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A digital city can make advertising part of the place itself: a brand might rent a virtual building, create a store inside an established platform, or commission a custom world. These are different levels of control and commitment. Examples announced or reported in earlier years show what the formats can look like, but do not establish that their spaces, platforms, or offers remain available today.

What does brand-owned advertising space in a digital city mean?

It means giving a company a presence tied to a virtual location or experience, rather than limiting its advertising to a banner or a one-off post. Depending on the project, the brand may occupy a building in a shared district, operate a store within a platform people already use, or create a self-contained branded world.

“Own” needs care here: the examples describe virtual land, hosted experiences, or planned rental and advertising arrangements. They do not establish that a brand owns an equivalent to physical real estate, that it controls the underlying platform, or that any particular inventory is currently for sale.

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What can a digital-city advertising space look like?

A rentable building in a shared virtual district

In a 7 March 2022 announcement, Animoca Brands said SHIBUYA109 would establish a dedicated LAND in The Sandbox, featuring a voxel recreation of Shibuya Crossing, NFTs, and mini-games. The announcement described SHIBUYA109’s plan to partner with companies in Japan and the Shibuya district so they could rent virtual buildings and advertise there. That was an announced plan, not confirmation of current inventory or delivery. Read Animoca Brands’ announcement.

The idea is closer to a commercial district than a single brand’s private world: a recognizable place serves as the setting, while multiple partners can use locations within it. SHIBUYA109 Entertainment representative director Ayumi Ishikawa said the project would combine metaverse-specific experiences with collaborations involving artists and characters, echoing work the company did in the physical world.

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A multi-partner cultural hub

Another The Sandbox example was Mega City, described by Animoca Brands in a 5 January 2022 announcement as a Hong Kong-themed cultural hub. The announcement named partners from business, finance, property, culture, entertainment, and games, who had acquired LAND and committed to building experiences. It illustrates how a digital district can bring several organizations and uses together; it does not verify the hub’s current operation or access. Read Animoca Brands’ Mega City announcement.

A branded store hosted on an existing platform

A brand does not have to build a city or a new platform to create a virtual presence. Dentsu Creative China’s KFC Re:Store was hosted on China’s QQ platform and built with Unreal Engine 4. Dentsu describes avatar clothing, furniture, a virtual pet, virtual currency, and virtual businesses as parts of the experience. Users could also order food in the metaverse for real-world delivery; Dentsu characterized that commerce feature as beta when the case study was published. Read Dentsu’s KFC Re:Store case study.

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Dentsu reports 850 million chats with Colonel Sanders and 180 million virtual KFC food items sold, each over five weeks. These are campaign figures reported by the agency; the case-study page does not provide independent validation or state a year. They should not be treated as a measure of typical performance or proof of current platform reach.

A custom branded world

A company can also commission a complete environment designed around its identity. Vogue’s historical reporting describes SK-II City as a branded virtual world, while noting that building a full world can be difficult. The trade-off is scope: a custom world can shape the setting and experience more extensively, but it is a larger undertaking than an activation inside a platform that already exists. Read Vogue’s report.

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How should a brand choose between a custom world and a platform activation?

The examples support a practical distinction, not a current cost or performance comparison. A custom world offers more control over the environment; an activation in an established platform can make use of its existing setting and features. The right choice depends on what the brand wants people to do and what it can verify about the platform now.

Decision factor Custom branded world Activation in an existing platform
Control of the environment More of the world can be designed around the brand. The brand works within a platform’s existing environment.
Audience context The project needs a route for people to discover and enter it. It can take place where users already engage, though current audience reach must be verified.
Scope of interaction Experiences can be built around a bespoke setting. Content and interactions use the host platform’s capabilities.
Commerce path Any route from virtual engagement to real-world purchasing needs to be designed and confirmed. KFC Re:Store is a historical example of virtual ordering connected to real-world delivery; Dentsu called that feature beta at publication.
What the sources establish Vogue reported on SK-II City as a branded virtual world. Dentsu documented KFC Re:Store on QQ; Vogue also reported that smaller activations on established game platforms were an alternative to creating a full world.

In Vogue’s historical article, Cathy Hackl recommended that brands could start with smaller activations rather than immediately creating an entire world. Vogue also reported an Obsess founder and CEO Neha Singh claim of a 400 per cent increase in inbound interest. The article does not state a year for that figure in its accessed text, and it is a company-specific claim, not independent evidence of market-wide demand.

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What should be verified before committing?

The examples are historical snapshots, not a directory of available advertising locations. Before treating a virtual city as a live media buy or operating channel, confirm the details directly with the platform and project partners.

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  • Current status: Check that the platform, district, and specific experience are operating and accessible now.
  • Inventory and rights: Confirm whether space can actually be rented or purchased, what “ownership” grants, and who controls the underlying environment.
  • Audience and measurement: Request current, clearly defined audience and engagement data, along with the measurement method. Historical campaign figures are not a substitute.
  • Experience and commerce: Establish which features work, whether real-world ordering or delivery is supported in the relevant region, and what remains experimental.
  • Operational scope: Clarify who builds, moderates, updates, and supports the experience, and what happens if the platform or project changes.

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