READY PLAYER ONE

In fashion’s arcade, games not only draw you into virtual worlds, but will also drive you into real-world stores. As gamification becomes part of fashion’s playbook, digital prizes can be just as precious, if not more, as physical rewards, observes Jacquie Ang.

- Jacquie Ang

When Gucci unveiled its Gift Giving campaign for the holiday season in November 2019, an interactive microsite generating delightful mobile wallpapers accompanied the launch. Another activation introduced virtual stickers on Instagram, iMessage and Giphy.

Upping the ante in the digital experience was a special section on the Gucci app where an Augmented Reality (AR) portal transports the user to a virtual tropical island with fluorescent holographic elements recalling the campaign’s visuals. These psychedelic hues also coloured the lights and shadows of an Instagram face filter.

Those were the kinds of digital engagement fashion would supplement to play up the hype for fresh releases, before Covid-19 imposed lockdowns worldwide in 2020 that effectively put an end to most in-person social contact.

Deprived of the joy of dressing up, people turned to the digital universe where they could style their avatars. With soaring levels of engagement then, it did not take long to recognise the potential in brand-building, as well as the opportunities to engage young consumers and unlock new value streams in the communities within the vast gaming industry, which according to Accenture, is valued at over US$300 billion and attracts 2.7 billion players globally.

“The video game industry is larger than the music and film industry combined,” David Reitman, the global gaming lead at Accenture, pointed out. “When you make that statement, it basically has people take a pause.”