Roblox As A Marketing Strategy
Creating games that allow players to experience your brand
KidZania once had a brilliant idea of merging marketing with entertainment. I know because my startup once paid to set up a booth there. Parents would pay for kids to enter the theme park and companies like us would sponsor their activities to create brand awareness. In a short span of 3 weeks, we had more than a thousand kids interact with our brand. But unfortunately, the recent covid pandemic created a strain on the theme park, causing the Singapore outlet to close. While many physical kids entertainment businesses are struggling in this pandemic, it has also created an opportunity for the digital entertainment space to boom.
A few weeks ago, Gucci launched a unique limited-time Roblox Event experience called Archetype. This caught me entirely by surprise. I have heard that toy companies like Hasbro are venturing into developing Roblox games. But I never thought that luxury brand, Gucci, would use Roblox as one of its marketing channels as well.
I was curious to explore the experience they provided and while the ratings for the game wasn’t exactly top-notch, I was thoroughly impressed at the strategy they adopted to create a unique marketing experience targeting kids.
Upon stepping into the game, you’re greeted with a scene of the museum and then taken to a shop with many different items. You hear classy music in the background, see an extremely reflective surface that shouts luxury, and you are greeted with many items on shelves. Their store focused on selling cosmetics, with items like hair bands that look really fashionable. These items can only be purchased by Robux (Roblox’s own currency). I’m not one to purchase in-game items. But I was baited to purchase it for a split second, simply because it would feel great to decorate my avatar with branded goods.
You can then travel to several themed rooms that are beautifully designed and experience what the brand represents. Honestly, I was expecting a game, but I realised that they simply brought their physical experience online. The Gucci event has broadened my perspective on what a digital experience could be. We are no longer limited to games and videos as a medium, but instead, slowly integrating many different forms of media into one. There could elements of a digital concert, shop, event, videos, games etc all in one experience.
The event created by Gucci not only marks the start of a shift in marketing strategy targeting kids by major companies but also marks a shift in how we interact with digital experiences. We see a huge opportunity for various forms of digital experiences to come and I foresee major companies moving towards creating unique digital experiences that allow kids to experience the brand. I am thoroughly excited for what’s to come!
