Forget influencers – your brand needs to be a playable character

“Dad, I just smashed my TV.”

Not exactly what you want to hear at 11:45am on Christmas Day, but that’s exactly what happened in the Holland household.

My son managed to punch through his bedroom’s widescreen TV within an hour of trying out his new Meta Quest virtual reality headset. While there were tears (and an expensive lesson in spatial awareness), this is a sign of what’s coming for us all.

From Meta Quest to Minecraft, from GTA to AI-generated environments. Digital worlds are no longer just entertainment. They are places where people are spending significant amounts of time. And your brand needs to be present in these worlds.

The virtual economy is already here

The recent Minecraft movie was a smash hit, with a record-breaking opening of $163m, even eclipsing the opening of the Barbie movie.

Video game tie-ins are nothing new, of course, but it’s not just movie tie-ins. Brands are getting involved on a deeper level. If you’re a parent, you’ve likely witnessed Minecraft’s appeal first hand: it’s essentially digital Lego, but with an engagement potential that traditional toy manufacturers could only dream of.

What makes Minecraft particularly fascinating is how it’s revolutionising brand integration. Through downloadable content (DLC) and PR based game challenges, brands are becoming part of the Minecraft experience.

From a French meat brand that got gamers to build burger billboards in exchange for a free burger, to Burberry, which created a virtual world that could be downloaded from the Minecraft marketplace. Brands are going virtual and it’s just the beginning.

Roblox on its vision for ‘blurring the lines’ between digital and physicalGrand Theft Auto VI hasn’t even hit shelves yet and it’s already projected to generate $1bn in pre-orders alone. And while GTA has traditionally used parody brands, the franchise has created a virtual ecosystem where even these fictional brands have real cultural value. But GTA is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.

As someone who grew up captivated by Tron’s digital cityscape, I’ve watched science fiction become reality. Today’s AI can generate entire worlds, constantly creating new environments, text and code in ways we’re only beginning to comprehend.

In 2024, World Labs announced its first step towards a new AI power called ‘Spatial Intelligence’. They can create immersive 3D worlds from a single image. Yeah, you heard that science fiction worthy, too amazing to be true story correctly. A single image = a 3D world. For marketers, this is a dream come true.

Brands will soon be able to become their digital worlds where consumers want to spend their time. Cadbury’s could create its own Wonka-style world for chocolate lovers to traverse. Netflix could allow you to walk the streets of imaginary worlds they’ve created as part of their shows. And the options don’t just stop there. Brands can become usable properties within this world.

From battle royale to brand royalty

Any parent of teenagers knows the Fortnite phenomenon first hand. When my kids were in their ‘Fortnite stage’, each weekend they descended the stairs to ask for the latest skins related to movies or comic book characters. And it isn’t just movies.

Take Mentos, for example. They didn’t just place ads in the game, they created a functional bazooka that players can actually use in matches: the Fizooka.

This evolution from passive advertising to active participation is different.

It’s brands being used by consumers in different ways:

• You don’t just eat mints, you fire a digital bazooka with them.
• You don’t just buy a clothing brand, you visit a digital world built by them.
• You don’t just consume burgers, you build things in digital worlds to earn a free one and, in turn, do their advertising for them.

But does this come at a cost?

The rush to stake claims in virtual worlds comes with serious ethical considerations, particularly when it comes to young users. While Minecraft, Fortnite and similar platforms offer marketing opportunities, they also raise critical questions about responsible brand behaviour in spaces dominated by children.

While gaming age restrictions exist, parental enforcement often falters under peer pressure and household dynamics. Many children access content well before they’re ready, simply because “everyone else has it”.

This is a pressure I’ve felt as a parent, and I’m sure many others have too.

This creates a responsibility for brands to self-regulate beyond basic compliance. The gambling industry, for example, is under massive pressure around advertising restrictions, and we’ve seen this also happen with food groups. The opportunities are massive around the virtual economy, then, but so is the responsibility.

And don’t just think the virtual economy is about games, the virtual economy is 2D entertainment as well.

The AI entertainment revolution

The future of virtual brand integration extends beyond gaming.

With AI video generation tools like Sora emerging, we are witnessing the birth of a completely new entertainment ecosystem. Imagine YouTube-style platforms dedicated to AI-generated content, where stories can be created and modified in real-time, offering unprecedented opportunities for dynamic brand integration.

We’ve already seen glimpses of this future. Oates Studio, which makes experimental short films (available to watch on Netflix), has demonstrated the power of ‘short entertainment’ beyond TikTok.

Lego on using tie-ups to ‘buck the trend’ in the toy sectorNow, AI is poised to take this further, enabling the creation of endless entertainment possibilities. Each one is a potential canvas for telling a brand’s story.

Brands could create the soap operas of the future. Or creators can build worlds where viewers watch and see ‘product placements’. It’s exciting to consider the potential for entertainment.

Storytellers are no longer limited by budgets or even animation or film skills. Brands are no longer limited in opportunities to reach consumers.

From shattered TV to shattered wallet

Since the smashed TV, we’ve had a chance to see how my son has navigated the virtual worlds of gaming. In short, he’s spending more of his money on games.

We have strict rules about where he can use his headset in the house, and yes, I’ve tried his ‘Meta Quest’ and, well, it’s not for me… at least not yet.

I felt truly cut off from the world as my senses were bombarded with attacks from digital soldiers wanting to shoot me. But walking around the virtual streets of Tokyo one evening? Or watching the sunset in Jamaica? Perhaps a visit to the Eiffel Tower and a look over the top of Paris.

It’s easy to imagine the virtual experiences and worlds that I’d like. And it’s easy to see how brands can become part of this. The question is if your brand is thinking like this?

Perhaps it’s time you did.