New Kids on the Roblox

Tracking The New Generation of Virtual Explorers

By Rebecca Blumberg, SVP, Sales, Nickelodeon Kids & Family

Kids just don’t stay still. These texters-streamers-gamers-vloggers-sports-highlight-fanatics-FOMO-fiends bounce from platform to platform and device to device. So if you’re a brand who wants to connect with one of these multi-hyphenate wonders, what do you do? Well, in order to stay relevant in an ever-evolving media macrocosm, you meet them wherever they are. 

For Nickelodeon, that meant expanding into the virtual world of Roblox. When you learn that kids 6-11 spend 30% of their time gaming*, it becomes clear that for long-term viability, Roblox needs to be an integral part of connecting with kids alongside traditional venues like TV and YouTube.  

Two years ago, Nick became one of the first entertainment brands to build a world in Roblox. In that time, we were able to test, learn and discover strategies to interact with fans in ways that are organic to the gameplay, providing value to our players as well as the brands who support our experiences.

We found that it was an incredibly effective way to reach kids at scale, drive awareness of some of our major events and create excitement and curiosity for them in the virtual world to explore further back within the Paramount ecosystem. This past year, we partnered with the NFL to host two massive tentpole events outside our owned and operated properties, which stretched from the NFL Nickmas game through the Super Bowl across five worlds.

Combined, these events delivered 76 million visits from fans who played for nearly one billion minutes. This not only made it the biggest brand event ever in Roblox history, but it also drove awareness of Nickelodeon’s connection with the NFL, resulting in more kids watching Nickelodeon’s biggest NFL games and helping to make the 2024 Super Bowl THE most watched Super Bowl among kids 2-11 and kids 6-11 in 7 years.**

We also found that it’s not enough just to show up in Roblox – you need to show up in the right way. This audience is engaging with our characters in a way they can’t in a video environment, and that creates some risk – getting it wrong creates an intrusive experience. That’s why it was imperative to work with experts to navigate the space effectively and who understand the value of intentional engagement and active interaction with brands within the metaverse. This expertise has allowed us to maintain the delicate balance between representing brands authentically while resonating with the unique culture of Roblox. We are also always mindful of the regulatory and self-regulatory principles to guide our experiences to adhere to best practices regarding kids.

This approach seems to be working. Beyond our partnerships with the NFL, kids are showing up en masse and engaging in our deeply immersive, owned and operated environments. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Tycoon launched this past August, and after just ten months racked up 31 million visits and ranks as the #3 new branded experience of 2023.*** 

Our second game, SpongeBob Simulator, is the #1 branded experience launched post-TMNT, with 39 million visits to date.*** We’re not only building affinity for our properties, but we’re also seeing in real time how fans are interacting with our IP and learning how we can adapt to this evolving relationship. And it's multigenerational—approximately half our players are 13 , enabling us to create unique activations for them.

More of our iconic IP is coming to the platform this summer with cult-favorite Avatar: The Last Air Bender. This multi-generational fanbase will be able to put their "bending" abilities to the test and compete in the Avatarverse.

Looking ahead, the future of the metaverse appears bright. Roblox is poised to remain a dominant force, offering endless opportunities for collaboration and innovation. It’s a space where creativity knows no bounds, and brands can redefine entertainment and brand engagement in unprecedented ways. 

*Source: Gaming based on Nick Device tracker (4Q21) and year-to-year changes from Dubit (April 2022 Wave  and April 2023 Wave).

**Source: Nielsen (linear)

***Source: RoMonitor, Lifetime Visits; launch - 5/5/24