Exclusive report for Engage! Expo
Next month sees the first Engage! Expo and Conference of 2011 taking place in New York.
As a strong supporter of this event we’re pleased to announce that our latest report, ‘Virtual Worlds: 2011 and Beyond’ is being made exclusively available to all attendees of the conference, before it’s made available on the KZero website.
The report includes market forecasts, growth areas for kids, tween, teen and adult worlds as well as in-depth analysis and insight into micro-level developments in the virtual world and MMO sectors. Also included are references to important players in the market.
If you’re considering attending Engage! can you receive a $100 discount off the two-day price by clicking here.
Speaking at Engage Expo
The upcoming Engage Expo in NYC has a strong focus on toys and virtual goods this time around, much like our evolving client base.
I’ll be speaking on the Virtual Worlds and Games by the Numbers panel which is part of the Online Games and Virtual Worlds track.
Other speakers on the panel (the usual suspects 
) are:
Michael Cai (VP of Video Games, Interpret)
Barry Gilbert (VP and Research Director, Strategy Analytics)
Anita Frazier (Industry Analyst, Toys and Video Games, NPD Group).
If you’re attending and would like to meet up, let me know.
KZero services:
European Funding & Investment Summit for virtual worlds
I’ll be in London this Friday (5th Dec) at theEuropean Funding & Investment Summit for virtual worlds. Here’s a link to the registration site if you’re interested in attending and here’s the session run-down.
1.30 – 2pm: Data and Trends. Focus on the Growth and Opportunity in Casual Online Games, MMOs and Virtual Worlds.
2 – 2.20pm: Spotlight on Media Tie-Ins
2.20 – 2.50pm: Early Stage Public & Private Support, Finance & Funding
3.05 – 4.30pm: Financing Growth – The Legal and VC Perspective
4.30 – 5.40pm: Financing Growth: The Developers’ & IP Owner Perspective – Case studies and panel discussion
Looking back to look forward: 20 trends defining virtual worlds in 2007
Just over a year ago Techdigest did a great job of live-blogging the Virtual Worlds Forum event in London. They also came up with a list of 20 trends defining virtual worlds in 2007. Now then, a year is a long long time in the virtual worlds space so let’s go back and look at these predictions and see what’s happened a year later.
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1. Shedloads of virtual worlds will be launched in 2008. KZ: Spot on. See them here. And expect even more in 2009.
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2. Teen-focused virtual worlds are huge. Well, some of the largest VW’s at present cater to the teen marketplaces like Stardoll, Habbo, IMVU and Gaia, although it’s the tween worlds which show the highest growth signs at the moment.
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3. Brands still get it wrong. They did for sure in 2007. In 2008 we’re seeing better approaches, mainly because brands are starting to realise the range of different worlds available. Agencies are still a little slow getting to grips with virtual worlds though.
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4. There’s a problem with communication. Yes, the industry is still a little insular and the media tends to flirt positively and negatively with virtual worlds. This issue is easing though, mainly through increased penetration of KT&T worlds.
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5. There will be big growth in corporate use of virtual worlds. KZ: The first prediction that has yet to be realised.
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6. Virtual items will be a big moneyspinner. KZ: Definitely, and will I think become the dominant factor for most virtual worlds. Here’s some stats to support this.?
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7. Mobile is a bit of a wildcard. KZ: Not yet. They’re still the red herring.
Continue reading “Looking back to look forward: 20 trends defining virtual worlds in 2007” »
Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 25+
Rounding off this series of expanding on the points from the VW London presentation, here’s the potential growth areas in the 25+ age group.
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Mirror worlds as time machines
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There is in my opinion a catch 22 with mirror worlds – the more realistic they become (visually) the less impact they have. So, mirror world operators always need to place creativity and purpose top of their list when considering the user experience.
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One area which I think mirror worlds would have great impact is as time machines. By this, I mean recreating real places from the past – historical buildings, towns/cities and even specific events from history. This provides the compelling reason to visit.
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Sure, visiting a virtual London or New York is interesting to a point but residents of these cities can step outside of their doors and experience them. However, being able to visit a mirror world London from the 1800′s is a different proposition entirely. Interestingly, Second Life has been used already for this purpose – Paris in the 1900′s being a great example.
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Government / tourism
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We saw early moves from govts and tourism boards last year in Second Life. These included the Second House of Sweden, Maldives Embassy and others.
In terms of more ambitious efforts in 2009, one area I believe could work well is from local governments using VWs to serve their real-world residents for issues such as urban planning and virtual town-hall meeting. Continue reading “Growth areas in 2009 for virtual worlds: 25+” »
Presentation from Virtual Worlds London
Fresh from the stage, here’s the presentation I’ve just delivered in the Numbers and Growth panel from Virtual Worlds London. I’ll be expanding on all of these points (for age-segmented growth areas and market issues) in posts this week.
