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Diving summary:
Puma introduced its first metaverse experience, Black Station, featuring NFTs that can be redeemed for limited-edition physical sneakers, according to a press release. The experience is part of the sports brand’s “Futrograde” show during New York Fashion Week. Black Station includes a digital lobby space with three portals. The first two portals are accessible now and feature the Nitro NFRNO and Nitro Fastroid sneakers that are tied to the brand’s recent NFT Nitropass mint. Consumers who minted a Nitropass can receive two NFTs, one linked to physical products and one to a personalized experience. After the Futrograde show, minters can burn their NFT claimed for the product and claim physical sneakers. The third portal serves as the entry point to the NYFW digital metaverse fashion show where visitors can view a digital adaptation of the show and interact with pieces from the collection. The experience speaks to how brands connect face-to-face events with digital ones through the emerging metaverse.
Diving information:
Puma is the latest brand in the fashion retail space to embrace the metaverse and related technologies. The Black Station experience links digital design to physical products through an NFT, showcasing a way brands can use technology to engage with consumers and enrich their experiences, as Prada and American Eagle have done. Its name revives a brand concept that revolved around high-end fashion.
“Given the boundaries we are pushing from a digital and product design standpoint, it seemed fitting to bring back Black Station as a new portal for digital exploration across fashion, sports performance, our legacy classics and innovation,” said Adam Petrick, Puma’s chief brand officer, in the press release.
In addition to bringing real value to Puma’s recent NFT launch, Black Station enables the brand to extend the reach of NYFW beyond its physical location. The metaverse enables a bridge between physical and digital spaces and has quickly become a popular way for marketers to get active around large-scale cultural events like NYFW. Similarly, brands like Tommy Hilfiger and DKNY participated in Metaverse Fashion Week in March.
Black Station was designed by creative startup firm FTR and is built on Unreal Engine 5. Created by developer Epic Games, Unreal is a 3D creation tool used in games, film, architecture, fashion, automotive, music, and events. live, as well as Fortnite. The engine has been a popular technology for brands getting active in the metaverse and is at the center of a collaboration between Epic Games and WPP.
The metaverse is expected to be worth $5 trillion by 2030, according to a McKinsey report, making it a shiny penny over the past year for marketers of all kinds, but especially retail and fashion. In May, Gap launched a no-purchase virtual experience on Club Roblox, while Gucci opened a persistent digital space on the platform. Such experiences seek to engage younger consumers who have popularized such digital platforms but are harder to reach through traditional advertising channels.
Source: www.retaildive.com