Tatcha is exploring a new dimension of the digital landscape — the gaming sphere — for its upcoming cleanser launch.
The brand is bringing “Tatchaland,” a virtual pop-up island, to social simulation game Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Aug. 14. It also joined activewear brand Alo Yoga on characters’ virtual apparel in the brand’s new lavender colorway, and tapped an all-star roster of influencers to create social and e-commerce content centered around the virtual launch.
Another digital component will take place on streaming platform Twitch, where influencer Claire Marshall will be streaming activations available to media and influencers at the beginning of August.
The island’s debut is tied to the launch of the company’s latest cleanser, The Rice Wash, which launches Aug. 3 on Sephora and Tatcha.com for $35. Consumers will be able to register for time slots on the island on the brand’s web site.
The coronavirus pandemic was an impetus for the collaboration, said chief marketing officer Sarah Curtis Henry, noting the brand originally planned a trip to Kyoto, Japan, for media and influencers to celebrate the introduction of the cleanser. The island also has elements reminiscent of Kyoto, such as a teahouse. “It took a month to design,” she said.
Going digital wasn’t the idea’s only appeal. “If you look at our communications, we’ve been leaning into sanctuary and being an escape and respite for people,” Henry said. “We have this living, breathing Tatcha community where not only can you come and have fun, but you get to come and connect with the brand.”
“It’s a wonderful way to experience play as an adult, and there’s such an inherent joy to Japanese culture, the goal is to always find and keep your inner child,” added Vicky Tsai, the brand’s founder. “We’d like to be a source of that to our clients.”
As the island becomes available to consumers of the brand, game characters on the island will be dressed in virtual renderings of Alo Yoga’s upcoming Lavender Smoke collection. “We thought about what you need when you’re relaxing on an Island, and we thought of yoga clothes,” Henry said.
The entry to the gaming realm isn’t unprecedented. As previously reported by WWD, the new edition of the game, which launched in March of this year, gained rapid and widespread popularity thanks to a housebound consumer base. Last week, Parfums Givenchy announced its makeup would be available on the game as well.
Henry sees the efforts as twofold, both tapping into a larger gaming community as a customer acquisition tool and acting as a community builder for its preexisting devotees. “We want to understand where our client is, not just in terms of how they’re interacting with our brand and skin care, but how they’re interacting with us in their lives, and what tools they are using to find joy,” she said. “Gaming is that for so many people, it is that unifier.”