The NALP Foundation launched Landscape Design Empire, an immersive experience on the Roblox platform, last year and it has now reached the milestone of 100,000 unique visitors. Less than 1% of Roblox experiences reach this metric.
“When we started our initiative with Roblox, we knew it was a great avenue to get in front of the youngest generation,” says Jenn Myers, executive director of the NALP Foundation and senior director of workforce development. “We’re meeting them where they are. We knew we were specifically focusing on eight to 12-year-olds. The Roblox platform has thousands and thousands of games, so for us to be able to get to a point where 100,000 unique visitors have come to and played our game is a huge milestone.”
Currently, around 70 to 80% of Landscape Design Empire’s unique visitors every week are between the ages of eight and 12. The experience also has a 60:40 ratio of male to female players. Myers says as they continue to roll out new updates, their demographics remain consistent.
“We started with a temperate zone climate when we launched the game,” Myers says. “We then added a mountain climate, and most recently added a desert climate. Having the different climates allows us to highlight different plant material that will grow best in those regions. We started with backyards and have recently added front yards. This is a lifer game. Every time we do an update, we’re trying to bring something new. We’ve done a residential focus thus far; in our next update, we’ll add commercial job options.”
This comprehensive experience allows players to design, install and maintain landscapes. Myers says while most of the experiences on the Roblox platform are purely for fun, the Foundation’s experience is also educational. Players have to pay attention to the client’s needs when executing a design.
“Part of that design process in our game also involves a water meter in the game,” Myers says. “You need to ensure that you’re not putting too many plants and turf and other things in there, and not be able to maintain and irrigate it in a sustainable way. We also have all the different types of plant material broken down in different categories. You start to see it’s not just plants; it’s not just flowers.”
Over the last six months, the NALP Foundation has partnered with STIHL to add in STIHL-branded vehicles, equipment, clothing and PPE that players can wear on their avatars.
“If a young person has it on their avatar, they can go from experience to experience and they’re wearing that,” Myers says. “So, it’s visibility for our game beyond just our game, and for STIHL beyond just our game.”
STIHL’s partnership also allowed the Foundation to roll out some mini games that use STIHL mowers, trimmers and chainsaws. These mini games have multiplayer functionality so visitors can compete against their friends.
Myers says they have numerous returning players as well as those who bring a friend to Landscape Design Empire.
“We definitely saw an uptick with STIHL,” Myers says. “Folks that were attracted to the game because of STIHL tended to stay around longer, play longer, and bring a friend more than they did before we had STIHL in the game.”
The average session time for a single game is three to five minutes, while returning players tend to play 10 to 15 minutes.
“Someone who’s playing 10 to 15 minutes in a Roblox game is really digging in,” Myers says.
Myers says they are always looking for more sponsors of Landscape Design Empire and one of the immediate benefits is brand visibility.
“The youngest generation is always going to have technology and always be engaging with it at a young age,” Myers says. “We’re missing out if we’re not getting in front of them. Our hope is to bring in more sponsors over the next several years to help keep this game around and with the support of those folks, we’re able to do more exciting things in the game.”
Landscape Design Empire is just one of the many ways the NALP Foundation exposes younger generations to the lawn and landscape industry.
For more information about Landscape Design Empire or to support the work of the Foundation, visit www.landscapeprofessionals.org/Foundation or contact Jenn Myers.