Update: growth areas for 5 to 15
Panels at VW London next week
I’ll be on three panels next week at Virtual Worlds London.
1. Trends and Numbers – Where Is It All Going?
This session lays the groundwork giving you the numbers you need to understand how to take advantage of Virtual Worlds today. We’ll also look at forecasts for where Virtual Worlds are going. What are the growth projections? And what are the factors that will promote or inhibit growth.
2. FastPitch London
Launching a product takes time. Media tours can take countless days to arrange, conduct and cost untold dollars, and distract team members. FastPitch accelerates the launch process. It puts you in front of the right crowd, in one location.
3. Virtual Worlds/Web Integration: Rise of the 3D-Web?
This panel will look at the growing intertwining between virtual worlds and the web which might lead, according to many, to a 3D Web, an evolution of the web as we know it today, where web pages are empowered with immersive, presence-based features and virtual worlds become more and more part of a global network of 3D spaces.
Full session and panel run-down is here.
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Establishing metrics – key performance measurement for virtual worlds and MMOs
NOTE: VWF LONDON HAS BEEN CANCELLED. If you would like a copy of the presentation I was going to deliver as referenced below email me: nic @ kzero .co .uk
………
That’s a mouthful – and also the title of the workshop I’ll be running next Wed (Oct 8th) at Virtual Worlds Forum. Here’s the overview.
Continue reading “Establishing metrics – key performance measurement for virtual worlds and MMOs” »
A third life for marketing in virtual worlds
‘The Second Life Community Convention (SLCC) is an opportunity for people of all interests to learn about the many activities within the metaverse. The SLCC is a volunteer ran and managed convention, headed by the members of The Future United, Inc, a volunteer, non-profit 501.c.3 organization aimed at presenting avenues for people to discuss, explore, and learn about the technologies of virtual worlds.’
SLCC08 is theannual conference, taking place in Tampa. The Reuters Second Life blog reports that attendance is down 50% from last year in Chicago (a drop of 400 to 400). An extract from the Reuters story….
‘Notably absent from the conference were any real-world businesses from outside the virtual worlds industry, or the consulting firms that only last year built Second Life presences for real-world brands. We invited the Electric Sheep Company and Rivers Run Red, but both apparently decided they didnt want to attend, said SLCC organizer Peter Lokke (Second Life: Crucial Armitrage).
In terms of external business use of Second Life, what we see now isnt marketing but businesses using Second Life for things like training and meetings, said Linden Labs Glenn Fisher at a panel on SLCCs sparsely-attended business track. Unlike last years conference in Chicago, most of the discussions revolved around issues of relevance only to in-world L$-based enterprises.’
So, why is this?
Continue reading “A third life for marketing in virtual worlds” »
VW’s Innovation Awards Categories. And the winners are……
Ending day one of the VW Expo show in LA next week are theVirtual Worlds Innovation Awards. Here’s the categories:
* Overall Innovation, 1 winner
* Innovation in Virtual Worlds for Consumers (Adults), 2 winners
* Innovation in Virtual Worlds for the Enterprise, 2 winners
* Innovation in Virtual Worlds for Youth, 2 winners
* Virtual Worlds Pioneer Award, 1 winner
We’ve decided on all the winners and I’ll be presenting the awards to the two winners in the Virtual Worlds for Youth category.
VW Forum podcast
Yesterday I was interviewed by Huw Leslie from VW Worlds Forum in the first of a series of podcasts leading up to their conference. The discussion focused on the marketingopportunitiesavailablein virtual worlds and an assessment of the ever evolving sector. I’ll also be running a workshop on metrics and ROI at the conference in October.
Here’s a link to the podcast and an extract from Huw’s summary:
In the interview, we discussed the best way for brands to engage in virtual worlds now that the initial hype has died down. There’s no longer a reliable quick PR gain to be had from announcing a presence in Second Life, leading brands to finally think about virtual worlds with the long term in mind. We talked about how brands can measure return on investment, and whether that’s even possible to do at this stage. We also discussed the situation which brands in virtual worlds are enthusiastically working towards: where their virtual presence becomes a lucrative additional revenue stream, as well as giving them advertising benefits.
Metanomically speaking
I’ve been asked to appear in the last session (is that the end of season finale?) of Metanomics. Metanomics is a organisation run by RobertBloomfieldfrom Cornell University focusing on the business, economic and policy implications in the virtual worlds sector. Interestingly, these events take place inside Second Life, recorded and then made available via the Metanomics website.
