Gen Z Wants to Co-Create the Metaverse. Here’s How Brands Can Make That Happen.

Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Columnist Network series, which explores the tactical thoughts and actions from Adweek’s community of high-level experts. Today, Christina Wootton of Roblox identifies new trends in user engagement being set by young audiences. Below, in her own words, she lists three key ways for brands to immerse users seeking reciprocity from their platforms. Make your brand Gen Z-proof Meet Gen Z: the 72 million people born between 1997 and 2012. The "Super Creatives." Research points to this generation being “hyper-connected, highly opinionated” individuals who are inherently comfortable expressing themselves via digital creative tools. Gen Z is looking to engage with brands who understand and embrace their “creative language” and provide opportunities for self-expression, both virtually and in real life. In a recent study from the National Research Group, nine out of 10 Gen Z respondents said they were excited about participating in experiences that change in real time and the ability to create anything, anywhere. The key to relevancy in the eyes of Gen Z is to find and experiment with opportunities for co-creation. Some forward-thinking brands were tuned into this trend early—take, for instance, a 2019 episode of Netflix’s Black Mirror where viewers could pick the ending. More and more, audiences expect opportunities for co-creation as they engage with content and experiences. On user-generated platforms, for example, co-creation is a natural part of community interactions where anyone can build, create, design and come up with amazing ideas that oftentimes brands couldn’t even imagine. So, if brands wish to capture and engage Gen Z audiences, what ways can they build interactivity and co-creation into their strategic initiatives? Step into a world of co-creation On Roblox, we are seeing brands target the Gen Z audience by building experiences with interactivity in mind, from being able to watch exclusive content to choosing your own adventure, to generating a one-of-a-kind piece of art. The experiences are transcending the boundaries of traditional brand-customer relationships and setting the stage for a new form of human interaction. Here are three principles that have been guiding brands to add elements of interactivity and co-creation to their virtual experiences, break away from the traditional and engage new audiences. Give users ownership over how they engage with a branded experience. A great recent example of implementing this is the Twenty One Pilots virtual concert, where attendees had multiple avenues for engagement, including controlling the order of the setlist with instantaneous voting and even embarking on an interactive scavenger hunt that teleported them between the concert venue and other popular virtual worlds on Roblox. Offer creation opportunities as part of the virtual brand experience. Virtual experiences can be places for users to experiment with and express their identities. One way to make your virtual experience interactive is to tap into this desire for self-expression through personalized designs. For example, the shoe customizer in the virtual Vans World experience lets users create their own unique shoes to be worn by their avatars. Their global brand leadership talks about how the Vans brand is shared with fans and how giving up some control of the brand has been taking place for a long time—a trend that brand executives need to be acutely aware of. Create a sense of shared experience through community interactions. The metaverse is meant to bring people together in an immersive way—through shared, interactive community activity, for example. The recent In the Heights virtual launch party invited users to enter Washington Heights and learn dance routines from video tutorials taught by the movie’s cast. Users could then join a virtual flash mob, which had over 900,000 participants in a single day, showing off their dance moves that they learned in the experience. Turn passive viewers into active participants When co-created content and experience drive a brand’s strategy, users transform from passive viewers to active participants. And active participants feel loyalty and ownership of the brands with which they choose to engage. Brands that embrace new methods of customer participation will be able to successfully capture the attention of Gen Z audiences and secure their ongoing relevance in both the real and virtual worlds.