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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This week’s issue of IEG’s Sponsorship Report has an interesting article about how virtual worlds can generate real-life benefits for sponsors and properties. Virtual worlds still have a ways to go before they become as viable a vehicle/space as MySpace or Facebook, which both have over 20+ million users each. However, the popularity of virtual worlds has been increasing steadily–1.8 million users logged in to Second Life in the past 2 months–despite the fact that these worlds take a lot of time to learn how to use.
IEG’s article mentions three benefits virtual worlds can offer properties and sponsors:
- Expand reach beyond physical events and venues
- Additional exposure and access to consumers, thereby increasing the value of sponsorship packages
- New revenue streams though online sales of merchandise, tickets, etc.
These are good in that they are examples of things that benefit companies and brands. But brands need to consider how their presence will affect virtual world “residents” before they get involved. Most importantly, a corporate space in a virtual world should be fun, and offer “residents” opportunities to try new things.
The NBA recently got involved in Second Life by creating an NBA Headquarters there. This is a good step for them, as it allows them to incorporate existing sponsors (specifically Cisco, T-Mobile and Toyota) and add value to their sponsorships. However, I’d like to see them push the envelope a little more. Instead of the current half-court shooting contest at T-Mobile arena (which is essentially the same as the boring, real-life contest), why not let people create their own dunks, or take video of themselves dunking from the free throw line , or even the three point line? People in Second Life can fly around, so why not take advantage of this, and play off the ongoing debate that the best dunkers don’t just jump; they fly.
While the NBA could improve on its offerings, it is offering some unique benefits, such as the opportunity for people to watch past playoff games and other highlights in various video lounges. It will be interesting to see how other leagues approach virtual worlds–what content they decide to share and what opportunities they create for sponsors and fans.
Update: Check out what Scion is doing in the virtual world space.
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Even nerds who live and play for hours and hours in virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft spend money. And the First National Bank of Omaha has figured out how to tap into this audience, offering them the World of Warcraft Rewards Visa.
According to Brandweek, the
credit card has 13 different WoW-themed designs and “has a rewards program that allows cardholders to earn WoW game time.It’s really just a matter of time before other
credit card companies begin tapping into other virtual worlds, such as
Second Life, to offer affinity cards and virtual cash and virtual rewards.I still havent figured out why so many people seem to be neglecting the real world in favor of these types of experiences, and frankly, I don’t have the time to spend in these worlds to get to know them. But I definitely think they’re not going to be disappearing any time soon.
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From the makers of Habbo Hotel (www.habbo.com) comes Mini Friday (http://minifriday.com/about/) a virtual world designed to work on Nokia phones. As of now, it’s just a simple bar setting, but as phones become more loaded with features and storage, why not give people to opportunity to check out virtual worlds through their phones…
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