As Robert puts it…
KZero’s Nic Mitham wraps up the first year of Metanomics on Monday, August 25th, Noon PST. A strong focus on brands sets KZero at ground zero of the most volatile hype cycle in the metaverse. Join us as we examine marketing hits and misfires of the past, and map out directions for branding as new worlds come on line. We also put ThinkBalm’s Erica Driver “On the Spot” to focus on enterprise uses of the immersive internet, a tortoise that is quietly and steadily overtaking the flashy hare of brand management.
Not sure about the hare comment though. So, should be a good debate!
The Virtual Worlds Innovation Awards
Virtual Worlds Management are launching a new awards programme at the LA show. These awards are to recognise companies and initiatives pushing the boundaries of the sector in new and exciting ways.
The winners will be announced at 5pm PST on Wed Sep 3. I’m one of the judges for these awards, joined byChristian Renaud (CEO, Technology Intelligence Group), Erica Driver (Co-Founder and Principal, ThinkBalm), Steve Prentice (VP and Fellow, Gartner), and Robert Bloomfield (Founder and Host, Metanomics; Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Director of the Business Simulation Laboratory, Cornell’s Johnson School, pause for breath).
Upcoming speaking engagements
It’s expo-nential
Virtual Worlds Expo LA (3-4 Sep): I’ll be moderating theVirtual Worlds By The Numbers: A Look at the Market Research panel (on the Hollywood track). Other panelists:Steve Prentice (VP & Gartner fellow, Gartner),Michael Cai (Director, Broadband & Gaming, Parks Associates),Barry Gilbert (Vice President, Strategy Analytics) andBrian Dunbar (EVP Client Services, Millions of Us).
VirtualWorldsEurope London (6-8 Oct): I’ll be running a workshop:Establishing metrics ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú key performance measurement for virtual worlds and MMO. This is designed for marketers looking to build a deeper understanding of virtual world campaigns and initiatives and I’ll be using metrics from Stardoll, Second Life and a few other worlds.
Virtual Worlds London (20-21 Oct): I’ll be on the Numbers panel again for this one as well as a judge on FastPitch
Also, for attendees of the LA and London Virtual Worlds Mgmt shows we’ve written an exclusive report looking into the key strategies deployed in virtual worlds during 2008 and our forecasts for 2009, which is nice.
LA VW Expo: Launch predictions
Okidoki. We’re about five weeks away from the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo in LA (if you’re going and want to meet up, ping me)
Never mind the speakers (including me) – how many new virtual worlds/services are going to time their launch (be it closed/open beta, fulllaunchor initialannouncement) to coincide with the show?
Bonus points for sticking your neck out and naming names.
Apply Virtual Worlds and MMOs 2008
I’ll be at the Apply Virtual Worlds and MMOs 2008 conference this Thurs (10th July). Ping me if you would like to meet up. The conference is ‘where leading media, developers, communications and consumer entertainment brands and agencies come to discover how to build and monetise virtual worlds.’
Here’s the session run-down.
Luxury Interactive Conference, NYC
I’ll be in NYC at the Luxury Interactive 2008 conference this coming week (Jun 16 – 19). Speaker companies at this event include Facebook, Cartier, Sony, Bloomingdales, Estee Lauder and Lacoste. Ping me if you’d like to meet up whilst I’m there.
Related info: K Zero Luxury Brands in virtual worlds case study.?جø¬?
Presentation audio available from vBusiness Expo
Clever Zebra ran their successful first virtual business conference in SL recently. Whilst this event focussed mainly on business applications, I closed the first day with a more consumer perspective, explained the Seven Point Plan for marketing in virtual worlds.
The audio for this presentation is here (registrationrequired)and the supporting slideshow is here.
Other speakers at the event included Erica Driver (Forrester), David Fenech (Kelly Services), Sandra Kearney (IBM), Laura Thomas (Dell) and Barry Joseph (Global Kids). All these audio files can be accessed here.
The second vBusiness Expo event takes places in July. Here’s the microsite for registration/info.
K Zero services
Metaverse 08 conference
I’ll be speaking at the upcomingMetaverse 08 -European Virtual Worlds Conference and Expoin Karlsruhe, Germany running May 27-28. Virtual world conferences for Europeans by Europeans are quite rare at the moment, so it’s nice to be involved in this one.
Building on my work on growth numbers and sector opportunities, I’ll be presenting an updated version of the Universe graph, with Q2 numbers, updated average age ranges and the inclusion of new worlds. Here’s a run-down of the presentations:
Here’s a run-down of the presentations:
Creating your business case for a virtual platform
This session will show you what you must consider when developing your business case, so that you cover every concern that your management might have.
