Boohoo struts into the metaverse by advertising on Paris Hilton's Roblox island

Fashion retailer boohoo has teamed up with entrepreneur Paris Hilton to advertise during her virtual fashion week. Done on Hilton's virtual island on Roblox titled "Paris World", this marks the brand's first foray into the metaverse and the Boohoo also worked with IPG's MilkMoney to secure billboard inventory in the metaverse. 

According to Boohoo, this makes it the first brand to advertise in this space during fashion week and is also a "natural and strategic next step" for the brand. The Fashion Week event was opened to the public on 18 February, and the virtual fashion show was filmed on 19 February for public viewing. The event also featured Roblox designers, celebrities, and influencers. 

According to Hilton, billboards are part of our everyday lives and it should be no different in the metaverse. When she first spoke to boohoo and the MilkMoney team, Hilton said it was clear that they shared the same vision on what the virtual land could offer, as well as its outreach to consumers and fans. "It is awesome to be launching my first billboard campaign with boohoo, a brand I've always loved," she explained. 

At Paris World, users are given the opportunity to feed animals at a zoo, ride the Paris wheel, play mini-games, stay at the star's mansion and drive luxury cars. At the same time, the virtual world will be updated daily with new features such as celebrity appearances, limited edition clothing drops, games, and special events. Hilton's virtual island launched on 6 October last year and she told Variety previously that Roblox is an amazing gaming platform to be a part of.

On New Year's Eve, Hilton also played an electronic set for partiers who dropped by Paris World, Reuters reported. She explained back then that the metaverse is a place where once can do everything they do in real life in the digital world. Since not everyone gets to experience that, Hilton wanted to bring everyone together via Paris World. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out for additional information regarding the partnership. 

This is not the first time the entrepreneur has joined in a digital hype. In September 2017, Hilton announced her participation and support behind Lydiancoin, a Singapore limited company that was launched by Gravity4. Gravity4 utility-token, Lydian said it aims to provide pre-paid digital advertising services for the blockchain community, accessible by the Lydian cryptographic token, with an end goal of fighting ad fraud.

Hilton joins other brands including Warner Music Group, Ralph Lauren, and Hyundai Motor Company which have expanded into the metaverse. While the metaverse might be a buzzword right now, 35% of consumers surveyed by Gartner between 17 to 24 January indicated that they have never heard of the term. While 38% of them have heard of it and 21% find it somewhat familiar, they are either unsure what it means or are unable to describe it to others. Meanwhile, the reamining 6% are very familiar with the concept of the metaverse and are able to describe it to others.

For those who at least know about the metaverse, Gartner said 60% have no opinion about it and only 18% are actually excited. Meanwhile, 21% say they are concerned about the impacts the metaverse might have. According to Gartner, this is a small but potentially helpful signal that hints that it might be worth slowing down just a little bit when it comes to the metaverse.

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