5 Brands That Have Been Celebrating Halloween in the Metaverse
?H-h-h-aaaaaaappy Halloween! What better way to experience some out-of-this-world frights than by literally stepping into the future?
Chipotle was one of the first to experiment in the Meta space with its innovative "Boorito " experience on Roblox last year. And as the adoption of immersive digital technologies continues its upward orbit, brands keen to electrify the impact of their seasonal marketing campaigns have followed Chipotle's footsteps with their latest digital holiday activations. Here are some of our favourite picks from this year!
The self-proclaimed 'Queen of the Metaverse ' has thrown a spooktacular Halloween party, dubbed 'Cryptoween' (we love a good Web3 pun, right?) in Sandbox, which has been available to players from 17-31 October. Like hunting for a mysterious ghost, players can search for Paris Hilton's avatar who has repeatedly been wandering around the space, sporting her signature costumes such as "Bunny Princess", "Tinkerbell", and "Phoenix". Hilton's avatar outfits have been combined with matching make-up looks by L’Oreal’s brand Urban Decay , in its bid to ‘create the beauty that moves the world ’.
"Self-expression and individuality are two pillars of our brand and we're proud to build on that legacy with this first-of-its-kind activation,"
?says Eva Erdmann, global president of Urban Decay Cosmetics,
"By premiering Cryptoween with Paris Hilton, Urban Decay enters the Metaverse with a cruelty-free advocate and free spirit that speaks to our core values."?
Throughout the event, players have been able to engage in star-striking meet-ups with Hilton, strut their stuff in runway challenges, play custom games, snap haunting poses in a selfie booth, and take part in immersive make-up demos.
These make-up demos have featured in 3 virtual pop-up rooms, each dedicated to a specific award-winning product line: 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil , 24/7 Shadow , and Perversion Mascara . Players can also take inspo from Paris as they try on virtual Halloween costumes in the Cryptoween experience.?
2. Cheetos
Are you hungry to interact with one of your favourite snack icons just in time for Halloween??
Cheetos has given fans a chance to sprinkle some virtual moonlight mischief into their lives with its newest Metaverse activation: the spooky, suburban town of 'Chesterville ', located on Meta's Horizon Worlds platform.
Chesterville is an immersive VR experience that invites users to complete tasks to earn points on the 'mischief-meter'. Missions include branding the neighborhood using Chester's wand, discarding Cheeto-dust-covered paper towels in yards, using Flamin' Hot Cheetos for speed boosts, and "Mac-O-Lanterns" to trap other players in cheesy balls of their latest Mac' N' Cheese product. The ultimate goal? To reach the spooky mansion that sits atop Cheetos Hill, where players can find lots of tasty hidden secrets inside.
3. Hot Topic
This Halloween season,?Hot Topic?is?bringing goth fashion to Roblox . In its first venture into the Metaverse, supported by?Super League Gaming , the retailer dropped its?Halloween Forever Collection on the mega online gaming platform. The collections includes exclusive avatar items that are synonymous with the HT brand, including die-cut sunglasses, cosplay hats, figural mini-backpacks.
The retailer's campaign even transformed existing IRL Halloween designs into digital replicas, partnering with several skilled Roblox designers to bring the products to life.
领英推荐
Alongside brand new, exclusive items (created specifically for Roblox), Hot Topic also released its 90s classic black and orange sweater and beanie with the throwback?Hot Topic?which is available for purchase across mediums in the physical world, in-store and online.
More, Hot Topic and Roblox creatively enhanced the campaign's appeal by giving fans the chance to haunt three virtual pop-up shopping destinations across existing gaming experiences in Roblox like?Speed Run 4,?The Floor is Lava!,?and?Catalog Outfit Creator,?where they could buy avatar items directly.
As with many corporate leaps into Web 3,?Hot Topic's seems to be paying off: the three immersive activations offering the apparel collection have already accumulated a spooktacular 3 billion since its launch on October 3!
4. Meta VR Horror Experiences
This year, Meta experimented with the eerie wonders of VR for Halloween, with a variety of new, immersive horror experiences. The first is a brand-new, 180-degree Trick-VR-Treat experience called "Haunted House, " produced by director Eli Roth .
The film stars 'High School Musical' legend Vanessa Hudgens at a frightening home party where guests are converted into creepy dolls. Meta has also been hosting a new four-episode VR mini-series on Blackbox TV , titled 'Scream Park' starring Grace Van Dien from the popular Netflix series 'Stranger Things .'
Steve Aoki's brand Dim Mak brand have joined forces with the NFT collection Deadfellaz for an exclusive to-die-for Halloween merch drop.
The exclusive capsule collection features a vast range of quirky items, including an ultra-rare custom varsity jacket and t-shirts that depict ghoulish animated zombie portraits of Deadfellaz co-founders Aoki, as well as the NFT curators Betty and Psych.
The limited-edition (and very on-trend) varsity jacket flaunts in a slick black shade and, like the tees, features illustrated figures that can't help but catch our eye. The piece stands out with a signature lime and electric green banded collar, cuffs and waistband. It was up for sale to Deadfellaz NFT holders and A0k1verse members following the launch of DEADZONE LA – hosted on October 29.
Wrapping up
Brands are celebrating Halloween in spooktastic style this year, as holiday activations have become compelling routes for consumer engagement in the brewing, bubbling, and overflowing cauldron of potential that is the Metaverse. And believe us, it may be Halloween - but a virtual future is nothing to be scared about!
Want to learn more about how your brand could leverage the Metaverse for those all-important creep-up-on-you seasonal marketing campaigns (yep, Christmas is a mere 7 weeks away folks!)? Visit exarta.com for no tricks, just treats.
Article written by Hannah Clayton, Exarta.