What do you mean? There’s other virtual worlds aside from Second Life? Crikeys.
Although Second Life virtually became the poster child for virtual worlds in 2007, the more savvy marketers realised they had other options. That’s not to say Second Life isn’t worthy of marketing attention – it is, primarily due to the high numbers of early adopters residing in it.
However, just as marketers have multiple options for other media platforms such as TV, print, press….well, just about every other platform, the same can be said for virtual worlds. You have to choose the world that’s most appropriate for you brand.
This decision at present is primarily based on target market age ranges.
Second Life caters for individuals in the 25 – 35 age bracket, with an average age of 32. There on the other hand has a lower average age – 22, and this meant that some marketers view this world as more attractive than SL. The chart below shows age ranges for a selection of metaverses.
So which brands run campaigns in 2007 outside of Second Life?
Here’s a selection:
- Bankinter in Whyville
- Virgin Records in Whyville
- Scion in Whyville
- CosmoGIRL in There
- HSUS in There
- NSPCC in Habbo Hotel
- Turner in Kaneva
- Pepsi in Virtual MTV
- Ford Models in Virtual MTV
- Sony in Gaia
Strategic decisions made by brands in 2007 in terms of metaverse selection were primarily made by age. However, as we’ll start to see in 2008, selection criteria will soon also be made by category genre.
This will be made possible by the introduction of ‘Vertical Worlds‘ – metaverses catering to specific themes or interests.
Read:
No 1. If you build it, they might not come