Toyota’s Scion brand is now in the virtual world, There.com, after having previously set up shop in three other virtual worlds–Whyville.com, Gaia.com, Second Life.

Adrian Si, Scion’s interactive marketing manager, says, “For us, the virtual world is the next generation of the Internet,” he says, adding that virtual worlds like Second Life are magnets for trendsetters and influencers. He says that measuring the ROI of virtual-world marketing involves tracking on-site chatter about the brand, not sales. “Typically, what we look at is general commentary on blogs about our presence in the site, that we get positive comments,” he says, adding that the key to so-called “in world” branding is adding something to the experience.

According to sources, Scion City in Second Life has generated 10,000 blog posts from April to June and is the third most recognized brand behind Reuters in SL awareness.

The verdict is still out on whether or not this will actually increase Scion’s sales. However, it’s still a relatively young brand and any dialogue/conversation it can spark can only be good.

Sources: Trendhunter, MediaPost and MarketingVox

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