Overview of Virtual Communities What is a Virtual

Transcription

Overview of Virtual Communities
What is a Virtual Community?
An avatar-populated, virtual world
A pixilated parallel universe where users can create customized
avatars, socialize, and even pay real currency for digitized goods
Three-dimensional online worlds — many with “populations”
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Worlds.com
Launched 1994
During the first dot-com boom, Worlds.com built 3D virtual worlds for
bands such as Aerosmith and for corporations such as IBM, Visa,
and Coca-Cola. Site visitors created avatars with customized
clothing and also designed their own environments.
The company says the lack of
widespread broadband
connections is to blame for the
forward-thinking site not
catching on broadly way back in
the 1990s. Worlds.com is still
active and chief executive Thom
Kidrin says the company is
currently restructuring.
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Active Worlds
Launched 1995
With more than two million users to date, Active Worlds could easily be seen as a rival
to Second Life. In fact, Wells Fargo left Second Life to rebuild its virtual world in Active
Worlds this year. Way back in the 1990s, Active Worlds built 3D stores for labels such
as J. Crew and Banana Republic. Shoppers could browse via avatars and then order
real merchandise to be shipped.
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Ultima Online
Launched 1997
Although Ultima Online is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game
(MMOPRG) that is fantasy-based, it has a thriving economy in which players
pay real currency for objects like hammers. According to the Guinness Book of
World Records, it's the MMORPG that's been around the longest. Ultima Online
was also the first MMORPG to reach 100,000 subscribers. Although real-world
brands aren't selling goods in the space, Ultima Online has long shown the
potential for selling digital goods to online avatars.
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Habbo
Launched 2000
With nearly 7.1 million current
users worldwide, Habbo is a
virtual community with cartoony
3D avatars. Major brands such as
Sprite, L'Oreal, and Wal Mart have
presented interactive ad
campaigns within the online world.
On Nov. 27, Habbo will launch
“Habbo Home” — customized
Web pages that feature Habbo
avatars. The concept suggests a
marriage between MySpace and
Second Life.
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Cyworld
Launched 2001
Popular in South Korea (nearly one in three South Koreans is a registered user), Cyworld is
another MySpace-meets-Second Life social networking service. Users create customized
avatars (called “mini-me's,” á la Austin Powers) and can shop for clothing, as well as goods
for their virtual homes and other environments. Last year, Cyworld sold $120 million worth
of digital accessories in Korea alone.
In August, the company launched
Cyworld USA with avatars that look
more ethnically diverse and older
than the cutesy alter egos available in
Asia, in an effort to appeal to U.S.
audiences.
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Sims Online
Released 2002
The Sims franchise of PC games
has sold 70 million copies to
date. Its Sims Online title was
not a best-selling brand
extension, but served as a
pioneer in terms of big brands
appearing in virtual Web-based
worlds (and in-game product
placements). Back in 2002, both
McDonald's and Intel signed
deals with Electronic Arts to
place digital versions of realworld products within the online
game.
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There
Launched 2003
When MTV wanted to launch an interactive, digital version of its show Laguna Beach, it
partnered with There (and its parent company, Makena Technologies) to develop a 3D
online world based on the television program.
There's chief executive, Mike
Wilson, says the company is
negotiating with major brands who
are interested in having a presence
within the Web-based environment,
which bills itself as a “virtual
hangout.” As in other online spaces,
There's users customize avatars and
create, sell, and buy pixellated
goods.
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PlayStation - Home
Launching - November 2007
PlayStation Home is a virtual community of PS3 owners living together in both public and
private environments. Users will be able to login, chat with both text and speech and play
casual games together such as pool, bowling and even embedded arcade machines.
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PlayStation - Home
Launching - November 2007
Features include:

Free download

Public hangouts

Personal virtual apartments - PS Home allows you to decorate your apartment walls
and share videos with friends

Casual games such as pool, bowling and arcade machines embedded into the world.
Users are able to invite fellow residents to join in on any PlayStation Network game.

