Dive Brief:

• Hugo Boss is promoting the debut of its new denim-focused line, Hugo Blue, by joining online gaming platform Roblox, according to news shared with Marketing Dive.
• The German fashion house has set up a Planet Hugo world carrying interactive experiences such as Hugo Fashion Match, which lets players style denim looks and share them with their peers.
• Roblox continues to build out services tailored to brand marketers that view gaming and the concept of the metaverse as important bridges to Gen Z. Engaging young consumers is critical for Hugo Boss as it struggles to hit sales targets.

Dive Insight:

Luxury fashion continues to gravitate toward Roblox, an online game that allows brand partners to build custom virtual worlds for shoppers to explore. Roblox players control avatars that can don different outfits and participate in a variety of in-game activities for rewards. For Hugo Boss, those capabilities serve as a digital-first way of trumpeting its recently announced Hugo Blue line that takes inspiration from streetwear culture and features gender-neutral, denim-heavy styling while potentially fostering loyalty with elusive young consumers.

The high-end German fashion house is interested in tapping into gamification and facilitating social moments that bring people together with Planet Hugo, Nadia Kokni, senior vice president of global marketing and brand communications at Hugo Boss, said in a press statement.

A gaming campaign backing Hugo Blue’s launch comes as the company is under growing business pressure. Shares in Hugo Boss dropped sharply Thursday, the same day as the Planet Hugo announcement, after the brand warned it may not reach its sales targets for 2025.

Other luxury fashion labels, including Gucci, have flocked to Roblox to stay on the leading edge of tech. Marketing on Roblox is typically linked to the metaverse, though that term has fallen out of vogue in the past year as executives turn their attention to generative artificial intelligence.

Still, Roblox has continued to expand its services targeted at advertisers. The platform recently debuted a dedicated website for brands learning the platform’s ropes and looking for successful case studies. Additional brand safety controls in the ads manager could also allay worries that efforts might reach the wrong audience. Roblox additionally has made several hires to shore up its advertising relationships, snapping up executives from companies like Twitch, Meta and Disney Interactive.

Roblox is also interested in becoming a bigger destination for commerce, which has helped attract partners like Hugo Boss. Over 1.6 billion virtual items were sold on Roblox in the first three quarters of 2023, a representative said.