In an era where box office performance is less predictable than ever, animated movies are experiencing outsize success. Inside Out 2 just became Pixar’s top-grossing film of all time, while Despicable Me 4 opened to $122.6 million. The docket for 2024 is loaded, including Transformers One, Moana 2, and The Wild Robot.
Kids and families have long played an important role in the box office. Kids, the key influencers over household spending, are likely to make the choices over what movies families will watch together. Entertainment marketing budgets recognize this influence and make sure that their content and strategies are aligned not only with co-viewing habits but also with the kids themselves.
Reaching the under-13 audience is less straightforward than it used to be, with audiences fragmented across platforms and content – but increasingly large budgets are now landing in gaming. Roblox in particular is a key place for entertainment brands to reach kids as it is such a natural home for IP and character-led content.
This year, Roblox rose five positions to become the third most used platform among kids aged 6 – 12 in the US, beaten only by Netflix and by YouTube*. Roblox’s own data indicates that the average Roblox user is using their time to visit 19 new experiences inside the platform every month. Couple that with the unparalleled scale of Roblox – in Q1 2024, there were over 32 million daily active users of Roblox games under the age of 13 – and Roblox becomes a platform that brands looking to connect with young audiences simply can’t ignore.
Our own SuperAwesome Gaming team has created many experiences to support theatrical releases. Here’s how we make those experiences excellent.
Roblox’s Advanced Development Toolkit Means the Right Developers Can Make Movie Sets, Accessories, and Characters Look Incredible inside Gaming Experiences
Animated movies are created using some of the most advanced modeling and software in the world. Typical advertising formats can take advantage of some of these materials, but they often prioritize the trailer in various cut-down formats.
Roblox’s development studio enables models and materials from animation studios to be created like-for-like inside Roblox games. A recent integration for the release of the Loud House: No Time To Spy movie on Nickelodeon and Paramount+, led by SuperAwesome in collaboration with Nickelodeon and Club Roblox, saw the Loud House house recreated one-to-one from the plans used for the hit Nickelodeon show.
This integration enables the hit show’s fanbase to experience the environment as an owner, exploring at their own pace alongside their friends.
The integration wasn’t limited to the re-creation of the environment. We also produced several UGC items for the Loud House: No Time To Spy campaign, including Lincoln Loud’s Orange Bow Tie, Luna’s Guitar, Lemonade Lipstick, a Plunger Backpack, and Lincoln’s YoYo.
These items were chosen for their iconic status in the Loud House series or their relevance to the No Time To Spy movie. Each item sold out quickly, often within an hour, thanks to an X post that created a buzz about the UGC availability. We designed these items to capture attention and appeal to fans, such as turning the plunger, a quirky item associated with a character’s lucky item, into a fun backpack with additional creative elements.
One of the key reasons open-world games appeal to brands is the level of immersion they offer the audience. Immersion is a key driver in brand affinity for young audiences and adds a whole new dimension to fandom. This integration captures that perfectly: not only can you explore the Loud House itself, but you can also express your fandom through equipping unique UGC.
Roblox Games’ Sophisticated Gameplay Loops Allow For Effective Narrative Storytelling
Just as important as the visuals is the story that the movie is trying to tell. Trailers are often the most effective medium for translating that to a potential audience in a format that draws them in.
However, for an audience whose favorite hobby is gaming, you need additional tactics to win their attention and loyalty. Gen Alpha are active consumers, as well as creators themselves, and game integrations invite them to take part in the narrative.
In a recent integration for the theatrical release of hit movie IF (Imaginary Friends), SuperAwesome worked with Paramount and Club Roblox to integrate the movie environments into the role-play game.
The core gameplay loop of Club Roblox revolves around building and decorating a home, in which you take care of your family and pets. It was important to our production team that the IF movie narrative was coherently built into the Club Roblox mechanics so that fans of the game experienced IF as an exciting addition to the game they already loved. IF was a brand-new franchise, so reinforcing that storytelling was even more important. We wanted to enable players to meet all the new characters so that they could get excited about learning more about them when watching the movie.
To accomplish this, we combined what makes Club Roblox so fun to play (being able to customize your own personal area) with one of the key elements of the IF movie (the carnival).
Just like in the movie, players access the IF environment by entering through the Aerial Swing ride and are transported to a fantastical new world where they are greeted by one of the main characters, Blue! One of the key themes of the film is that you are only limited by your imagination. Club Roblox enabled players and fans of the IF movie to design their own carnival, all while befriending IF’s and granting them exciting new items for them to use in whatever area they desired. They could even add a Ferris Wheel to their house’s backyard (any kid’s dream!)
One important piece of this integration was that this area would remain in the player’s inventory indefinitely. Players can revisit their IF carnival whenever they want, and it’s always waiting for them.
This facilitates one of the key elements of consumption that differentiates younger audiences from older: repetition. Kids could experience the movie inside the game, see the film at the theater, and then re-experience their favorite parts inside their favorite gaming environment while they waited for a streaming release.
Integrations Offer a Better and Faster Model for Movie Tie-in Experiences
A few years ago, brands defaulted to building their own experiences in Roblox. This enabled them full control over the gameplay and the look and feel of the environment. However, most brands were forced to acknowledge that maintaining a loyal fanbase after the initial launch was dauntingly difficult. With over 5 million unique experiences inside Roblox, competition inside the attention economy was tough.
Building a standalone game was not aligned with the Entertainment industry’s demands. The turnaround times necessitated by the key assets becoming available closer to the release date, plus the time needed to amplify the experience, are simply not available.
Integrations offer quick timelines, but they also offer sophisticated gameplay loops and highly engaged audiences who expect regular updates and new content. The breadth of games available on the Roblox platform means you can align the movie with the right game based on the target audience, the themes of the movie, and the gameplay mechanics.
A good brand integration is likely to be higher fidelity and more engaging than a bespoke build simply because the developer knows both the game and the audience and how to make both work alongside the brand.
Entertainment’s high bar and infusion of iconic and new IP on a regular basis is ideal for developing robust experiences within Roblox and pushing the envelope in the gaming space.
4 Quick Takeaways for Entertainment Brands Looking to Activate in Roblox
1. Use Integrations as a Way to Highlight All the Weird and Wonderful Details of Your IP
One of the best things about Roblox is that you’re only limited by the imagination of your production team (and ours know no limits). Use gameplay mechanics to tell the story, give your characters voices, and use UGC items to make players part of the story. Integrations can be as big and exciting as the film itself.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Launch New IP in Gaming
Roblox players are open to exploration and constantly try new games. Familiar characters perform well, but games are also an excellent place to introduce your audience to new characters.
3. Keep Your Integration Live after the Movie Release
Young audiences build loyalty through repetition, so let them come back to your integration after the movie has been released. They’ll want to re-experience the integration with the added layer of knowledge and enjoyment that seeing the movie has given them. Allowing players to re-experience the content is an essential way to build up fandom – and keeps the engagement going through to the streaming release.
4. You Can Activate in Gaming Even If Your Timelines Are Short
Integrating into existing games enables us to create high-fidelity, quick-turn experiences within a matter of weeks.
We’ve done many diverse and original activations for a wide range of brands. Contact us to find out how we can connect you to this critical and exciting platform.
Big thanks to Nick Nicolaou, our Senior Games Producer, for his help adding detail to this article.
