Paris Hilton aims to change how brands view the metaverse

Paris Hilton is on a mission to change how brands approach the metaverse—not as a one-and-done game but as a social channel to build into long-term media strategies. Hilton, who proclaims herself the Queen of the Metaverse, views herself and her virtual creations as a “bridge for brands to be able to come into the metaverse because it’s obviously such a new world for so many brands and they don’t know how to come in.” 

Hilton today unveiled her latest Roblox world, Slivingland, with the goal of shifting how brands view activating in the metaverse as well as being the intersection for the hottest topics in marketing: fandom, emerging technology and the creator economy. Slivingland will host Hilton’s media empire while also offering real estate to brands. It acts as a home for content and products created by Hilton and her media company, 11:11 Media.

Also read: Inside the rise of celebrity-owned agencies

Visually, it melds Hilton’s unique brand of all things pink, bedazzled, veloured, flip-phoned and electronica into a neon-lit cityscape. Users can visit venues that host the creator’s music, podcasts and shows, as well as games, events and product drops such as digital pets and a limited line of 2000s fashion to celebrate Slivingland’s launch.

Slivingland will sell marketers real estate and naming rights for everything from streets and alleyways to customizable billboards and buildings. Brands will also be able to hold events in Slivingland with Hilton as well as the community of “my other celebrity friends and influencers and gamers” that she aims to spotlight through her virtual presence, Hilton said in an interview with Ad Age.

Sliving in the metaverse

Last year, the marketing world was in a frenzy of NFT projects and metaverse activations, both of which have since slowed down as Web3 continues to develop and technologies such as generative AI have become hot topics. While some brands quickly leaped to erect their “metaverse cute thing that happens on the side,” Cynthia Miller, director of Web3 and metaverse at 11:11 media, said Slivingland exemplifies a successful model for activating on platforms such as Roblox.

“We’re going to be talking about gaming platforms like Roblox as another social channel in the marketing mix in the future,” said Miller. Slivingland’s format allows users to explore and interact with Hilton’s brand 24/7. It also provides Hilton and her media company, as well as future partners, the opportunity to interact with the consumers through consistently updated features and products, in addition to simply getting in the game and participating alongside fans.

For brands that don’t have the resources or know-how to construct elaborate platforms, metaverse worlds such as Slivingland can serve as a stepping stone in interfacing with Gen Z consumers. Todd Lichten, head of entertainment partnerships at Roblox, said the platform’s young community of 66 million active users presents an opportunity to grab awareness with desirable audiences, but also greater opportunities for commerce and sales for those willing to stick around and mature alongside players.

Related: A marketing guide to Gen Z consumers

“Some brands want to service the moment,” said Lichten. “And the relationships that (11:11 Media) will have with brand partners—it gives them an entry point that requires a little less friction, and they can still drop virtual items and create events.”

The merging of media and tech is critical to Slivingland, said Krystal Hauserman, chief marketing officer of 11:11 Media. The marketer said Slivingland’s longevity lies in Hilton’s enthusiasm to innovate distribution models alongside fans. For example, Hauserman said, instead of listening to one of Hilton’s podcasts in the car, “having fans from around the world for a special curated listening party, getting to sit alongside Paris listening to a new podcast, getting to participate and be part of her next music video—we are blending traditional ways [of engagement]. That’s the pivot—it’s the consumption of media where we’re innovating.”

The Paris effect

Hilton was an early adopter of Web3 technologies, launching digital wearables as early as 2015 and beginning to develop her other metaverse community, Paris World, in 2017, “but obviously the technology hadn’t caught up with me yet,” Hilton said. Slivingland is the next level of Hilton’s Web3 ambitions that revolve around content ownership and curating her own cultural presence, a topic which has been particularly resonant over the past years alongside social reevaluations of celebrity treatment, particularly women such as Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan in the early 2000s.

“A lot of brands are sitting back and they know they need to be in the metaverse, but they don’t know how,” said Hauserman. “Where Paris has been such a trailblazer, and the 11:11 team, is being a safe partner to come in and help brands show up in a new world.”

Part of Hilton’s inspiration for launching 11:11 Media, of which she is CEO and chairwoman, was to combine the community, content and commerce with her first-adopter eye for cultural trends. In previous metaverse projects, Hilton has partnered with brands including Levi’s and L’Oreal’s Urban Decay, for which she’s launched products and congregated virtual crowds in the millions.

Hilton said her cultural clairvoyance was something she was born with. “Also, the ADHD helps with that, and being an Aquarius,” said Hilton. “I’m just like a naturally creative person.” She also credits her enthusiasm for research and being “a student of the game” when it comes to tech and innovation, and can lend the power of her 70 million social followers.

A recent partnership was with Taco Bell, for which Hilton created social content, a hotline and revived an archived song to launch the return of the chain’s Volcano Menu. Taco Bell told Ad Age the campaign has been one of its most successful this year, and 11:11 Media said it drove $3.3 million in ad equivalency.

Taylor Montgomery, CMO of Taco Bell U.S., said the key to partnering with celebrity agencies is to make sure both the celebrity’s interest in the brand is genuine as well as can have a cohesive creative relationship with the brand’s agency.

“It’s critical that celebrity-led companies help co-create ideas with our agency partners. Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media was a great addition to our long-standing ad partners Deutsch LA as well as our broader marketing team,” said Montgomery via email. “11:11 Media was on the journey with us every step of the way, ensuring the integrity of Paris’s image and cohesion with the Taco Bell brand stayed true to everything we did.”

Hilton also takes pride in her creative spontaneity and considers it a critical part of her process. In June, Hilton and singer Kim Petras were stuck for hours on a New York City tarmac as storms delayed their plane’s takeoff. Hilton took the opportunity to film a social video for Taco Bell, ordering items from the Volcano Menu to serve on the jet. The video has nearly 2 million plays on Instagram and over 200,000 views on TikTok.