When games become a new branding battlefield: Nike, Roblox, and the case of Vietnam

Advergames, a form of digital game designed for commercial purposes, have emerged as a significant trend in modern digital marketing strategies (Hera, 2019). This represents a substantial shift from traditional advertising toward interactive methods of reaching target audiences. Roblox, a platform known for fostering user-generated content (UGC) and interactive engagement, is widely regarded as an ideal environment for implementing advergame strategies (Vayner3, n.d.). One notable example is Nikeland, Nike’s successful advergame initiative aimed at enhancing brand awareness (Temperino, 2023). Beyond showcasing products, Nikeland serves as an experimental platform for testing digital strategies and innovations.

Following Roblox’s official partnership with VNG and its launch in Vietnam (Vietnam News, 2024), local brands now have the opportunity to leverage advergames as effective tools to enhance customer interaction and brand awareness, especially among the 13–18 age demographic. This article sheds light on the critical success factors of Nikeland in building brand awareness on Roblox and proposes strategic implications for Vietnamese brands.

The Rise of Advergame 

In 2023, Vietnam ranked among the top five countries with the highest number of mobile game downloads worldwide, marking a significant milestone for the local gaming industry. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.39% (Interesse, 2024), Vietnam’s gamer community is projected to exceed six million individuals between 2025 and 2030. This presents a golden opportunity for brands to harness gamification as an effective marketing channel.

According to Nguyen-Masse (2024), in-game marketing has undergone substantial transformations. Rather than relying solely on traditional brand placements, companies are now integrating their products and services directly into virtual environments, positioning games as exclusive platforms for building brand awareness. This shift reflects a broader industry trend—from passive exposure to experiential branding. In particular, advergames, or digital games designed for promotional purposes, are emerging as a prominent trend. Although relatively new to the Vietnamese market, advergames have garnered significant attention, with the global market forecasted to reach USD 12.32 billion by 2028 (AppROI, 2023).

Originally introduced in the mid-2000s as tools for entertainment, advergames have rapidly evolved into a strategic marketing instrument in parallel with technological advancements. Early implementations typically involved indie-style games featuring brand mascots or characters to create memorable consumer experiences. For instance, McDonald’s M.C. Kids and Pepsi’s Pepsiman exemplify early efforts to blend entertainment with advertising through consoles and PCs (Gibson & Baird, 2024). By 2020, the rise of Roblox marked a key milestone by offering a user-generated virtual environment in which brands could engage younger audiences—particularly Gen Z and Gen Alpha—through immersive experiences. This illustrates the transition of advergames from basic promotional tools into comprehensive marketing ecosystems (Berezka et al., 2019). Rather than developing standalone games, brands have opted to build within Roblox, leveraging its interactive infrastructure and user base while significantly reducing development costs.

Contemporary advergame strategies focus on platform culture and social features to deepen consumer-brand relationships and foster loyalty. Studies show that players notice branded content 100 times more than they do in social media advertisements, with brand recall increasing by approximately 211% compared to television ads (Lee, 2025). These findings underscore the effectiveness of immersive advergame experiences in eliciting deeper emotional engagement, especially among children and adolescents, who prefer interactive activities and are more inclined to engage with digital products, virtual events, and user-generated content over passive media (Program-Ace, n.d.).

Alongside the rise of advergames, Game Finance (GameFi) emerged as a notable phenomenon in Vietnam’s gaming sector between 2019 and 2021 (Proelss et al., 2023). GameFi combines decentralized finance (DeFi) with video games, enabling players to earn real income through the ownership and trade of digital assets such as tokens and NFTs. The introduction of CryptoKitties on Ethereum in 2017 marked the beginning of NFT integration in gaming. While earlier forms of monetization existed, such as black-market trading in RuneScape or World of Warcraft—GameFi formalized these mechanisms. Meanwhile, Roblox established a user-generated gaming platform with a virtual currency convertible to real money. However, unlike GameFi’s focus on speculative finance, Roblox emphasizes creative content and community-driven development.

The period from 2019 to 2021 saw explosive growth in GameFi, fueled by the rise of DeFi and cryptocurrency. Axie Infinity (2018) epitomized the “play-to-earn” model, achieving notable success in countries like the Philippines and Vietnam. However, this success triggered a wave of imitative GameFi projects, many of which overemphasized financial mechanics—such as staking and token inflation—while neglecting content development. As a result, when the crypto market collapsed in mid-2022, many GameFi tokens lost over 90% of their value, and approximately 93% of projects lasted less than four months (Takahashi, 2024). Nansen Research (2022) reveals that the GameFi sector has been in decline since 2021 and requires significant restructuring to ensure sustainability.

