The Metaverse as Influencer Marketing Platform: Influencer-Brand Collaborations of Parıs Hilton with ‘Superplastic’, ‘Bohoo’, and ‘Levi’s’

Year 2023, Issue: 11, 176 - 199, 21.04.2023

Zaliha İnci Karabacak , İrem Güngör

https://doi.org/10.32739/etkilesim.2023.6.11.194

Abstract

With the opportunities offered by Metaverse, brands operate in a market area that tends to expand and become more interactive. In such a market, the interaction between influencers and their followers takes place within the framework of a new business model. In this study, in order to evaluate the influencer marketing activities in Metaverse, the brand and influencer collaborations of Paris Hilton with Superplastic, Boohoo, and Levi’s, were examined with the case study and the semiotic analysis method of Roland Barthes. The analysis results showed that influencer marketing in Metaverse seems to be more creative and flexible with higher interaction due to the vast opportunities offered as a consequence of using the virtual worlds and avatars on different platforms. When it comes to users, it is observed that followers are given a real-time interaction opportunity in online virtual environments, that content forms are created in a way which is experienced through gamification; and that further opportunities are offered to develop a closer interaction between the user and the influencer avatars, and other possibilities such as purchasing digital assets and winning awards. In the Metaverse, brands appear to benefit from such opportunities as developing parallel marketing strategies between the physical world and the virtual world, preparing effective advertising campaigns with the creative potential of the virtual world, coming up with solutions to difficulties such as payment problems and counterfeiting in influencer marketing by relying on blockchain technology on the basis of Web 3.0 infrastructure, apart from selling digital products and NFTs.

Keywords

Metaverse, Influencer, Influencer Marketing, Paris Hilton, Superplastic, Boohoo, Levi’s

Influencer Pazarlama Ortamı Olarak Metaverse: Paris Hilton’un ‘Superplastic’, ‘Bohoo’ ve ‘Levi’s’ ile Influencer-Marka İş Birlikleri

Abstract

Metaverse’ün sunduğu olanaklar dahilinde markalar sınırları genişleyen ve daha interaktif bir pazar alanında faaliyet göstermektedir. Bu pazarda influencer ve takipçi etkileşimi yeni bir iş modeli çerçevesinde gerçekleşmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Metaverse’teki influencer pazarlama faaliyetlerini değerlendirmek amacıyla Paris Hilton’un Superplastic, Boohoo ve Levi’s ile marka ve influencer iş birliği durum çalışması, Roland Barthes’ın göstergebilimsel çözümleme yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular sonucunda, Influencer pazarlamada Metaverse’te farklı platformlardaki sanal dünyaların ve avatar kullanımının sunduğu imkanlar doğrultusunda daha yaratıcı, esnek, yüksek etkileşimin gündeme geldiği görülmektedir. Kullanıcı bağlamında, takipçilere çevrimiçi sanal ortamlarda gerçek zamanlı etkileşim fırsatı sağlandığı, oyunlaştırılmayla deneyimlenen içerik formları oluşturulduğu, influencer avatarı ile kullanıcı avatarına yakın etkileşim olanağı tanındığı ve dijital değer satın alma ve ödül kazanma gibi fırsatlar yaratıldığı gözlemlenmiştir. Metaverse’te markalar açısından ise fiziksel dünya ve sanal dünya arasında paralel pazarlama stratejileri geliştirildiği, sanal dünyanın yaratıcı potansiyeli ile etkili reklam kampanyaları hazırlandığı, influencer pazarlamada karşılaşılan ödeme sorunları ve sahtecilik gibi zorluklara Web 3.0 teknolojik alt yapısı ile blokzincincir teknolojisiyle çözüm sağlandığı, dijital ürün, NFT satışı gibi imkanların sunulduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Keywords

Metaverse, Influencer, Influencer Pazarlama, Paris Hilton, Superplastic, Boohoo, Levi’s

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