In October of 2021, Facebook officially announced that it would be changing its name to Meta, opening the floodgates for hundreds of innovative brands to begin pioneering the future of consumer engagement in the metaverse. Brands of all shapes and sizes have since developed immersive virtual experiences to engage consumers and reach new audiences in ways that were never before possible. Here are five of our favorite brand-driven metaverse activations and the strategies they used:
Millions of people are already exploring the metaverse. One of the most popular metaverse platforms, Roblox, now sees more than 37 million daily active users!¹ It’s no wonder Gucci chose Roblox to be the home of its first-ever metaverse activation.
In May of 2022, Gucci opened Gucci Town, a gamified virtual plaza where Roblox players can go to earn virtual and physical rewards from Gucci. Roblox players visit Gucci Town to earn rewards that are exclusive to the metaverse by completing gamified quests. As they complete these quests, players earn gems that can be used to reserve unreleased designer handbags in the real world and purchase branded virtual items in Gucci Shop.
Gucci Shop is an impressively accurate virtual clone of a real world Gucci store, featuring 3D product displays of Gucci-branded wearables and accessories. Some of the items in Gucci Shop can be purchased using gems; however, most of Gucci’s virtual items have to be purchased using Robux, the native currency of the Roblox universe. Because Robux are able to be sold for USD, the sale of virtual accessories has become a viable revenue stream for Gucci outside of selling physical products.
Since January of 2022, nearly 120,000 consumers have engaged with Samsung’s brand in the Decentraland metaverse through their 837X space.² While Samsung continues to drive traffic to 837X by using the space to host virtual events, they are also expanding into other metaverse platforms.
In June of 2022, Samsung officially launched Space Tycoon, a play-to-earn game in the Roblox metaverse. Similar to Gucci Town, players in Space Tycoon must complete quests to earn coins and redeem branded in-game items; however, Samsung takes this a step further by requiring players to craft virtual items using raw materials.
Players must scrounge the map for raw materials and use them to craft Samsung products. Samsung products act as multipliers, helping their holders earn more coins, level up, and rise through the ranks in Space Tycoon. By using Samsung products to increase their in-game status, players are building positive subconscious associations with the Samsung brand.
Metaverse Fashion Week took place March 23-27 in the Decentraland metaverse. Throughout the event, the platform saw 108,000 unique attendees to a series of brand activations, exhibitions, and afterparties.³The event concluded with a spectacular performance from Grimes, a popular alternative music artist who was embodied by a giant dancing alien avatar while her live DJ set was streamed into a virtual fashion display.
While Grimes’ performance was impressive, the highlight of the event was definitely the virtual fashion show. Many of the brands involved in Metaverse Fashion Week made history by participating in the first-ever metaverse fashion show, a captivating visual display that took place in a futuristic arena adjacent to Decentraland fashion district.
During the show, animated runway models walked a figure-8 catwalk to energetic theme music and coordinated special effects displays. Models in the show sported styles from Dolce & Gabbana, Franck Muller, and several other iconic names in the fashion world. After the show concluded attendees perused the virtual stores in Decentraland’s Fashion District purchasing more than 7000 items!⁴
In April of 2022, Absolut Vodka collaborated with Coachella to launch Absolut.Land, a virtual activation in the Decentraland metaverse that blended games, art, music, and pride to create a fun and engaging experience for visitors. Early figures estimate that 21,000 users from over 100 different countries visited Absolut.Land during the Coachella music festival for a chance to win virtual wearables, product promotions, and more!⁵
The focus of the Absolut Game was a scavenger hunt style game. The game required players to visit several different areas of the park to find cocktail ingredients and produce the ultimate Absolut Hero cocktail. Each area of Absolut.Land unlocked a unique experience for players that aligned with a core tenant of the Absolut brand. Some of the most memorable areas in the park included an anti-gravity dance floor, a garden, an art gallery, a pride tunnel, and a media room.
One particularly memorable area of Absolut.Land was the selfie room. During their scavenger hunt, players were encouraged to stop and take selfies (screenshots) with their friends in front of a vibrant backdrop, featuring a giant glowing silhouette of an Absolut bottle. By posting their selfies on Twitter with relevant hashtags for the event, players would be entered in a raffle for a chance to win virtual wearables and lifetime passes to Coachella.
In May of 2022, Jimmy John’s tested the waters in Decentraland by launching MetaSandwich, an experience centered around a sandwich-building competition. Participants in the competition had to search the park for sandwich ingredients, construct their ideal sandwich recipes, and submit to MetaSandwich.com. Winners of the MetaSanwhich competition would have their creations featured in menus of select Jimmy John’s locations and delivered to the first 100 participants in the competition.
The ingredients for MetaSandwich were creatively placed around the park and tied to strange but memorable experiences. Vegetables were farmed from a virtual garden outside the park, and guarded by a virtual farmer. Cookies were redeemable from an octopus like cookie monster. Pickles were raining down from a pickle tree. And meats were gathered from a cyberpunk-style video game simulation.
There were also easter eggs hidden throughout the MetaSandwich park in the form of discount codes plastered on virtual walls. When submitting sandwiches on MetaSandwich.com, players could elect to order their sandwiches for delivery in their real world and apply any of the discount codes they found while roaming the park.
All of the brands featured in this article are pioneering the future of consumer engagement by doing things that have never been done before. Much like the early internet, the metaverse is full of opportunities. You just have to know where to look.
Whether you are new to the metaverse or looking to expand your reach in the virtual world, it is critical to find a strategic partner that knows how to capitalize on these opportunities.
Cominted Labs’ team of experienced metaverse-native experts can help your team bridge the gap between reality and the metaverse. Request a free consultation call today and we’ll work with you to develop a strategy that is guaranteed to maximize your likelihood of achieving long-term success in the metaverse.
