NIVEA Enters the World of Roblox with Jung von Matt

NIVEA has created its first experience within the Roblox gaming world, inviting the Roblox community to climb a tower visually inspired by the brand’s iconic packaging. 

In the brand's new Tower Run game, developed by Jung von Matt’s JvM NERD division, their tech unit ALFR3D, and the London-based metaverse KPI specialist GEEIQ, users climb a tower depicted amidst creamy white clouds reminiscent of the iconic blue NIVEA tin. Each level represents a different product category: Face Cleansing, Deodorant, NIVEA Men and Sun. The corresponding products, from cleanser and deo to crème and sunscreen, are integrated as power-ups and boost the player in the respective stages. 

The goal is to climb the tower by running along the inside of the tower in typical Jump’n’Run fashion, overcoming various obstacles from steam turbines to lava grids and laser beams. During the run, players can collect NIVEA coins, which they can later exchange in-game items. The best players also have the chance to claim limited and exclusively designed UCG items. The first UCG is a blue fleece hoodie designed by the well-known Roblox creator @Junozy.

NIVEA is among a handful of German brands (including Adidas last week) to have entered the world of Roblox, which is gen z’s most popular platform with over 70 million daily users in more than 100 countries and a market capitalization of 25 billion dollars.

The primary motivation for NIVEA entering Roblox is authentic interaction with the global Roblox community. The brand aims to provide an entertaining yet challenging minigame and reward players with the limited and exclusive UGC items. In addition, the brand wants to get to know the community, the platform and the mechanisms of the Roblox ecosystem as early as possible and generate first learnings. 

“Gen z’ers love Roblox – especially the various opportunities to connect and communicate and the new forms of self-expression the platform enables,” said Annika Spitz, digital early innovation manager at NIVEA. “With the NIVEA Tower Run we want to meet the Roblox community in their natural habitat, provide a fun and challenging experience and learn about the brand’s perception on the platform.”

Thanh Dao, managing director and partner at JvM NERD and ALFR3D, added, “For many brands, virtual worlds remain complete black boxes. Often, brands don't even know what worked and why something didn't. Building gaming worlds for brands from the very beginning with such analytical foresight is a forward-thinking approach. And being able to accompany a brand like NIVEA on its journey into the metaverse naturally fills us with great pride.”