The metaverse has grown significantly in popularity in recent years and is estimated to be worth trillions. It is of no surprise that academics and marketers alike have begun to explore the potential of this new platform and the limitless creativity that it offers. The literature around this topic is still relatively limited and this new frontier still plenty to be explored. Digital fashion marketing is likely to be a leading area when looking at the development of entertainment and clothing within the metaverse and many brands such as Nike, Gucci and Adidas have already made a splash in the space. This dissertation aims to explore what the metaverse means for the future of digital fashion marketing and discover what can be learned from the early adopters in the space with a focus on the fashion marketing approaches of Gucci and Nike.
The literature review presents a summary of the existing literature around several topics and following on from this the methodology presents the research design of the data collection process. For the data collection 5 semi-structured interviews were carried out in which industry professionals with knowledge of the metaverse and web3 where interviewed. The thematic analysis of these interviews highlighted several key themes around digital fashion marketing and the metaverse and helped to answer the research objectives. Some of these themes included Gamification, Brand Experience and the importance of collaboration and community.
Interviewees also highlighted that brands should not be afraid to take risks when looking to enter the metaverse and some suggested the importance of being aware of what is happening in this fast-growing space and how this can play a role in the development of digital fashion marketing.
Using these findings recommendations have been made as to what fashion brands can do to prepare themselves for the metaverse and while the research is limited due to the sample size, it aims to act as a pilot for further research into these topics. Recommendations to future researchers have also been made. In regard to how brands can look to enter the metaverse it is recommended that they should look to be as creative as possible and take almost a guerrilla approach to their marketing. Brands should also focus on the community they are building the brand around and how the marketing that is being created can best be delivered to that community as this is a foundational pillar of the metaverse and is what has enabled the native brands within the metaverse to thrive. Interesting areas for research outside of the scope of this dissertation are also proposed such as exploration into how data will be handled in web 3 and the metaverse due to its decentralisation disrupting third party data collection.
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