NYX Professional Makeup has been a critical part of beauty's entry into the metaverse and gaming. The company behind one of the industry's first DAOs, a successful activation across Roblox, and a collaboration with Twitch, NYX Professional Makeup is defining the way beauty consumers interact with digital marketing.
Last year during Pride Month, NYX Professional Makeup used its knowledge of the metaverse to host The Valley of Belonging, a Pride parade that took place on the decentralized gaming platform, The Sandbox. The parade featured characters from NYX Professional Makeup's initiative People of Crypto Lab (POC), a creative platform dedicated to increasing representation in th metaverse for "Black, brown, women, people of color, differently-abled and LGBTQIA+ communities." This year, the brand continues to champion Pride celebrations in the metaverse through its latest campaign Game Out Loud, created to bring awareness of anti-LGBTQIA+ bullying that takes place online.
According to NYX Professional Makeup, almost 90% of LGBTQIA+ gamers have been harassed regarding their sexual identity online. The Game Out Loud campaign has been created in an effort to address this issue, creating safe spaces in the metaverse and in real life by offering allyship and training nationwide. For the campaign, NYX Professional Makeup has partnered with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, coming together to define a safe space as "A place free of conflict, criticism, judgment or potentially threatening actions where homophobic, transphobic, racist, and sexist put-downs and remarks will be addressed."
The safe online spaces have been activated on Roblox, Twitch, and Nyxcosmetics.com. At the brand's House of NYX Professional Makeup in iHeartland on Roblox, gamers will be able to interact with non-playable characters that will encourage them to take an allyship pledge focused on education surrounding safe spaces and LGBTQIA+ community allyship. Once the gamer has taken the pledge, they will receive an ally badge that their avatar can wear around iHeartland. Users will also be given access to a new range of exclusive avatar virtual merchandise inspired by the brand's Proud Allies for All program, a year-round initiative that supports its LGBTQIA+ consumers.
Across Twitch, NYX Professional Makeup is partnering with LGBTQIA+ gamers, including Glitchyxcity, LilyTeel, and BrianDiaz, to name a few. The gamers will host a series of live streams that focus on education, ally messaging, and inclusivity. An allyship training quiz is also available on NYX Professional Makeup's website, teaching gamers the correct way to uplift people online and prevent bullying. In person, NYX Professional Makeup will bring the Game Out Loud campaign to West Hollywood Pride June 2-4, and Twitchcon Paris July 8-9. The brand will present experiences at both events, free to consumers who wish to learn more about LGBTQIA+ internet safety.
Since the launch of the Proud Allies for All partnership with the LA LGBT Center, through community events, volunteering, and training, NYX Professional Makeup has donated over $500,000 to various charities globally that support members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The funds have supported individuals, from training allies to providing services for youths experiencing homelessness through scholarships. By integrating these campaigns into the brand's pre-existing metaverse activations, NYX Professional Makeup is sure to continue to reach a broad audience, advocating for inclusivity both in real life or online.
"Our longstanding allyship to the LGBTQIA+ community is a major pillar of our brand values. NYX Professional Makeup stands for artistry for all and proudly advocates for the community's freedom of expression online and offline," concludes Nicolas Vissat, Assistant Vice President of US Marketing at NYX.