Dressing up your avatar in assorted virtual clothing which the user must pay for

Dynamic advertising

A virtual cinema for watching movie downloads

Sharing videos and music directly out of the media library
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PS3 Home demo
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/9861
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Contents
Second life overview
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Residents
Economy
Community
Demographics
Brands
Hype vs reality
Marketing and brand considerations
Summary
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Second Life: A Brief Overview
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its
residents. It is a virtual world with its own economy – “Linden Dollars”
is the currency which can be redeemed into $
Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is
inhabited by over 5.6m people from around the globe
A worldwide phenomenon that has grabbed headlines in 2006
But has it achieved critical mass?
$1.7m
Spent in last 24hrs
(April 16th 07)
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SL: Residents
Each Resident creates their own character, called an Avatar, to portray their
personal image, along with a personalized SL name. You can custom create
everything from the tip of your nose to the tint of your skin. Some take full
advantage of the tools available.
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SL: Economy
$1 = L$260
• Second Life has its own currency, the Linden Dollar (L$).
• Residents can use the L$ to buy and sell goods and services provided by other
Residents
• Residents receive an amount of L$ when they open a Premium account if they
supply credit/debit card details. Additional L$ are acquired through the sale of
objects or services.
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LindeX Currency Exchange
• Residents can convert between Linden currency and U.S. currency through this
currency brokerage, or through third-party currency exchanges.
• LindeX launched in Oct 2005 and since then more than $15MM worth of Lindens
have been bought and sold on the exchange, with $2.6MM of that in November
alone.
• The ratio of L$ fluctuates daily as the Residents set the buy and sell price of L$
offered on the exchange.
• It has fluctuated between L$240/USD and L$350/USD from Oct 2005 to Sept
2006
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SL: Buying and Selling Land
• SL world is made up of over 3,500 regions. Each region is 65,536 meters2. Nearly 4.5
times the size of Manhattan.
• Residents can buy land from the “mainland” which is sold by Linden Labs or buy part of
an independent island sold by Residents.
• Groups of people with the same special interests often purchase land together
•To buy and sell land you must have a Premium account which grants you a 512 m2 bonus
lease before land fees are applied.
• Land use fees are billed based on the peak amount of land held during your previous 30
day billing cycle .
• Residents who own land pay monthly maintenance fees that range from $5 for 512 m2 to
$195 for a full region.
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Second Life: Community within a Community
Blogs, Communities, Music, Podcasts
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Second Life: Demographics
Currently, majority of players reside in the US with data available for a
few other key countries as well (UK leading at 10%)
Remaining 35% of players come from “90 other countries” suggesting
potential for number of users in Europe
Median age is 32
57% male, 43 % female
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Second Life: Belgium reach
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Running a business in SL
There are as many opportunities to generate money in SL as
there are in the real world.
pet manufacturer
casino operator
tattooist
nightclub owner
automotive manufacturer
fashion designer
aerospace engineer
custom avatar designer
jewelry maker
architect
artisit
freelance scripter
game developer
fine artist
tour guide
dancer
musician
custom animation creator
lottery operator
theme park developer
real estate speculator
vacation resort owner
advertiser
bodyguard
magazine
publisher
private detective
writer
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Business in Second Life
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Major brands to utilize SL:
Just to name a few…
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Brand Map - SL is becoming a cluttered marketplace
Second life brand map
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Sony BMG’s space features a gorgeous club and loft, a shop containing Sony BMG
merchandise including lounges featuring images, information, and streaming audio and
video content for some of Sony BMG’s hottest acts
As part of their official launch and welcome to SL, Ben Folds held an exclusive concert of
new material, as well as chatted with residents at the concert.
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American Apparel was the first major retail shop to join SL. Residents can purchase outfits
for their avatars with digital renderings of slim-cut T's and dresses modeled after real-life
merchandise. Most items are selling for only $1.
15% Discounts were offered to those who attended the grand opening and bought virtual
clothing, to be redeemed at real life retail locations.
They even hired SL Residents as sales clerks to help with sales.
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Awareness of brands in SL
Brand Awareness
Coming out on top is
Adidas with 69%
awareness from the
study.
No surprises
here as the virtual
Adidas store is an
obvious interpretation
of a first step into SL
