Boss, the athletic arm of the Hugo Boss fashion brand, leveraged its fresh partnership with the NFL at the start of the new football season through an integration into Roblox ‘Super NFL Tycoon’ game which offered players a chance to unlock a virtual ‘Boss x NFL’ hoodie for the gaming character.
The athleisure clothing outfit worked with the NFL and metaverse game developer Gamefam to integrate its league team hoodie capsule collection into the Roblox game: with virtual team apparel including merchandise linked to the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills.
Players were challenged to conquer a set of six in-game challenges to unlock the team hoodies: these included kicking and defending mini-games and expanding their tycoon empire.
The initiative launched with a social campaign promoting the six exclusive designs available for a limited time in Super NFL Tycoon and the activation went live on 6 September as the NFL season kicked off with Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Detroit Lions.
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Gamefam initially developed and launched ‘Super NFL Tycoon’ within Roblox in partnership with the NFL prior to the 2023 Super Bowl LVII: the game offers players a chance to be NFL team owners. It’s launch came at the first-ever Super Bowl concert in Roblox which featured chart-topping rapper Saweetie: an event which is the highest-rated concert of all time on Roblox.
Super NFL Tycoon boasts 12.5 million lifetime visits and a 92% player rating.
By working within a popular pre-existing game, Boss opens up access to a sizeable user base of young consumers without having to build a game itself.
This activation sees Boss continue to strategy of focusing on contemporary culture alongside clothing: an approach spearheaded by its umbrella ‘Be Your Own Boss’ campaign Which aims to link to entertainment, sport, music and gaming to reach younger consumers.
The first initiative in the new BOSS x NFL tie up was a capsule collection which initially launched at the NFL Draft in April in Kansas City. The range, which began with five teams and then later expanded to include 22 teams, aims to ‘offer fans a stylish way to represent their favourite NFL teams’.
The collection includes team branded sweatshirts, vests, jackets and joggers and is available on NFLshop.com/hugoboss, BOSS.com, BOSS retail outlets, as well as select national and international retailers.
It launched through an integrated campaign fronted by NFL stars and Boss ambassadors Patrick Mahones, Damar Hamlin and Trevon Diggs.
When the deal was unveiled, NFL VP Of Consumer Products stated: “The NFL is taking a fresh approach to fan apparel with our new collaboration with prominent fashion brand Boss. Ideal for leisure, fans can stylishly rep their fandom.”
While Hugo Boss SVP Of Creative Direction added: “We’re thrilled about this new collaboration with the NFL and to be able to provide our consumers with a broad range of casual wear and athleisure showcasing their favourite teams. This collection is also a way to pay tribute to the players and the considerable training they undergo season after season, while promoting a strong, overarching message of what it means to engage and play like a Boss.”
The German-based fashion house has recently moved further into professional sports and, as well as the NFL tie-up, it has partnerships with Italian tennis star Matteo Berrettini, a Formula E team, several winter sport athletes and German track star Alica Schmidt.
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