The collaboration consists of a 12-shade range of polishes with game-inspired names like “Pixel Dust” (shimmery dusty pink) and “Sage Simulation” (sage green). Through January, the complete collection will be exclusively available at Ulta Beauty in the U.S. It will roll out globally to other major retailers like Target.com and Amazon in February. This is the first gaming collab for OPI, though the brand has a long history of unique collaborations, including with Hollywood films. As 2021 closed out with gaming, the metaverse, and NFTs taking the central stage in beauty marketing, the collaboration suggests that the momentum will continue this year.

“Several OPI staffers are avid gamers, and we’ve been watching the world of gaming expand its audience [by becoming] an outlet for relaxation, stress relief, and social connection across friends and families,” said Emi Moreno, senior marketing director at OPI North America. “While our customers didn’t specifically ask for a gaming collab, we’ve always had great success with our past partnerships that reach outside of beauty.”

The Xbox tie-up is fairly in-depth. Starting in February, for any $20 purchase of the collection at Ulta Beauty or Amazon.com, players can register to receive a free in-game car livery for the “Forza Horizon 5” game. What’s more, “Halo” players can receive special armor matching several shades from the OPI collection. There is also an Instagram sweepstakes to win the 12-piece collection along with a custom Xbox controller that matches the shades “Achievement Unlocked,” “Racing for Pinks” and “Can’t CNTRL Me.” The collection will be housed on endcaps in Ulta Beauty stores, with a cloud backdrop used as in-store signage. The signage is inspired by the “cloud-filled skies” of the “Forza” and “Halo” games. Finally, Ulta Beauty will offer an exclusive duo-pack of products featuring the “Racing for Pinks” and “Trading Paint” shades.

OPI and Xbox will gift the collection to press and influencers in the gaming and beauty space, and OPI will have paid advertising and promotion with influencers on Twitch and YouTube. Twitch is a new platform for OPI to experiment with, said Moreno.

“Beauty is a brand new space for Xbox to play in,” said Marcos Waltenberg, director of global partnerships at Xbox. “Our Xbox global partnerships team keeps a pulse on the latest pop culture trends and beloved brands in gaming-adjacent spaces like beauty, music and sports. Our partnership with OPI was integrated from the start, with both brands collaborating on the collection and marketing campaigns — with the shared goal of reaching young, global audiences who love beauty, gaming, play and self-expression.”

Notably, Xbox collaborated with MAC Cosmetics in Oct. 2021 for a Halloween activation. Four makeup artists created four looks based on Xbox game characters from “Halo,” “Sea of Thieves” and “Psychonauts.” Back in …read more

Source:: Digiday

Author: Aaron