Ok, so I remain enthused about this topic. On an earlier post I mentioned Virtual Trade Shows. These are web applications that companies are hosting specifically for creating trade shows. Some of their environments are really snazzy, some are just posts on a website, others, it works well, but the graphics are seriously lacking.
But what about using a medium that boasts an audience of millions to which you can market. A platform that has a ton of media watching closely for the keyword ... "SecondLife?"
That's right ... a "game" is one of the hot topics in the virtual world business arena, has been for the last 5 years or so with companies like Dell, IBM, Phillips and others flexing their virtual marketing muscles in game to touch this virtually addicted audience.
Dell for example, in 2006 announced their new 3 sim contribution to SecondLife (SL) where visitors would be able to build their new real world pc's virtually, make their purchase and have this new computer show up on their real world doorstep. In 2007, Dell announced how they were going to provide customer service on their products in SL.
Today, their sim's sit silent, a vast wasteland of prims and textures all focused on Dell. Why is that? Various articles on the net regarding this topic discuss how Dell did not use the medium the way SL's resident's want it. Meaning, they built an environment in game, that very much reflects the real world and websites. What residents really want is interaction, fun, freebies to enhance their virtual experience. These huge corporate giants invested a ton of money in trying to make it what they wanted it to be, as many companies do, without first understanding the community and what they were interested in.
So are there any success stories using SecondLife? You betcha, specifically for customers of one SL business woman who did not start out a marketer, but wanted to bring her love of SL to the real world. Her customers, IMAX, CoffeeMate, 1-800-Flowers and Colgate to name a few, have had great success with the money they've spent marketing to SL residents, specifically because of the interactive campaigns created with a firm understanding of the community and how the community wants to be "touched."
I discuss this more on David Meerman Scott's blog here: http://www.webinknow.com/2009/01/century-21-moves-tv-ad-spend-to-online-bev-thorne-cmo-tell-us-why.html#comments.
Online social environments are fascinating. There's blogging ... Twitter ... and SecondLife to name a few (a very few). So, how can you incorporate your business into these communities to leverage the power of their audiences? As with any marketing medium, first you need to understand the audience of that specific environment, you need a plan and you need an investment of time and attention, moreso than money for most of this is very inexpensive.
So what's this got to do with corporate identity and graphic design? Well, everything actually. As another post on this blog mentions, David Meerman Scott has already written about the blurring of the lines between PR and Marketing thanks to the online world. I believe it's more than that even ... graphic design, web design, corporate identity, messaging and branding, marketing, public relations ... they are all so interconnected because they are all the face of your business to the world be it virtual or real world.
Virtual communities are just another means of connecting with an audience, showing them your corporate face in a way they want to see it and getting your message across. Always put your best foot forward :)
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