With the launch of Vans World on Roblox, Vans joins other brands betting on the metaverse. Tapping into Gen Alphas and Zers' preference for virtual self-expression, the activation signals a shift in brands’ metaverse strategy, prioritising the long game of community-building over fleeting PR stunts.

Nike has taken its first major metaverse steps by creating Nikeland with the digital environment platform Roblox, showcasing the start of a digital-first strategy. Given Gen Zers' preference for digital spaces and communities, Nike is joining them in the metaverse to build new relationships.

The Sandbox’s partnership with Snoop Dogg has introduced a previously detached community to the blockchain, NFTs, and the metaverse. With emerging metaverses competing for users as interest grows, how important will established celebrities, brands, and intellectual property be?

Digital developments are transforming the ways people showcase their status online, with gaming worlds and the metaverse providing new platforms through which to distinguish themselves from their peers. But what kinds of status symbols resonate in the new virtual economy?