How Gaming Technology Is Multiplying Marketing Opportunities for Fashion

28 Oct, 2022

Chief Commercial Officer for Dtail by PixelPool, Gary Plunkett, argues fashion brands are increasingly able to access a wider target audience and present new types of products thanks to gaming technology, in the latest episode of MAD//Fest's partner podcast, Shiny New Object.

In the fashion world, brands are increasingly able to access a wider target audience and present new types of products thanks to gaming technology. This is Gary Plunkett’s Shiny New Object, as it opens up gamers to brands they would not otherwise come in contact with, and creates parallel universes that are both commercial opportunities for traditional fashion companies.

As the Chief Commercial Officer for Dtail by PixelPool, Gary is deeply involved with the growing links between fashion and gaming. The Dtail platform allows brands to create virtual 3D spaces that are twins of physical locations, where consumers can access fashion goods differently and where teams can collaborate and experiment with their products from wherever they find themselves. This is why he sees a lot of potential in gaming technology for fashion.

Gaming is opening up the market for traditional fashion

Whether someone first comes in contact with a fashion brand in a game environment, or they are a real-life fan and want to use virtual goods to enhance their avatar in the Metaverse, there are so many opportunities arising for traditional fashion brands. Gamers don’t need to be familiar with the brand in the traditional sense to consumer it in the game environment. Conversely, someone who becomes brand aware in a game, enjoys the products and wants to experience them in the physical world, can become a new consumer in both environments.

Fashion brands are already taking part in the virtual world

The number of collaborations and crossovers between traditional fashion houses like Gucci and Balenciaga and gaming environments is growing. This shows just how much opportunity there is in this space. From a commercial perspective, the market for these brands is effectively doubling, while also making their products more accessible and scalable. For example, a gamer may only purchase a high-end fashion brand’s “skin” for $9.99 to begin with, as opposed to a $700 bag in the real world.

However, they could develop an affinity for the brand that leads them to later on buy the real-world bag. At the same time, when tens of thousands of gamers buy the skin, the brand is making a lot more money for its bottom line through this new avenue. 

New ways of experiencing products

Thanks to platforms like Dtail, where the people behind the brands can collaborate in a virtual environment ad experiment with their products before selling them (in either environment), fashion is entering a new way of creating and developing products. On the one hand, teams can collaborate in a virtual 3D space in completely new ways. On the other hand, virtual stores can be accessed by anyone around the world, allowing more consumers to get to know brands they would not be able to physically visit, and extending these brands’ reach.

The host of the Shiny New Object podcast is Tom Ollerton, founder of Automated Creative.