American Eagle Outfitters Inc. is spreading its wings into Roblox and flying higher with Snapchat as part of its spring campaign.
The specialty apparel brand is launching its spring 2022 “Members Always” campaign with metaverse extensions across Roblox, Snapchat, and TikTok. In the metaverse, consumers use augmented and virtual reality technology to digitally engage with each other and their surroundings, with crossovers into the physical world.
The campaign marks American Eagle’s debut on Roblox, a popular virtual gaming platform that is gaining popularity among specialty apparel and fashion retailers. American Eagle will open a metaverse adaptation of the campaign on Livetopia, a top role-playing game on the Roblox platform. Customers will be able to virtually visit the “AE Members Always Club” section of Livetopia while collecting exclusive game items, including styles from the American Eagle spring collection, to outfit their branded avatars.
Rather than making its own Roblox game from scratch, American Eagle has partnered with an existing role-playing offering that already receives a heavy amount of traffic and could carry more familiarity with users who would otherwise be wary of participating in a branded activation. While practical applications of the metaverse are still being ironed out, apparel marketers see an opportunity to showcase their products as players personalize digital avatars through custom skins and outfits.