Here at webcom Montreal Kate Trgovac of reInvent! Communications. Her blog. As she says, Second Life (SL) is not a game like World of Warcraft but a virtual environment, a metaverse or 3-D immersive environment. It is an economy where avatars roam, build relationships, try on different personas, shop & perhaps experiment with fashion, explore, learn (English classes), work (guides, customer service), celebrate (weddings, parties), hmourn (Virginia Tech site, etc. SL is a platform for creativity & co-creation — if you can imagine, you can create. As a marketer you can partner with residents and businesses. She’s now showing her home in SL, a meeting, a party (AOL), a reading, etc. Average age on SL 30, 72% over 25, 34% over 35. 58/42 male/female split, 100 countries represented. 76,000 premium residents (they pay) although 5.1 have registered. Last month, $7,251,903US was exchanged – wow, a real economy. Currency is Lindens which you can buy, sell, earn and convert to US dollars.
So how do businesses use SL. First, to create a buzz. But need a plan beyond that. Other opportunities:
new marketing channel:
* Telus store front, can buy a headset for avatar (see what captures attention, so good for experiementation with new products)
* Sears, sells kitchens and you can change to see what you like and then order & have delivered to house (not avatar’s house)
* American Apparel, can buy for avatar and get a couple for real life store
gather customer feedback:
* Starwood, avatars can wander and use rooms and Starwood listens to comments and uses for building luxury hotels
* market research through focus groups in SL, and present to SL
usig SL for brand engagement (traditional)
* NBA launched last week — play hoops, shop at NBA store, T-Mobile Arena where you can watch a game and may be able to participate, players room (info about players), lots to do on their island and interaction; great for new thing junkies
*AOL island is engaging with lots going on — pavillions and entertainment about their areas of business — see movies trailers, games, etc. Taking their best entertainment and putting into 3-D.
using SL for brand engagement (emotional) — room for partnerhips
* L-world island for women — orientaiton, shopping, clothes (invited designers in to create clothes for avatars — partnership)
* Avita – real life hairstyles company partnering with a in-world designer for hairstyles for avatars
* Coke content for vendig machines, designs which will be used and distributed throughout SL
Also being used as an internal tool
* IBM, Sun, Microsoft use for meetings of people in many different geographic areas
* CDC seminars about preparedness in your community
“Just as companies expand internationally and view China as a huge potential growth market, they will view SL and other immersive virtual worlds as new regions ripe for expansion.” From a new, forthcoming book coming out by Jack Myers, Virtual World: Rewiring Your Emotional Future.