
   Joaquim Eleuterio, former Chief Executive Officer at AM Mining
   Because of the war in Ukraine, impacts on the steel market will be felt in terms of supply and price on the buying side, and supply chain disruption and costs for producers. It will also accelerate the drive toward alternate energy sources and reduced carbon emissions.
3. Russia, Ukraine, and the Impact on the World’s Food Supply
   Rich Nelson, GLG Network Member and Chief Strategist for Allendale Inc.
   The conflict raging between Russia and Ukraine has helped drive grain and food-oil prices to historic highs. More price increases are on the horizon if the war continues, especially when it comes to wheat, oilseeds, and corn. But it’s not all about Ukraine.
4. Metaverse Evolution: A Five-Year Timeline
   Avi Bar-Zeev, GLG Network Member and former Experience AR/VR/MR Prototyping Lead at Apple
   A common understanding of the metaverse will evolve over time. When people refer to the metaverse, they might actually be talking about its components, such as AR cloud, virtual worlds, Web3, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or bitcoin. But it’s probably best to look at the metaverse phenomenon in different stages.
5. Metaverse Outlook and the Current Trends
   The venture capital community is talking about the metaverse, so GLG spoke to Steve Chen, a GLG Network Member and former Director of Strategy at Tencent who was involved in the early days of Roblox, to uncover his insight into recent metaverse trends.
6. Looking at the Southeast Asian Logistics Landscape
   Aparna Bhatnagar Saxena, GLG Network Member and former Head of Transport — Indonesia at Lazada eLogistics
   The region has 600 million people and is growing. Its internet economy has been booming, consumption rates are high, and it is attracting investment interest from around the world. All those factors make the Southeast Asian logistics industry extremely attractive.
7. The Key Risks in the Digital Assets Space
   Bruce Mizrach, Professor of Economics at Rutgers University
   Blockchain’s primary function is as a distributed ledger, with copies of the database stored across multiple computers. If you’re considering exposing your firm or institution to this asset class, here are some of the major risk factors you should be aware of.
8. NFTs, the Metaverse, and How They Fit Corporate Strategy
   John Keh, founder of Run the Chain and former Chief Marketing Officer of Genesis Block and GBV Capital
   From NFTs to virtual real estate, blockchain-based assets have exploded in the past year. The phenomenon is driven partly by tech and international brands that anticipate people living a part of their lives in the future in the virtual world. This naturally draws corporations to take a closer look at ways to get involved, find their niche within the blockchain, and capitalize on it.
9. What Comes After Globalization?
   Michael O’Sullivan, GLG Network Member and former Chief Information Officer of Credit Suisse International Wealth Management
   It’s 2022, and many say that globalization is over. Others say it’s just entering a new era. Either way, it’s evident that a new world order is coming, and it will likely be in place by 2030. What it will look like is anyone’s guess.
10. Putin’s Aggression Will Test Russia’s Energy Supply Dominance
    Daniel Fried, GLG Network Member and Distinguished Fellow at Atlantic Council of United States and former U.S. Ambassador to Poland
    Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggressive military moves on the Ukrainian border seem like a show of strength for Russia. But it’s possible that his war posturing could backfire and hasten the demise of Russia’s economy, starting with its energy dominance in Europe.

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