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GQ, the world’s leading men’s magazine, is getting into the metaverse by launching on social platform Discord to discuss hot topics, share daily “fits” and give followers access to forthcoming project drops.
It’s the first step in the Condé Nast-owned title’s Web3 strategy. Called GQ3, the Discord server will tap into the platform’s growing streetwear and sneakerhead audiences, which overlap with GQ readers’ interests. The Discord platform, often thought of as “Slack but social”, started out as a place for gamers to chat, and has since found a rapt audience among streetwear and sneaker communities, in addition to Web3 NFT collectors and “degens” (people involved in the crypto space).
“The way that we are thinking about it is we are throwing a party, GQ is the host, Discord is the venue and you are invited,” explains Joel Pavelski, GQ’s executive director of global audience development and social media, who works across the magazine’s 21 markets. “It kept coming from the audience: they really deeply care about GQ writers, editors and photographers, and getting to know them and getting to understand the process, so we are looking for ways to foster more of that and set ourselves up for experimenting with our NFT, Web3 and metaverse future.”
