On September 11th, Tommy Hilfiger live-streamed its NYFW show in Roblox. It was just the latest example of fashion courting users on the platform, which is also rolling out an immersive new advertising format for brands.
Photo credit: Marc Bain
While the crowd of A-listers watched Tommy Hilfiger make a return to New York Fashion Week on the Brooklyn waterfront under heavy rain, the brand streamed the show live in a drier, virtual version of the city.
Roblox, the online gaming platform popular among tweens and teens now averages more than 50 million users daily. Tommy Hilfiger opened an experience set in the virtual metropolis in June, where visitors can bike across Brooklyn rooftops, parkour their way around graffiti-covered buildings in The Bronx or fly between them in Manhattan wearing a wingsuit. Naturally, they can also buy digital Tommy Hilfiger items like bucket hats or hoodies. Anyone playing in the space right now can still see a replay of the NYFW broadcast, as well as digital avatars strutting through the city wearing the new collection.
The event is just the latest example of how fashion is courting Roblox’s users.
Since last year, when companies such as Vans and Nike began launching their own spaces on the platform, activity has only increased. Forever 21, Alo Yoga, PacSun, and Puma have all established a presence. Even luxury players are getting involved. Gucci debuted its first permanent world in May, a year after trialing a two-week experience on the platform. In July, Burberry released a collection of digital handbags, and this week, Dundas partnered with DressX on a set of Roblox wearables.
Image Credit: Alo Yoga
Many brands see Roblox almost like another social media channel, according to Charles Hambro, co-founder, and chief executive of Geeiq, a gaming data and strategy firm whose clients include Tommy Hilfiger and Gucci. Users are often there to socialize as much as play games, and they’re doing so in an interactive space, which brings its own advantages.
“It’s really about building a relationship with this audience that’s deeper than just scrolling through a social media feed,”
Hambro said.
Selling digital goods is one opportunity for brands, though perhaps not the biggest one. Burberry earned an estimated $40,000 from its July drop after giving Roblox its cut, according to Geeiq. For a company that generated £2.8 billion ($3.5 billion) in its recent fiscal year, it’s not a huge amount.
Roblox, in its August earnings update and at an annual developers’ conference, said it reached a milestone: users 13 and older now make up the majority after years of younger players being its biggest audience. Its “fastest growing demographic, across both male and female users, was 17-24-year-olds,” it noted in a shareholder letter. Roblox believes “more aged-up content” is partly responsible, and it’s instituting new guidelines to designate games as being appropriate for different age groups, according to The Verge.
These older users are more likely to be aware of fashion and have more ability to spend on it than younger shoppers, creating an audience that’s even more appealing to fashion brands. Roblox is also rolling out new ways for brands to get in front of them. In the past, ads on the platform were limited to crude banners trying to convince users to visit other experiences. Now brands will be able to insert ads that feel native to the environment, like having a large billboard on top of a stadium.
Image Credit: Roblox Blog
Roblox is doing what it can to make digital goods more desirable, too. In April it launched what it calls “layered clothing,” finally allowing users to mix and match a number of digital wearables. A user can now buy a Burberry bag and wear it with a Nike top, a Gucci hat and Tommy Hilfiger jeans, for instance. And the items fit any avatar, “from a Classic Blocky all the way to a T-Rex,” the company said. The update lays the foundation for future advances as well, such as user-generated bodies.
Still, the real prize for fashion brands on Roblox at the moment may just be starting a relationship with the next generation of shoppers as they grow up spending time in 3D spaces online.
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