Brand Engagement in the Metaverse: November 2023
Published 30 November 2023
Author
Saska Graville
4 min read
November’s metaverse activations encompass side-hustle edutainment for beauty fans, a travelogue for Gen Z ‘set-jetters’ and a world-weaving (virtual meets IRL) fashion quest. US cosmetics company E.l.f Beauty debuts on Roblox, US hotel group Marriott Bonvoy attracts next-gen guests with travel games (and a surprise guest) on Fortnite, and the Gucci Cosmos exhibition moves into The Sandbox.
- E.l.f Beauty Provides Games for Side-Hustling Gen Z: Making its metaverse debut, US vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics company E.l.f Beauty has launched E.l.f. Up! on Roblox, cementing its status as the number one beauty brand for teen girls in the US (Piper Sandler, 2023). With 84% of US Gen Zers choosing entrepreneurship as an exciting career path (Yahoo Finance, 2023) (although side hustles are more appealing than becoming the next Zuckerberg – see Powering the Brand of Self in the Spotlight series Dynamic Youth), players go on a “tycoon adventure” to “start up your side hustle”.
Built by American metaverse games developer Supersocial, players launch their own businesses and interact with non-player characters (NPCs). Start-up choices include the Power Grip extreme climbing gym, Big Mood recording studio, Halo Glow jewellery and art gallery, and the Holy Hydration sea life charity – all of which are named after E.l.f. flagship products.
Importantly, treating NPC customers with kindness is rewarded with increased visits from patrons/customers in-game. This chimes with the 88% of Gen Zers who say that expressing themselves in immersive spaces makes them more comfortable with real-world self-expression (Roblox, 2023) and the trend towards kindness as a performance metric – see Sociological Gaming: Character Relationships as Objectives in Gamescom 2023 for more on this.
See also Beauty: Gen Z-Based Brand Engagement.
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- Marriott Bonvoy’s Hotel Games for Gen Z ‘Set-Jetters’: Looking to attract younger guests, Marriott Bonvoy has debuted on Fortnite, the first hospitality group to do so on the online gaming platform. With Gen Z constituting 39% of Fortnite players in the US, the move chimes with the cohort’s love of travel (79% view it as a budget priority) and the rise of “set-jetting” – the discovery of new locations via social media and websites (American Express, 2023).
In Marriott Bonvoy Land, a virtual park accessed via Fortnite’s Creative mode (which allows players to design and build their own environments or ‘islands’), player avatars are greeted by a virtual concierge and can play one of four hotel-themed games reflecting four Marriott Bonvoy brands. These include a labyrinth leading to a rooftop DJ session for W Hotels & Resorts, and a fitness-themed obstacle race for Westin Hotels & Resorts.
Launch promotion included a partnership with American Fortnite content creator and Twitch streamer Sommerset playing Marriott Bonvoy Land with surprise guest Brooklyn Beckham. The pair’s Westin race has so far been watched by over 181k of Sommerset’s 1.7 million followers.
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- Gucci Cosmos Land Attracts World-Weaving Fashion Fans: The Gucci Cosmos exhibition has launched on virtual gaming platform The Sandbox, where players build their own spaces. This acknowledges the 28% of global consumers interested in attending a virtual exhibition (Statista, 2022), and follows its IRL (in real life) opening in Shanghai in April 2023, and move to London (until December 31).
Celebrating the brand’s 102-year history, Gucci Cosmos Land takes players on a race through recreations of the original show’s Es Devlin-designed sets, sculptures and multimedia installations. Avatar quests include gathering treasures and answering Gucci-related questions, such as who designed the logo, and when was the first store opened?
The 100 fastest players will receive one of four Gucci runway avatar looks (wearable in The Sandbox), including Tom Ford’s iconic 1996 red velvet suit and an outfit from new creative director Sabato De Sarno’s debut Milan Fashion Week show. New research from Roblox (home to Gucci’s digital destination Gucci Town) reveals 56% of US and UK Gen Zers consider styling their avatars more important than styling themselves IRL, and 43% want more ‘digital twinning’ (offering avatar looks with a physical counterpart) from fashion brands. For more on Gucci’s previous activations on The Sandbox, see Brand Engagement in the Metaverse 2022.
See also World-Weaving Expands Off- & Online Mergers in Moving The Metaverse On: Future-Proofing Brand Strategies and The Immersive Elite: Opulent XR & Multimedia Magic in Evolving Luxury Retail: Trends & Opportunities.
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