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High Tech Marketing in a Virtual World

By Dawn Foster (Intel) (15 posts) on October 14, 2006 at 8:48 pm

Many companies are initiating marketing campaigns designed to generate revenue in the "real world" via virtual world marketing through Second Life and other online environments. Second Life is a 3D online virtual world created entirely by second life residents through user generated content. Linden Labs (the company behind Second Life) provides the servers and the infrastructure to support the world; however, the buildings, clothes, landscapes and more are built by the residents for their personal use or to sell to other residents. Most Second Life stores are created by residents with no real world counterpart; however, more companies are creating Second Life branches to promote their real products or sell virtual products based on existing products.

I decided to write this entry after learning about how Intel was sponsoring a 72hour experiment running from October 12 through October 15 with an interesting mix of realworld / virtual world content to promote the Intel® Centrino® Duo:

"Seehow Intel® Centrino® Duo can make your virtual and real worlds collide October 12-15, 2006.

Can't live without your laptop? Check out our 72 hour experiment and see how the power of Intel® Core™2 Duo processors enable you to live life without boundaries.

World-renowned virtual builder,Versu Richelieu, is creating a new masterpiece in the Second Life virtual landscape using the power and performance of an Intel® Centrino® Duo based laptop featuring the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor. The world's best mobile processors1. For 72 hours, Versu will eat, sleep, and live a completely digital life... all in a store window in New York City! Can she do it? Check out the live webcam and Second Life feeds below to see how she is doing! Or see the experiment in person at the Datavision Store on the corner of 5th Avenue and 39th Street in New York City." (Quote from Live without Boundaries)

This got me thinking about how other companies are incorporating Second Life into their existing marketing plans. I decided to do a quick tour of the commercial side of Second Life. I started by visiting the American Apparel store in Second Life where residents can buy clothes for Avatars modeled after merchandise sold in the real world. For L$300-L$350 (Linden Dollars) or approximately US$1, you can buy shirts, dresses, swimsuits, jackets and more to outfit your avatar in the latest from American Apparel.

At the Adidas store, I bought a pair ofcustom shoes for about L$55 (less than US$1). The process involved buying a pair of "blank" shoes for L$50 and selecting my custom shoe colors at a coloring station for another L$5. After buying my shoes, I took a break and sat down in a virtual theater to watch the new X-Men movie. I did not stay to watch the movie, since the quality was less than ideal.

Musicians, artists, authors, companies and others are also using Second Life events to promote real world activities:

• Chris Anderson did a Second Life interview to promote his new book, The Long Tail, and Lawrence Lessig promoted his book, Free Culture, with a discussion about the ideas in the book in addition to autographing digital copies of the book in Second Life.
• Duran Duran is preparing to promote their new album with Second Life concerts.
• Wired News is holding an event today to celebrate the opening of the Wired Headquarters in Second Life
• Ludica held a contest for Second Life artists for the ZeroOne Festival at ISEA 2006 held at the San Jose Convention Center.

In addition to pure commercial interests, other organizations are leveraging the virtual interactions that are possible in Second Life. Harvard Law School is offering a course called CyberOne:Law in the Court of Public Opinion with participants from Second Life. I suspect that marketing is a side benefit, but Harvard seems more interested in leveraging the community aspect of Second Life: "The Second Life environment for Harvard Extension School participants permits us to foster a sense of community among students taking the course at a distance. It provides a rich medium for students to interact directly and satisfyingly with their instructorsand their fellow students."

Theseare just a few examples of how companies are incorporating Second Life into existing marketing efforts, and it will be interesting to see what new marketing models emerge over time to take advantage ofthe virtual world.

Categories: Open Source

Comments (2)

October 15, 2006 12:35 AM PDT csvenjohnson@yahoo.com

Okay, I have to be honest. This entry was extraordinarily disappointing considering where I'm reading it and the credentials of the person posting it. No offense intended, but most of this is old news. The good part is that at least you didn't post that Wells Fargo is inside SL like pretty much every MSM attempt to patch a story together from half-researched source material. However, you go and leave it with this: "it will be interesting to see what new marketing models emerge over time to take advantage of the virtual world". Deadly.

November 6, 2006 10:58 AM PST scooter

I've taken a quick look at your postings, which are very interesting. Lots of material and ideas! Congrats on being so focused!

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