and is frequently
referenced in the
media.
Reperes research, based on interview of
1,085 avatars between 13 - 18 March 2007.
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The hype vs the reality
Is SL really as good as it sounds?
• It has a user base of 7m - a cost efficient platform to reach many people?
— True but only 470,000 have visited in the last week, and only 20k – 30k
people are in SL at any given time
— Plus we don’t know who we’re reaching and cannot target geographically
• Approx $1.5m is spent daily in SL
— 264k residents were responsible for all spending in SL in March 07. 125k
of which only spent $1 or less. 53k spent $40 or more
• It’s an opportunity to create PR hype
— True, but the fact that there are so many brands already in SL means
newcomers will really need to create an innovative offering to stand out
and generate mainstream PR - not just PR within the advertising industry!
A weak offering will be susceptible to accusations of jumping on the
bandwagon
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Marketing in Second Life
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Virtual world marketing considerations
How can a 3d internet environment (a metaverse) bring
potential customers closer to my brand, products and
services?
What makes this medium unique?
How we can communicate the messages we know are
important in a unique way?
What are the major marketing initiatives we need to
deploy?
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Commercial considerations and challenges
Many brand initiatives in Second Life focus on the brand itself and not
the consumer
Creating social experiences will make the investment sustainable and
keep people coming back.
Also prompting consumers to engage with one another will create a
richer experience.
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Brand considerations in Virtual communities
Integration
One of the best examples of integrated marketing campaigns in
Second Life is the Nissan Sentra concept. TV and print channels were
used to promote the new Sentra model and dove-tailed into the
campaign was a Second Life venue allowing residents to own replicas
of the cars - from a giant vending machine
Scenes from the TVC
could be seen in SL
SL campaigns should try to encourage
a call to action back to a website
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Audience
Unlike YouTube or MySpace, browsing Second Life requires a time
investment.
You need to install an application on your computer, you have to want
to learn the world and explore it.
YouTube and other online communities, are more
instant hits, so the engaged Second Life user
is more technically adept than most
How can we create a presence that
suits our audience’s online behaviour?
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Maintenance
Like any shop a SL presence will need to be staffed,
at least for the hours within our timezone
business hours
When brands launch in SL and users have no
idea how to use the space, it creates negative
PR
New SL technology can allow web/email-based
notification of people teleporting into a
venue, which means a constant presence
doesn’t always mean shift work.
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Keep fresh
It’s important to keep residents interested in what’s going on at a
venue - interested enough to make a return visit
Changing features/concepts:
Updating the features and functionality of the venue itself and introduce new
products/services ideally before they are available in the real world
Competitions:
Running competitions or sales promotions via the SL venue.
Events:
This option is excellent for niche audiences.
EG. ‘Simulcasting’
Taking a real world event and broadcast/re-creating it at the same time in SL .
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Give to the community
Everyone likes something for free!!
A key element to a SL entrance strategy should be giveaways
If you’re seen by residents as simply a company that’s opened up an
office/shop in SL, you’re likely to be seen as purely commercial
There’s also a good viral element to giveaways which can (if done
properly) quickly leverage a brands entrance into SL and spread the
net of people exposed to the company
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Example of bad SL presence
Lacoste jumping on the SL band wagon?
Lacoste entered Second Life:
From April 5 to May 2, Lacoste is casting
for Second Life avatars to be models in a
fashion photo shoot.
The competition appears to be a copy of the L’Oreal
competition held recently and involves a voting system
to choose the top 100 avatars and then the top three
male and female avatars will be selected for the shoot.
Winners will then share 1m Linden dollars –
(that’s about £3,500)
Entry on Second life blog - “please stop giving these people free publicity”
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Summary
We believe there are genuine opportunities within VC’s although
we should take our time before committing resources as many
brands are just jumping on board to claim a presence
An idea that mimics another brand, or does not provide a unique
benefit to the user may well generate negative PR
Because of the dubious user numbers we should focus on
creating an experience that will generate interest in the real world
and not be overly concerned with the numbers we reach inside
the VC
We should look to create PR that will reach our target market and not
just the advertising industry!
We need to provide a genuine benefit to the users as they are
very ad aware and generally not welcoming of brands in their
space
Its important to be transparent with advertising intentions
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