Given the volatility that led to GameFi’s downturn, a critical question arises: could advergames face similar risks? GameFi’s reliance on speculative financial instruments makes it inherently unstable (Xu et al., 2024). In contrast, advergames generate value not through user monetization but through marketing investment, making them a more stable and sustainable model—evident in initiatives such as McDonald’s and Nike’s Nikeland. Furthermore, advergames enhance customer engagement and pave the way for innovative interactive advertising (Jami Pour et al., 2023).

Ultimately, GameFi and advergames exemplify two contrasting models: one fast-paced and high-risk, the other gradual yet sustainable. GameFi is defined by its alluring financial incentives but often lacks narrative depth, making it vulnerable to market fluctuations. Conversely, advergames, while not generating direct revenue, are deeply embedded in brand strategies and offer long-term sustainability through identity-building and user engagement. As such, advergames represent a more resilient model for sustainable development, fostering meaningful connections between brands and consumers through interactive experiences.

Brand Transformation in the Digital Era

Advancements in technology have fundamentally reshaped how brands engage with customers, particularly young audiences. According to Zeng et al. (2023), technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are powerful tools for building brand awareness among digitally native consumers who seek personalized, interactive experiences.

Within this evolving digital landscape, games are increasingly recognized as effective advertising platforms due to their immersive nature and emotional appeal. Chaney et al. (2018) demonstrate that in-game advertising methods—such as banner ads and product placement—significantly enhance brand recall. Furthermore, the success of such advertising depends largely on user perceptions, including factors like entertainment value, interactivity, personalization, and level of annoyance (Playable Factory, 2023). Engaging, well-designed advergames can foster deeper brand associations and improve conversion rates (Eyice Başev, 2024). 

Buijsman (2024) reports that the global gaming industry reached $187.7 billion with over 3.4 billion players in 2024, reinforcing games as one of the most effective channels for interactive communication. The integration of VR within platforms such as Roblox enables users to co-create content, enhancing brand involvement. With 60% of its users under 13 (Ramic, n.d.), Roblox allows global brands such as Nike, Gucci, and Unilever to engage younger audiences through virtual worlds, as exemplified by Nike’s innovative Nikeland.

Nikeland: Successful Brand Strategy in Roblox

Launched in 2021, Nikeland is a virtual environment on Roblox that replicates Nike’s global headquarters. Designed as a dynamic blend of gaming, social interaction, and user personalization, it functions as a digital hub where users can immerse themselves in branded experiences. The initiative has proven remarkably successful, attracting over 21 million visits to Nike’s Roblox store (Sutcliffe, 2022) and positioning itself as a benchmark for effective brand engagement in virtual spaces.

One of the primary reasons for Nikeland's success lies in Nike’s strategic decision to leverage Roblox as a platform. With nearly 98 million daily active users, most of whom are under the age of 18 (Ekhator, 2025), Roblox offers a highly concentrated audience of digital natives. By recreating its headquarters and integrating interactive sports-themed gameplay, Nike constructed a virtual environment that allows users to compete, communicate, and collaborate. This digital recreation not only enhanced brand familiarity but also enabled Nike to execute a gamification strategy that immerses users in brand narratives rather than traditional advertising.

Nike’s focus on creative content, rather than short-term promotional tactics, has further elevated Nikeland's impact. The experience allows users to design their avatars, virtually try on Nike sportswear, and customize athletic playgrounds. High-profile events, such as the NBA All-Star Week featuring LeBron James, garnered widespread attention and reinforced brand visibility across global gamer communities. By embedding elements of entertainment, interactivity, and product trial into the experience, Nike successfully aligned its brand with the digital behavior of younger users. These emotional and memorable interactions are consistent with the principles of the Processing of Commercial Media Content (PCMC) model (Buijzen et al., 2010), which explains how positive engagement enhances both short-term and long-term memory performance, particularly in adolescents.

Targeting young users between the ages of 13 and 18, Nike strategically aims to foster early brand relationships that can mature into long-term consumer loyalty. At this developmental stage, individuals are not only forming preferences but also demonstrating peak cognitive abilities related to memory retention and emotional impression. Rather than promoting a passive consumption model, Nikeland empowers users to become co-creators of their brand experience. This participatory dynamic deepens emotional engagement and shifts the brand-consumer relationship from transactional to relational.

Importantly, Nikeland is not an isolated marketing campaign, but a key component of Nike’s broader digital strategy. In 2023, Nike allocated more than $4 billion to digital advertising and promotional activities, which contributed to digital sales reaching $13.3 billion, accounting for approximately 26% of the company’s total global revenue (Haleem, 2023; Reid et al., 2024). The company’s consistent branding, paired with strategic flexibility and innovation in digital environments, has created a cohesive brand ecosystem that fosters sustained consumer engagement. Through this long-term investment, Nike has demonstrated how immersive, interactive digital experiences can effectively reinforce brand identity and customer loyalty in a rapidly evolving marketing landscape.

