A piece in the June 2006 Harvard Business Review does the best job I’ve heard so far exploring and explaining the potential of marketing in virtual worlds like Second Life. By Paul Hemp and available from iTunes for $1.99, “Avatar-based Marketing” goes beyond the stories you’ve already heard about companies establishing storefronts or putting up billboard advertising in Second Life.
There may be only 65,000 paying subscribers to Second Life and $100,000 more with free accounts – peanuts compared to TV audiences -- but millions of people use avatars. The unstoppable World of Warcraft counted 8.5 million subscribers in March 2007.
Hemp points out that people using virtual worlds are engaged, as opposed to those passively watching TV. They create their own stories and personae that allow them to show off aspects of their personalities usually under wraps. And as Hemp notes, marketers have been addressing the avatar for years – the super-cool person in all of us that is waiting to emerge after purchasing the right product.
Some companies have found effective ways to integrate integrate their products (which, like many brands, had already been co-opted by virtual world denizens). NIke, for example, offered special sneakers that allowed the avatar to run faster. I’ve found a number of ways that nonprofits are using Second Life (more about that later), but Hemp singles out the American Cancer Society, which staged a Relay for Life in-world that raised a real-world $41,000 (and aims to raise $75,000 the same way this July).
According to Hemp, avatars could be studied for market research, especially since their every move is recorded and the info is available instantly. Not clear is how you might gain access to that data – Second Life doesn’t partner with any companies or causes, they simply encourage you to create an avatar of your own to advance your agenda. There is also the potential to recruit other avatars to work for you, for an in-world salary or not. Unfortunately, it’s not clear at this point that in-world purchases – and Second Life subscribers spend a real-world $5 million a year for in-world transactions – lead to real world purchases.
Will people involved in virtual dance performances buy tickets to your ballet? Or should you start thinking of choreography in-world as an end in itself, with its own audience? More later on the fascinating cultural and activist activities taking place in Second Life, beyond the hype.
About a year ago, when the article first appeared - he did a discussion in Second Life. It was interesting.
Posted by: Beth Kanter | June 29, 2007 at 10:10 AM