Roblox Marketing 101

Roblox has over 400 million monthly active users.

Some data even suggests that Gen Z spends more time on it than they do TikTok.

Yes, the audience is led by a younger demographic, but - newsflash - those people are getting older and research indicates that their gaming will only increase.

And yet when it comes to marketing plans, it feels like it’s not discussed quite as much as it should be.

Are we often overlooking Roblox for brand building because it’s not used by many of the people making the marketing decisions?

Let’s dig into what we need to know…

What Is It?

Roblox is a virtual platform that allows users to create, share, and play a vast array of games, known as ‘experiences’.

People can make friends, join groups, exchange DMs* and engage in real-time conversations via voice chat. All while collaborating with others to build multiplayer environments and launch in-game marketplaces in exchange for real money.

And it has become phenomenally popular among teens and young adults, with evidence to suggest that Gen Z spend 25% of their free time on the platform.

Who’s On It?

Walmart (selling real and virtual goods); Nike (virtual goods); Fenty Beauty (virtual goods and scavenger hunts etc.); Gucci (virtual goods and a virtual garden); NFL (game collaboration with Nickelodean); Crocs (anniversary celebration event, with option to design your own shoes) and Vans (virtual goods and virtual skatepark, which is also apparently the most popular brand activation).**

Without doubt, many of the world’s biggest brands are using Roblox.

What’s New?

‘Clip It’, which is like a social media platform within Roblox; think of it like a version of TikTok.

And it is taking advantage of recently achieving a billion views to launch a new ad product. To quote Digiday:

“To take advantage of the hype, the game’s creators are developing an advertising product that combines some of the strengths of both custom-branded Roblox spaces and the platform’s programmatic ads… Clip It gives users access to a nearly infinite feed of short-form video, with video ads interspersed between bits of content, similar to the way ads are served on TikTok.”

What does this mean for marketers?

There is little to no distinction between the digital world and the ‘real’ world of offline for many people. And even when there is a distinction, the online world can take precedence.

I found this stat from a recent Roblox report particularly noteworthy:

56% of Gen Z users said styling their avatar was more important to them than styling themselves in the physical world.

Brands need to recognise how important avatars are, either as simply a form of escapism or as a way for someone to express their true selves - emotionally, creatively, sexually - in a way they can’t do outside of the digital world.

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*It’s important to mention that Roblox - like other social media - has encountered significant user safety concerns regarding young children being on the platform unsupervised. The first steps have been made to counter this with under 13s now unable to use the messaging feature.

**Aside from the fact that a lot of decision makers aren’t using the platform themselves, maybe it hasn’t become part of more media plans because one of the first brand partnerships back in 2021 resulted in the platform crashing as millions of people rushed to claim a free burrito, courtesy of Chipotle.