Stand out amongst the brands in the shave & groom category, reach young men in an innovative way, and show up in unexpected places.
According to research, nearly half of millennial and Gen Z audiences believe that the Metaverse will give people the opportunity to reinvent themselves and experiment with their identity through virtual avatars. Many see digital items as a part of their identity.
This data pointed to a larger audience insight: the true value of virtual worlds was more than just the Metaverse hype. Virtual worlds and proto-Metaverse platforms like Roblox provide a canvas in which people can experiment, realize new identities, and explore their true, authentic selves. These virtual platforms are an equalizer in which brands can help people find the tools to pursue new modes of self-expression.
Philips Norelco is the most trusted and fastest growing electric male grooming brand*, focused on personalization and positive self-expression. Roblox was a platform where Philips Norelco could help people of all different backgrounds find new ways to face the world through trying various facial hairstyles on their virtual avatars.
With physical appearance often influencing mental health, Philips Norelco aimed to break through the crowded Metaverse space by creating an entertaining, gaming-centric experience while also building a safe, inclusive platform.
Roblox’s limited facial hair options didn’t reflect the diversity and range of individual preferences of its players.
We created 40 beards and facial hairstyles for Philips Norelco’s non-profit partner Movember to use in the Roblox Avatar Shop. Proceeds from these facial hairstyles generated an evergreen revenue source for Movember. These facial hairstyles were featured in a virtual gallery within Shavetopia where players could try them out on their avatars before purchasing. Visitors could also take selfies of their new styles and share the photos on social media.
In Shavetopia, once audiences tried on their preferred facial hairstyle, they could try using a virtual OneBlade, the hybrid electric trimmer and shaver by Philips Norelco that can trim, edge and shave any length of hair. We emphasized the versatility of the product by creating a flying OneBlade that users could fly on and use to practice trimming, edging and shaving in a life-size topiary garden. By featuring the OneBlade in a new, creative way, we were able to show the product in an entirely new light beyond IRL shaving.
Players could also use Shavetopia to jump to three popular partner Roblox games – Liberty County: Emergency Response, Retail Tycoon 2, and Tower Defense Simulator through custom portals.
Over the course of two months, we brought Shavetopia to life, adding interactive elements like a giant slide and a leader board displaying results from the timed scavenger hunt. In November, we added an in-game antagonist named “Stachesquatch” who chased players and added an additional challenge to the scavenger hunt time trial.
To drive traffic to Shavetopia, we advertised natively on Roblox and worked with the three partner games to cross-promote. The three partner games each had an in-game portal driving to Shavetopia in addition to bespoke in-game updates. These partners also announced the Shavetopia launch on their owned channels across Discord, Roblox and Twitter.
We saw 242,000 visits in the first 24 hours -- ALL organic before paid and earned media launched. In the first three days, Shavetopia peaked as a top 500 experience on Roblox - rare for brands.
Within the first week, we saw thousands of social engagements across TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, with Roblox streamers recording Shavetopia reviews and playthroughs to their audiences. The Roblox launch drove the most engaged Philips Norelco Tweet of all time while conversations about Shavetopia started in Discord servers and on YouTube game streamer channels – all firsts for the Philips Norelco brand.
As earned and paid media kicked in, visits to Shavetopia continued to climb, passing one million visits in two months. The partnership with popular Roblox games and portal creation was so successful that Roblox now offers the portals as custom paid media options for brands.
Overall, Philips Norelco believes that individual expression and appearance are critical drivers of self-esteem and well-being. Shavetopia enables a new generation of people to express their true selves in the digital world. In the end, Shavetopia proves that whether it’s in the mirror or in the metaverse, Philips Norelco is their partner in personalization.
