With over 50 million daily active users, Roblox is a powerful platform for brands to reach young audiences. As an open platform, Roblox makes it possible for anyone to build merchandise and even full experiences. In 2021, developers and creators earned over $500 million by selling user-generated content. There are three main ways for brands to enter Roblox.
1. Create Virtual Items
One way to market on Roblox is to create branded virtual merchandise such as clothing and accessories for avatars. Without much cost or time required, this is the easiest way for brands to establish a presence in the metaverse. In order to create these items, brands must hire a UGC designer to create these items or develop this capacity in house. Once the items are created and uploaded to the platform, they can be sold to users in Robux, the virtual Roblox currency, which can be swapped for dollars using an exchange program.
Hot Topic
Hot Topic released its “Halloween Forever Collection” a month ago which contained various clothing items and accessories such as beanies, sweaters, and bat ears. The items were created by several UGC designers, and we at Metaverse Marcom project managed the campaign, including design, pricing, marketing, and publicity.
Gucci
Gucci has had a strong presence on Roblox. Their first venture on the platform consisted of the creation of limited edition items that sold between $1.50 and $11.25. A virtual Gucci bag that was bought for around $5.00 was resold for around $4000. This type of behavior illustrates how younger Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers are placing more and more value on their virtual identities.
2. Integrate into Existing Roblox Games
Another way that brands can advertise within the space is by collaborating with existing games that already have massive audiences. This eliminates the need to heavily advertise your experience as the audience is already there. Additionally, game developer typically works directly with brands in order to make the integration as interesting and valuable to players as possible with free items and fun quests.
Sing 2 x Adopt Me!
Being the biggest game on Roblox comes with a lot of benefits. Adopt Me! has had multiple collaborations in the past. The collabs have been mainly to promote animated movies such as Sing 2, Scoob!, and Minions: The Rise of Gru. Uplift Games, the developer of Adopt Me!, partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Illumination Entertainment to make these in-game experiences possible. These collaborations usually involve mini-games or quests to help characters in the movie complete goals to unlock highly-coveted UGC virtual items.
NASCAR x Jailbreak
NASCAR’s collaboration with Jailbreak, a cop and robbers game, allowed users to buy NASCAR-branded wraps for their virtual cars and race around in a custom world.
3. Build a Full Game
The final way for brands to enter Roblox is by creating their own game. This typically involves the hiring of a game developer and working with them to create a branded experience with virtual locations, mini-games, virtual stores, and more. Major consumer brand companies such as Gucci, Vans, and Nike have set up permanent shop on the space with their branded experiences.
Gucci
37 Million Visits
Gucci has been one of the most active brands on the Roblox platform. Since 2020 they have been experimenting with different methods of advertising themselves on Roblox from selling virtual items to then launching events and games. They started by just releasing items, then created “Gucci Garden” which was a two-week experience, and finally they launched Gucci Town, a permanent space. Within their game, they have brought Miley Cyrus as a avatar to promote a perfume product.
Vans
85 Million Visits
Vans partnered with Roblox to create "Vans World," a virtual game that includes skatepark and a virtual and interactive Vans store where players can create their own custom shoes. The experience allows players to collect in-game coins on a skateboard or on a BMX bike. One of the first branded experiences to really resonate with Roblox players, Vans World is one of the most famous Roblox brand activations to date.
Nike
27 Million Visits
Nike created a virtual world called "Nikeland" in 2021, where users can compete in a variety of mini-games such as tag and dodgeball. Users can purchase a variety of virtual Nike products or obtain them through challenges. Recently, they have even included an event for the FIFA World Cup.
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