#40: McLaren Racing Releasing F1 NFTs, Alo Yoga VR App Coming to Meta Quest

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In This Article

Around the Block…

• Blockchain / NFT: McLaren Racing, Hugo Boss

• AR / VR / Visuals: Alo Yoga, Fendi, Nike

• Roblox: Universal Pictures, Skechers, Sony Pictures

Chain Reactions!

• McLaren Driving Repeat Engagement with New Collectibles

• Brands Looking for New Ways to Refresh the Store Experience

• Alo Yoga Leaning into Immersive Environments

Around the Block…

Blockchain / NFT

• McLaren Racing: Releasing Free NFTs with Prize Opportunities

  • McLaren is partnering with NFT marketplace OKX to release digital collectibles for each of the 24 remaining Formula 1 races in 2024. Collectibles will have varying rarities and can be claimed each race weekend. At the end of the season, participants who own one NFT from each of the 24 races are eligible for a special NFT that includes an opportunity to win prizes.

  • Sources: OKX McLaren Marketplace / OKX / X (OKX)

• HUGO BOSS: Officially Launches Tokenized Loyalty Program in UK

  • As announced in May, HUGO BOSS has officially launched their blockchain-backed loyalty program ‘XP’ for UK shoppers as of June 10th. The program is accessible through the ‘HUGO BOSS’ mobile app and includes four loyalty tiers with unique perks that can be unlocked by accumulating tokens via store visits and product purchases.

  • Sources: HUGO BOSS ‘XP’ / X (HUGO BOSS)

AR / VR / Visuals

• Alo Yoga: Bringing VR Workout App to Meta Quest Later this Year

  • Athletic apparel brand Alo has created a mixed-reality app called ‘Alo Moves’ for the Meta Quest headset. The app is currently in beta, but slated for full launch later in 2024. Participants will be able to take part in instructor-led 3D immersive yoga classes designed for all levels.

  • Sources: Meta / Venture Beat

• Fendi: Bringing 3D Product Visualization Tool to Select Stores

  • The LVMH fashion house is partnering with Epic Games and Monochrome Paris to bring 3D product previews to select stores using the graphics capabilities of Epic Games’ video game platform Unreal Engine. The visualization tool will allow customers to see high-quality product details on-screen and allow for tailoring and adjustment previews digitally in-store. LVMH originally announced a partnership with Epic Games in June 2023, promising ‘new types of immersive product discovery experiences’.

  • Sources: Journal Du Luxe / LVMH

• Nike: Showcases Dri-Fit Benefits with Interactive Store Experience

  • Nike has created a digital experience communicating the benefits of its Dri-Fit material, available for customers to interact with in select London, Paris, and Berlin store locations. The activation, created in partnership with OMM agency, features body tracking and real-time animation brought to life through LED screens, along with technology from Unreal Engine, Move AI, Unity, and ZED Cam.

  • Sources: LinkedIn (Tony M.)

Roblox

• Universal Pictures: Launches ‘Despicable Me 4’ Roblox Heist Game

  • Universal Pictures partnered with Roblox gaming leader Century Games to create a standalone experience ahead of the upcoming release of Despicable Me 4. The game features Gru and friends, where players can unlock UGC digital wearable items. Additionally, the movie franchise will host month-long listening party pop-up events in the popular

    ‘Livetopia’ and ‘Metro Life’ experiences which were also developed by Century Games.

  • Sources: Roblox (Despicable Me 4 Heist Obby) / LinkedIn (Jason Steyaert) / Roblox (Livetopia) / Roblox (Metro Life)

• Skechers: Held Pop-Up Store in ‘Livetopia’ Roblox Experience

  • Skechers partnered with Super League and Century Games to bring a pop-up store to the popular experience, ‘Livetopia’. Visitors could participate in a treasure hunt for Skechers’ digital items and try items on their avatars. Super League’s press release stated that the Skechers’ experience generated 3.4M visits, 4M try-ons, and 45M impressions in five weeks.

  • Sources: Global Newswire (Super League)

• Sony Pictures: Rewards Streaming Members with Roblox UGC

  • Sony Pictures is offering Ghostbusters Roblox UGC digital items to members of Sony Pictures Core, a movie purchase and rental app available on Sony’s PlayStation and Bravia TVs. Members can score free common UGC, with the rare items requiring movie purchase, rental, or a PlayStation Plus membership plan.

  • Sources: X (Ghostbusters) / LinkedIn (Dubit)

Chain Reactions!

• McLaren Driving Repeat Engagement with New Collectibles

  • McLaren’s new NFT collection is structured to drive long-term repeat engagement among fans. By releasing NFTs during each of the remaining 24 race weekends in the 2024 Formula 1 season, they are creating a program that will keep advocates participating week after week for a chance at winning exclusive prizes. This setup seems to be more inclusive than Red Bull Racing’s approach - periodic NFT collections featuring well-known artists available for purchase - and will likely draw a wider net of Formula 1 fans to keep up with McLaren.

• Brands Looking for New Ways to Refresh the Store Experience

  • It’s evident that brands are looking for new ways for technology to enhance the shopping experience and excite shoppers in-store (holograms, AI assistants, interactive mirrors, engaging video experiences). We seem to be in the very early stages, where brands are testing in select locations, and are yet to reach scalability given cost, operations, and unproven ROI. We’ll continue to see unique and creative projects while brands and tech providers prove out tactics and create a path for streamlined activation.

• Alo Yoga Leaning into Immersive Environments

  • Alo Yoga has been pushing forward various immersive experiences - with this week’s Meta Quest experience being the latest. Previously, they created an app for Apple’s Vision Pro headset with the help of virtual store platform Obsess. They also have a very successful Roblox experience, Alo Sactuary, which has achieved over 110M visits since being rolled out in early 2022.

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