Fashion Brands in the Metaverse: Redefining Digital Marketing and Branding Landscapes

Abstract

In the rapidly evolving digital world and the emergence of virtual reality platforms, fashion brands must establish their presence in these new landscapes. Current frameworks require the redefinition and development of major concepts, such as digital marketing and branding. Despite the novelty of the metaverse, the fashion industry has recently witnessed a surge in investment, with major brands such as Nike, Ralph Lauren, and Gucci reaping returns of billions of dollars. The rise of the metaverse presents unprecedented opportunities for innovation in branding and marketing strategies in various sectors. However, there is a significant lack of theoretical and empirical research focusing on the digital marketing strategies employed by different fashion brands in the metaverse realm. In this new frontier of digital fashion within the metaverse, brands are exploring innovative strategies to redefine their digital marketing and branding techniques. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize fashion brand companies in the metaverse realm and investigate their digital marketing strategies. It also presents the possible impact of metaverse marketing strategies on brand equity and brand experience, documented in the extant literature review. To bridge this gap, a thematic analysis approach was adopted to offer novel insights to both practitioners and academia. This study is regarded as one of the first to address this subject. It acknowledges the multifaceted dimensions of metaverse marketing including NFTs, avatars, gaming, immersive technologies, virtual spaces, and influencers.