From brand awareness to driving loyalty and sales on Roblox, 2024 saw brand activations in virtual worlds hit KPIs attached to every stage of the marketing funnel.
This blog highlights five brands effectively using gaming to drive Gen Z loyalty and sales. By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of how Roblox can bridge virtual engagement with real-world results, offering actionable insights to apply to your own bottom-of-funnel strategies.
Let’s get into it 👇
1. Walmart on Roblox
In April 2024, GEEIQ partner Walmart became the first brand to integrate real-world commerce into Roblox through its ‘Walmart Discovered’ experience. U.S. players can now order real-world items, like headphones or bags, directly within the platform and receive a virtual twin for their avatars with each purchase.
But that’s not all.
Walmart added an augmented reality (AR) element to its consumer experience. In-store shoppers could scan a QR Code, enter an AR version of ‘Walmart Discovered’, and explore what exclusive virtual items they could access if they purchased a Roblox gift card from Walmart.
Supported by GEEIQ’s virtual experts, Walmart’s virtual strategy has seen the brand reach 28.8 million visits to its Roblox experience since September 2023. With the introduction of these bottom-of-funnel initiatives, Walmart makes it more likely that they’ll convert these virtual visitors to real-world customers.
We spoke to Justin Breton, Head of Brand Marketing Innovation at Walmart, about the bottom-of-funnel results their team is seeing:
“We’ve implemented third-party studies in the experience that have given us insights into how likely those who come into Walmart Discovered are to shop with Walmart versus a control group. And the data that we’ve gotten from that particular study alone signals that, from a brand standpoint, this has been a home run.”
2. Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice on Roblox
In August 2024, Warner Bros and Fandango entered Roblox with the launch of their experience, ‘[BEETLEJUICE] Escape the Afterlife’.
For the first time, players could buy real-world movie tickets directly within Roblox in a virtual Fandango box office. Each ticket purchase came with a limited-edition UGC item, driving in-game engagement and enhancing sales.
While the exact number of ticket sales remains undisclosed, the virtual Fandango theater saw over 158K visits.
The overall experience saw an impressive 25.3 million visits in just over two months—surpassing other major film activations on Roblox during similar timeframes, including Despicable Me 4 (17M visits), Kung Fu Panda (16.9M), and Shrek (9.8M).
By blending commerce with creativity, Warner Bros tapped into a new audience that might not have been familiar with the original movie released in 1988. This activation demonstrated the power of gaming for engagement and as a scalable platform for driving sales.
3. Chipotle on Roblox
Chipotle launched the Chipotle Burrito Builder on Roblox, inspired by fans who compared the challenge of rolling burritos to a video game. In a first for Roblox, this allowed players to earn real-life rewards through gameplay.
In the experience, players earned “Burrito Bucks” by completing mini-games and challenges. These could be redeemed for real-world entrée codes, with the first 100,000 participants receiving discount codes usable on the Chipotle app and website.
With 28.4 million total visits and an average of 948k monthly visitors since October 2021, the experience highlights the significant potential for growing sales through Roblox.
Cynthia Miller, Head of Innovation at Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media, elaborated on Chipotle’s virtual strategy:
“Chipotle’s burrito maze promotion a few years ago, tying discount codes to the experience, was genius and ahead of its time. I think more restaurants, snack brands, and FMCG companies will wake up to this opportunity because of how fast spending cycles are.”
4. Superdrug on Roblox
Superdrug took a different approach to bottom-of-funnel marketing in gaming. For their 60th anniversary, the brand integrated into three popular experiences from Banana Studios:
- The Ultimate Easy Obby (337.7 million visits since August 2022)
- Chill Obby (207.8 million visits since February 2023)
- Super Fun Obby (207.3 million visits since October 2022)
In these games, players navigated virtual obstacle courses designed with Superdrug products, including ProCare, Fruity, and Solait. On completing all three games, players had the chance to win a discount code for a free real-world shower gel.
In regard to brand awareness, Superdrug’s three integrations drove 1.2 million visits and saw 170k virtual items claimed on Roblox.
With regard to bottom-of-funnel results, Superdrug saw 15,000 people enter their store to claim the free shower gel they won on Roblox. This approach demonstrates an innovative way to seamlessly connect virtual engagement with physical retail, driving in-store foot traffic that creates opportunities for additional sales once customers are in-store.
5. Hilton Hotel & Resorts on Roblox
Hilton Hotels & Resorts integrated into Paris Hilton’s Roblox experience, ‘Slivingland’, and drove more than 27,000 sign-ups to its loyalty program. How?
Players participated in scavenger hunts and watched a 30-second Hilton Honors ad for a chance to win loyalty points or a Diamond Status upgrade.
Players were invited to play a scavenger hunt and watch a 30-second Hilton Honors video ad in exchange for a chance to win real-world Hilton Hotel Honors points. 111 players had the chance to win points. Of these, 11 players were also upgraded to Hilton Honors Diamond Status for a year.
Ultimately, 88.9k players viewed Hilton’s commercial on Roblox and 27.3k players signed up to the Hilton Honors loyalty program.
Miller elaborated on how brands can use virtual worlds to drive loyalty:
“How do we rethink loyalty within the Paris fandom? Slivingland has done the same visitor numbers in the first two months that we launched that it took our last experience, Paris World, two years to achieve. We’re seeing it as an evergreen entertainment hub, really, for everything that’s happening in Paris’ world – music, entertainment, fashion, brand partnerships. We’re really just seeing the beginning of it.”
Key takeaways
For marketers, the takeaway is clear. Bottom-of-funnel marketing in gaming is more than a trend—it’s a strategic edge.
These brands have leveraged virtual worlds to bridge digital experiences with real-world impact, turning engaged players into loyal customers. From driving online-to-offline sales to offering unique rewards and exclusive products, they’re demonstrating the untapped potential in gaming environments to meet high-value KPIs.
To learn more about virtual strategies and the trends brands are currently following as they invest in this space, take a look at our latest report, The State of Virtual Brand Experiences III.
