Adam Shilton

On Saturday 2nd of February the DJ Marshmello made history by performing the first ever live music set within the virtual universe of hugely successful online video game Fortnite. The free-to-play multiplayer shoot-em-up briefly became a live music venue as players attended the concert within Fortnite’s Pleasant Park. While Marshmello spun the decks, gamers weapons were deactivated and unique interactive experiences allowed attendees to bounce around in low gravity or rocket themselves into the air. All while fireworks and laser lights filled the virtual stadium.

So what, you might ask.

Well, the truly historical fact about this live music set was that the performance drew a captive audience of over 10 million Fortnite game-players, instantaneously making it the most attended live ‘concert’ in history. It should come as no surprise then that since the gig Marshmello’s Billboard chart position has jumped to number two with streams of his track ‘Happier’ up 120 percent during the week following the performance.

Source: Fortnite x Marshmello

Since its launch in 2017, the phenomenal success of Fortnite has seen it take prime place as the world’s most popular video game with over 200 million registered users according to its developer Epic Games. In real terms, if Fortnite were a country it would now be the 7th largest, trailing just behind Pakistan. And with its cities, forests and epic landscapes Fortnite has become a very tangible nation to its users – albeit a virtual one.

Interestingly, while first and foremost a video game Fortnite has also been adopted as a virtual hangout destination by its millions of users, eighty-two percent of whom are millennials and gen Z. With many of these seeing the platform as a space to socialise, catch-up and make new friends, Fortnite has become a new form of social media offering peer-to-peer connection with like-minded individuals within an escapist imaginary universe.

“Brands are increasingly seeking to capitalise on the captive audiences found within these fledgling online communities”

It is against a backdrop of this broader evolution in media consumption that brands are increasingly seeking to capitalise on the captive audiences found within these fledgling online communities.

Luxury brands in particular have been quick to explore ways of tapping into the success of online gaming and engage with a consumer who is both expectant of newness and familiar with in-game experiences. Hermès recently launched their “H-pitchhh” app, a single or multiplayer game based on a traditional horseshoe tossing pursuit originally played by Roman soldiers. As points are scored and different levels unlocked, players are greeted with virtual worlds inspired by Hermès illustrations and exclusive content is made available only to those playing the game.

Source: Hermès

Dior also recently launched an interactive online game to raise awareness around the opening of its Shanghai store where users needed to collect Dior items within the game to be in with a chance of winning tickets to the store’s VIP opening event.

Meanwhile Burberry used WeChat to launch a mini-game within the China market aimed at promoting the brand’s Christmas 2017 campaign. With a focus on finding the perfect Christmas gift, gamers used their phone to complete as many stages as possible – each linked to different product – and then compare their ranking with that of other players. In the end, the game recorded 30,000 interactions with traffic being driven directly to the Burberry website.

However, a brand creating specific game-based content to attract new customers versus a brand infiltrating an established game-based ecosystem requires two very different approaches. While the former creates customer engagement on the brand’s terms, the latter requires an acute sensitivity to how the brand will be perceived and integrated within an established universe.

It’s no surprise then that Fortnite’s collaborations to date have focussed on partnerships that are likely to already resonate with gamers. Since November 2018 for instance, users have been able to purchase National Football League (NFL) outfits or ‘skins’, to wear in-game allowing them to express their allegiance to a team while also exposing the NFL to countless other players. While in May of 2018, Fortnite integrated the Marvel character Thanos, to help promote Avengers: Infinity War with the character becoming a seamlessly integrated part of the in-game experience in a way that didn’t alienate players nor make them feel they were being marketed to.

So as brands and marketers look for ever more innovative ways to capture consumer’s attention, harnessing the largely untapped opportunity that exists within these virtual online universes could be a real gamechanger. While in-game marketing has to date taken a somewhat traditional approach aimed at everyone, it will only be a matter of time before technology facilitates ever more personalised branded experiences. But as advertising becomes increasingly sophisticated the key to unlocking this potential will be in ensuring these experiences are integrated, fun and relevant.

Ultimately, for brands who get it right the exposure and opportunity afforded within these online gaming ecosystems is limitless, however for those who get it wrong it could be game-over.