A Second Look at Virtual Worlds

• Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Miscellaneous

It's all about engagement.

At the recent Virtual Worlds Conference held in New York, a keynote speaker asked the crowd of a few hundred for a show of hands. About a third of the attendees represented kids' brands, a third were with virtual world companies and a third were vendors of software and other technology.

Only one person identified herself as a brand manager. Why don't more brand managers market in virtual worlds?

For one thing, they're scared of wasting money. Established brands spent millions building virtual stores, only to reap disappointing sales, or worse, to be outsold by the brands of in-world entrepreneurs.

Robin Harper, senior vice president of Second Life parent Linden Lab, told eMarketer that part of the problem was a "Build It and They Will Come" mentality.

"Like any other campaign, you have to consider what your objectives are," said Ms. Harper. "Building a virtual store and then not staffing it properly will leave customers disappointed."

Ms. Harper said that on the positive side, there are a lot more ways to market in a virtual world than just setting up shop. She said that Toyota's Scion campaign let Second Lifers test drive in-world versions of the vehicle, making for a more engaging experience than items which couldn't actually be used in the virtual world.

Read more - eMarketer

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