The Mars Agency has teamed up with several cutting-edge solution providers to usher Mars Wrigley’s STARBURST® brand into the metaverse, with a campaign that literally adds greater dimension to the brand experience.
In a concept featuring several industry “firsts,” STARBURST® is inviting shoppers to “Unwrap Your Imagination” by visiting the Juicyverse, a fully immersive environment within TheMall, the world’s largest virtual mall. Visitors to the Juicyverse will be able to unleash their creativity, engage with a community and earn rewards in a multi-room environment that brings the STARBURST® brand to life.
The core of the Juicyverse experience centers on a contest in which fans, users and artists at all levels can visit a vibrant, imaginative studio (see image below) to create their own unique piece of digital art using STARBURST® chews as the building blocks. Brand representatives will select 30 standout creations to be voted on by fans. The 10 highest vote-getters will have their creations minted as keepsake NFTs.
“For our first entry into the metaverse, we wanted to create a consumer-first experience that would tap into STARBURST’s brand identity in a fun, relevant way while delivering real-world benefits,” says Casey DenBleyker, STARBURST® Brand Manager at Mars Wrigley. “The Juicyverse gives our consumers a chance to express themselves in imaginative and creative ways.”
In addition to entering the contest, visitors to the multi-layered Juicyverse will encounter:
- a vending machine offering free limited-edition STARBURST®-branded wearables.
- a virtual scavenger hunt where they discover a series of objects lost in space to unlock a special product offer.
- a shop where they can view brand spots and browse STARBURST® products.
- a selfie room with Instagram-able walls to facilitate social sharing.
- an art gallery where the 30 contest finalists will be displayed, as well as the 10 winning designs.
The Juicyverse experience was designed by The Mars Agency and Mars Wrigley in conjunction with TheMall’s operator, MetaVRse. TheMall platform lets brands build photorealistic 3D stores that can be accessed by more than 7 billion web-enabled devices, including mobile phones. NFTs in the environment are hosted by Hedera, the world’s most sustainable distributed ledger.
In addition to being Mars Wrigley’s inaugural metaverse activation, the Juicyverse boasts several “first-ever” elements and executions:
1. By employing innovative technology from emerging solution provider Bambumeta, it’s the first time that a digital pass is being delivered into the user’s native Apple or Google Wallet versus a traditional crypto-wallet.
Juicyverse visitors who engage with a “Lost & Found” game will receive a unique offer to buy STARBURST® products that can be redeemed at national retailers. In the future, content on the dynamic cards can be altered to foster ongoing engagement through new messages and offers.
2. The contest represents the first metaverse activation that will capture user-generated content — which then will require implementation of the industry’s first back-end monitoring and moderation system.
3. It also represents the first metaverse promotion that will incorporate a mechanism for public voting.
“Our goal wasn’t to design a branded metaverse environment. Our goal was to create an engaging experience that would build a community of STARBURST® fans and drive commerce opportunities among Gen Z consumers,” says Brian Hutchinson, VP-Disruptive Technology & Innovation at The Mars Agency. “By combining the innovative tools of our partners, the metaverse became an ideal platform for doing that.”
MetaVRse CEO Paul Konieczny called the Juicyverse “a massive step forward for branded experiences on the immersive web.”
The Juicyverse officially launched on Floor 2 of TheMall on April 16. The digital art contest runs through May 19, with voting for the best creations beginning May 23 and the winners unveiled on May 31. Extensive marketing support will include in-store product displays with QR codes linking directly to the experience, along with paid social on TikTok, social influencers on Instagram, push notifications, and at-pump placement through GSTV.
Mars Wrigley first unveiled the experience in March at the SXSW 2023 festival in Austin, TX, where attendees of a special event were treated to a sneak preview of the environment and had free-drink tickets delivered to their native wallets via the STARBURST® digital pass.
About The Mars Agency
The Mars Agency is an award-winning, independently owned, global commerce marketing practice. With talent around the world, they connect people, technology, and intelligence to create demand and drive profitable, sustainable growth. Learn more at themarsagency.com.