Implementations for the Vietnamese Brand’s Strategy 

Using advergames in brand strategy has been successfully adopted by developed nations. South Korea should be cited as a prime example since this country has been among the biggest gaming markets in East Asia, and a long-standing partner of Vietnam in digital game imports.

The country has developed a comprehensive gaming ecosystem, spanning esports, the metaverse, and cross-platform titles, with the industry expected to reach USD 31.6 billion by 2025 (Statista, 2025). Because of this, Roblox decided to join Korea by opening an office in Seoul on July 16, 2021. Roblox Korea was established to support online gaming services and development platforms, which show the potential of this market (Choi, 2021). The platform has grown significantly and gained strong attention from the Korean gaming community, particularly among younger Gen Z and Gen Alpha users. 

Leading brands like Samsung and Hyundai have recognized the huge potential of the metaverse for reaching future buyers. Hyundai became the first global automotive manufacturer to establish the "Hyundai Mobility Adventure" experience on Roblox for the local market. Beyond product brands, K-pop bands like BLACKPINK have also actively entered the metaverse when YG Entertainment partnered with metaverse studio Karta to create a virtual BLACKPINK experience on Roblox and received supportive investment from the Korean government of about $170 million (Dalugdug, 2023).  Furthermore, destination brands such as Busan City Creative Team have used metaverse platforms to promote tourism and culture. 

The Korean government invested approximately $177.1 million in the metaverse (Kul, 2022), demonstrating institutional commitment to technology that may assume a central role in future digital ecosystems. Similarities between South Korea and Vietnam illustrate the effectiveness of using gaming platforms as marketing channels for brands, and Vietnam can learn from how Korean brands adapt and use them as successful case studies.

Vietnam’s gaming industry generated over $500 million in 2024, making it the fifth-largest market in Southeast Asia (Vietnam Plus, 2024). Mobile gaming, in particular, is growing at a rate of 6.5% annually (Statista, 2024). The overlap between Roblox’s demographic and Vietnam’s young gamers—86% of whom are aged 16–24—presents a favorable opportunity for Roblox’s local expansion and brand engagement through gamification.

The official partnership between VNG and Roblox, launched in May 2024, marks a significant development. By localizing the platform through translation, cultural adaptation, and community-building, VNG plays a pivotal role in Roblox’s success in Vietnam. This localization paves the way for Vietnamese businesses to create immersive branded experiences, boosting brand recall, consumer sentiment, and purchase intent.

Nikeland’s success demonstrates the immense potential of the metaverse in cultivating brand loyalty. Unlike traditional communication models, metaverse platforms allow consumers to become co-creators of branded experiences, fostering emotional bonds and long-term engagement. Brands targeting the 13–18 age range are especially well-positioned, as this group is at a peak stage for memory retention and impression formation.

Vietnam’s rapidly growing gaming ecosystem—ranking third in Southeast Asia for mobile game downloads in Q1/2025 (Pelizzoli, 2024) —makes it an attractive market, especially in contrast to saturated regions like North America (Circana, 2024) and East Asia (Quarneti, 2024), which are experiencing declining revenues and studio downsizing 

Vietnam’s growth presents opportunities not only for local developers but also for global corporations with established reputations and financial capabilities. Companies from South Korea and Japan, such as CJ, Samsung, Netmarble, and Nexon, have already cultivated strong brand presence in Vietnam. These corporations could replicate Nike’s strategy by creating virtual experiences within platforms like Roblox to reposition their brands and establish loyal communities.

This is also a strategic moment for international gaming giants like NCSoft, Netmarble, and Krafton to invest in Vietnam’s burgeoning game development sector (Hoài Phương, 2025). Leveraging local talent and government support, these companies can produce “Made in Vietnam” titles with regional and global reach. Early investment can help secure talent pipelines, ensure product quality, and unlock new partnerships across eSports, metaverse technologies, and multi-platform distribution.

Concluding remarks

Technologies such as VR, AR, and metaverse platforms are reshaping brand engagement, particularly among youth aged 13–18. These tools enable brands to move beyond traditional models, offering deeply immersive and emotionally resonant experiences. Roblox serves as a prime example, offering an interactive gateway to younger audiences.

Nike’s Nikeland illustrates how brands can achieve long-term success through four key strategies: selecting the right platform, developing engaging content, targeting appropriate audiences, and aligning with strategic goals. With Roblox now officially operating in Vietnam, both domestic and international brands have a rare opportunity to engage young consumers meaningfully. However, success requires careful alignment with brand identity, strategic direction, and resource allocation.

Vietnam’s expanding gaming market positions it as a vital hub for future digital brand engagement and innovation, especially in Southeast Asia. Brands that act early and invest wisely will be well positioned to lead in this next frontier of marketing.

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