Metaverse marketing targets children: Virtual platforms like Fortnite and Roblox emerged as popular advertising channels for brands looking to make inroads with young users, but they are still video games-first—and ones that serve an extremely young demographic.
- SuperAwesome, a subsidiary of Fortnite creator Epic Games, whose stated goal is to “deliver responsible youth digital marketing campaigns,” rolled out a product that lets parents authenticate their children’s accounts and restrict certain behaviors.
- Through SuperAwesome, Epic games is trying to appease both brands and concerned parents in one fell swoop. Its rival metaverse platform Roblox is frequently the subject of concerns around its young userbase, from instances of sexual exploitation to exposes alleging that the company’s virtual economy is powered by underage labor.
- While many brand activations on Fortnite and Roblox are about building brand familiarity with young users for later on in their lives, there are also campaigns that are directly relevant to children, like Roblox and Kids Foot Locker’s most recent activation.
Our take: Both TikTok and metaverse platforms will have to put effective systems in place to protect young users if they want to quell brand, parental, and regulator concerns about their places in advertising. Brands that partner with those platforms should take extra steps to ensure that their activations prioritize safety for young users.