LONDON, UK — Footwear manufacturing brand Kickers UK has announced a reinvention of traditional back-to-school marketing, with a campaign that aims to nurture children’s self-expression and creativity using the Roblox metaverse.
The month-long activation introduces playful branding and cosmetics to popular games on Roblox, the metaverse gaming platform which boasts 54 million daily players. Featuring partnerships with top influencers and a live-streamed esports event, the first half of the month has been dedicated to a back-to-school theme before transforming into a summer festival celebration that opened on August 25.
Kickers footwear and branding have been embedded into Fashion Famous and Shoe Simulator, leading fashion-related games which attract millions of plays each month. Kickers footwear merchandise is available to try on in both games, which are part of Dubit’s Metaverse Gaming Network. Players of other games who are interested in footwear and fashion will be given the option to teleport to the Kickers events through Dubit’s portal network.
Announcing the campaign, Kickers UK Brand Director Simon Breckon said, “Fashion and back-to-school have always been synonymous with Kickers, and this year we wanted to take it one step further. Looking at new ways to engage with our consumers, we wanted to be at the heart of where children in the metaverse were socializing by creating an activity that allowed them to be self-expressive and creative.”
Dubit Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Douthwaite added, “It has been a pleasure working with Kickers UK on this activation, which demonstrates the potential for and diversity of experiential marketing in the metaverse. There is an increasing focus on brand uplift rather than purely ecommerce which provides infinite possibilities to create immersive experiences that combine gaming, social networking, live streaming; and digital and physical products. In doing so, Kickers UK is treading a path that many others will want to follow.”
The virtual experiential campaign is being amplified by the popular YouTuber Ruby Games, as well as streamer DfieldMark, including through a special Kickers-themed esports event with Dubit’s Metaverse Gaming League. During the live stream with influencers, competitive gameplay and prizes for participants and spectators that included brand new pairs of Kickers to wear back to school in real life, players styled their Roblox avatars in Fashion Famous and took to a special Kickers catwalk to win a share of 500,000 Robux, worth $5,000.
