‘Games are the social networks of the future’: LVMH and Gucci have taken note

Gen Z consumers are moving from traditional games to user-generated content games like Roblox. LVMH, Gucci, and Balenciaga lead the pack for luxury activations on these gaming platforms.

Today’s Gen Z consumers are shifting from traditional games to user-generated content (UGC) games like Roblox and Fortnite. UGC games allow users to create their own content and experiences, which appeals to Gen Z’s desire for creativity and self-expression.

The interactive component of UGC gaming has led more brands to embrace these platforms. Video game advertising spending in the US nearly doubled from $3.1 billion in 2019 to $5.8 billion in 2022, according to Statista. Brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Louis Vuitton are leading the pack in terms of luxury activations on virtual platforms.

“There’s a clear correlation between Gen Z’s favorite fashion brands and the number of activations they’ve done,” says a new report by metaverse intelligence platform Geeiq titled “The State of Virtual Brand Experiences.” Moreover, 75 percent of Roblox users said they plan to spend money on digital fashion, according to the 2022 Metaverse Fashion Trends Report.

Social networks of the future

“We live in an attention economy where brands are increasingly looking at virtual environments as a means to capture this attention, and build new communities around their values, and open up new revenue streams. These environments are a natural evolution of print, TV, radio, and later social media, elevating traditional brand engagement to a new, deeper, and immersive form of interaction,” says Geeiq CEO and co-founder Charles Hambro.

In June this year, LVMH announced a partnership with Fornite’s parent company, Epic Games, to develop immersive customer experiences and integrate new 3D technology tools into its design process. The parent company of Louis Vuitton and Dior shared that the partners would use various tools from Epic’s arsenal, including Unreal Engine real-time 3D creation technology and Reality Capture for 3D modeling.

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