LSN : News : CES 2022: A vest that lets gamers feel the metaverse

Nike brings extreme climates to stores

Nike FIT ADV at House of Innovation Paris, France

Paris – Allowing consumers to experience extreme weather conditions in a contained setting, Nike is teaming up with design studio Modem to create an immersive retail experience that stirs the senses. Unfolding in a purpose-built weather dome inside of Nike’s House of Innovation, the sportswear brand is recreating the sensation of the seasons to showcase its climate adaptive FIT ADV range.

To highlight the versatility and durability of the high-end performance line, Nike is using technology to simulate the experience of travelling between tropical, dry and polar regions at great speed. Using ambient lighting, multi-directional audio soundscapes, artificial wind and large-scale interactive environments, Nike can recreate the physical feeling of extreme weather in an indoor setting. A large, high-res LED screen guides consumers through the experience, drawing attention to the specific details of the garment that has been designed to respond to each climate.

Taking the concept of ‘try before you buy’ to new extremes, consumers who trial the experience will be filmed and given a video which they can share on their social media platforms. Using technology to innovate its visual merchandising strategies, Nike is aligning itself with retail's Third-space Storefronts that blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors.

Strategic opportunity

Sportswear companies with performance-wear lines should consider introducing products in natural settings that elevate try-before-you-buy

Tagg is a social branding app for Gen Z workers

Tagg

US – The platform is responding to the online behaviours of Generation Z, offering young people a social media app with in-built career opportunities. Depending on what users want to use their profile for – be it as a social space or for promoting creative work – they can choose from five profile skins. They can then customise their page, follow others and post content.

Tagg intentionally chooses not to include like counts on posts, recognising the negative associations of such features and using it as an opportunity to showcase an alternative to the monotonous design cues of traditional networking sites. ‘In the digital world, the more authentic your brand, the more genuine your connections,’ writes the brand in a statement. ‘Current social platforms fall short as they were not built for this evolving intersection of branding and connecting.’

While we’ve previously explored the new messaging apps that are catering for Gen Z demands, Tagg shows how the broader social media space is adapting to appeal to this group’s creative interests.

Strategic opportunity

In future, communications on Web3 will offer a more creative, democratised online experience. Get ahead and begin offering your audience more choices in how they present themselves digitally

CES 2022: A vest that lets gamers feel the metaverse

Las Vegas – Adding a new layer of absorption in the digital realm, the OWO Vest uses haptic feedback to allow players to feel the sensations encountered during game play.

With over 30 different sensations in its current library – including wind, a gunshot, a dagger wound and a hug – the wearable garment lets players feel the game on the surface of their skin. Introducing the physical dimension of touch into the virtual realm, the jacket uses software, hardware and sensors to recreate physical sensations. To maintain full control of the technology, players can use the OWO app to regulate and personalise the intensity of the experience.

Available in six sizes, all weighing less than 800g, the OWO vest is aiming to capture the imagination of gamers. As companies set up shop in the Metaverse Market, new technologies will help brands create more captivating activations in the digital realm.

MYAMI, Australia

Strategic opportunity

Haptic feedback technology should not be confined to gaming garments. Fashion companies should consider developing smart fabrics that can help distinguish them in the ascending Metaverse Market

Stat: Girls and women are disrupting the golf sector

According to a report by the National Golf Foundation, more girls and women are starting to play golf in the US. Indeed, the research shows that 34% of today’s junior golfers are girls – compared to just 15% in 2000. Meanwhile, 24% of on-course golfers are now women.

The study also notes that women represent a disproportionately higher percentage of beginners (36%) and off-course participants (45%) than they do in the overall golfer population. Such findings may be indicative of a diversification of golfing venues, with many golf ranges now offering food and drink, music and accessible short courses. This is a major shift for an activity that has traditionally been focused on a highly exclusive male demographic, and represents progress for the socially outdated sports and leisure industries.

For publishers and broadcasters, the rise of New Sportswomen Media is providing greater representation for women in a wider range of sports, a shift that is likely to lead to a continuation of women and girls taking up golf.

Strategic opportunity

This growth in interest suggests new opportunities in the sports and leisure sectors. Consider how you can reposition golf – as well as other traditional sports – in more creative and diverse ways