Roblox Brand Partnerships Chief Stephanie Latham Talks Ads, Fan Hubs, User Safety and More: ‘The Shopping Lens is Endemic to Our Platform’

variety.com:

Kaare Eriksen Media Analyst With an average of 77.7 million daily active users in the first quarter of 2024, Roblox is an interactive platform too good for just about any brand to pass up.

Stephanie Latham, VP of global brand partnerships at Roblox, stopped by Variety podcast Strictly Business to discuss just how lucrative Roblox has become as an experiential platform for users, creators and brands alike to interface with each other, be it through experiences built around music, film, TV, sports or individual personalities. Listen to the podcast here: “It’s been really fun to see in the music space artists like Blackpink, Twice, Elton [John], Mariah [Carey]… the full range and full gamut, come to the platform to perform to connect with our fans and really use it as a deep form of engagement,” Latham said. “Sports is another great place,” she said. “A lot of the leagues have leaned in… like NFL, NHL, even tennis, USTA, NASCAR… using Roblox as a way to extend the events that are happening in real life.” That IRL aspect extends to the cinema.

Before it hit theaters at the of March, a playable version of Warner Bros.’ trailer for “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” hit the platform, tossing players into an obstacle course constructed around the monster movie through Kong’s hand pulling them into the experience as the trailer played. “Godzilla x Kong” opened to $80 million domestically and has since grossed more than $550 million globally, making it one of 2024’s cinematic standouts.

Per Roblox, over half of its daily users fall into the Gen Z demographic, making the platform a vital access point for more traditional markets struggling to keep younger consumers engaged.