Fiona May,Project Manager,Sun Microsystems
Baden-W?ɬºrttemberg in Second Life
As the first German state Baden-Wuerttemberg realized the importance of Second Life for location marketing.
Justus Beerbaum, MFG Baden-W?ɬºrttemberg mbH
Looking across the metaverse. A review of existing virtual worlds and an analysis of key growth areas.
The K Zero presentation breaks-out virtual worlds by age, type and population size as well as identifies the key growth areas by age and interest segment.
Nic Mitham,K Zero Ltd
Critical success factors for Business strategies in Virtual Worlds
Which success factors are relavant for the success or the failure of a commitment in VWs. Markus Bokowsky, Managing Director of Bokowsky + Laymann will show it to you.
Markus Bokowsky,Bokowsky + Laymann GmbH
Children in Virtual Worlds conference
BBC Children and the University of Westminster are hosting the Children in Virtual Worlds conference thisThursday 22nd May, 10.00am – 5.30pm in London.
Taken from the supporting website:
The conference will be of interest to academics,producers, online community managers, game creators, teachers, and technologists. It aims to facilitate the exchange of ideas between producers and academics on virtual and immersive media for children and to stimulate the production of high quality, creative, social media content for children in the UK.
Here’s the programme:
vBusiness Expo video
A nice overview video for the upcoming vBusiness Expo event running Apr 24 – 27.
Calling all Virtual Worlds Marketers…
The guys and girls over at Clever Zebra have been extremely busy lately preparing for their first official launch and the release of vBusiness Central – a dedicated resource for business in Second Life.
Clever Zebra have ambitious plans in SL and vBusiness Central is set to include a purpose-built orientation portal, a shopping district and a year round calendar of business-focused events.
The first event is planned for April 24-27 and will be the launch of vBusiness Expo – a bi-annual programme that includes panels/discussions, exhibitions, workshops, lectures/presentations, mixed reality events, technology demonstrations, skills training and networking opportunities. CZ has an overview video here.
Four key areas are being addressed in the first Expo… Continue reading “Calling all Virtual Worlds Marketers…” »
K Zero presentation from Virtual Worlds Expo, San Jose Oct 10 2007
The presentation linked here (Slideshare) was given at the Demographics and Numbers session yesterday at Virtual Worlds Expo in San Jose.
In the presentation I discuss factors promoting and prohibiting growth across the virtual world sector and provide forecasts for population growth across some of the major worlds.
Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo
Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo: Following on from the first virtual worlds conference in New York back in March, next week sees the event move to San Francisco.
This conference has a very wide range of topics including:
Entertainment and Marketing
- Advertising in Virtual Spaces
- ROI – How the Rules Are Changing *
- Entertainment in Virtual Worlds – It’s Not Games. it’s Not TV. It’s….
- Case Studies from leading entertainment companies, brands and agencies
- Kids and Teen Worlds – What You Need to Know
- Learn from marketers, brands and agencies
- Measure real-world results and campaign metrics
Virtual Worlds Fall Conference and Expo
Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo: Following on from the first virtual worlds conference in New York back in March, next week sees the event move to San Francisco.
This conference has a very wide range of topics including:
Entertainment and Marketing
- Advertising in Virtual Spaces
- ROI – How the Rules Are Changing *
- Entertainment in Virtual Worlds – It’s Not Games. it’s Not TV. It’s….
- Case Studies from leading entertainment companies, brands and agencies
- Kids and Teen Worlds – What You Need to Know
- Learn from marketers, brands and agencies
- Measure real-world results and campaign metrics
Continue reading “Virtual Worlds Fall Conference and Expo” »
Achieving Real Business Growth Through Second Life conference
Achieving Real Business Growth Through Second Life conference. IQPC are hosting a virtual world conference in London on Sep 25/26 2007.
The Achieving Real Business Growth Through Second Life conference is the first major event in the UK for metaverse strategies and specifically for marketers. The two day event is being chaired by Claus Nehmrow from PA Consulting Group and sessions include:
- Creating your business case for a virtual platform
- Financial Services in a virtual world
- Developing the right business model to suit your real world priorities
- Creating an immersive marketing experience
- and
- Connecting the two worlds: Turning virtual product interest into real world product revenue.
I’m a panelist on this session which should be an excellent discussion about the possibilities for real world companies to leverage their brands inside Second Life.
[Update: Unfortunately I've had to pull out of this event.]
More information about this conference can be found here.
Mondi Virtuali
Mondi Virtuali. Despite being the only non-Italian on the speaker list at Mondi Virtuali, fortunately a good proportion of the audience at this one day conference in Turin spoke English. The presentation itself can be viewed over on Slideshare.
The over-booked conference covered a wide range of topics surrounding virtual world business, from avatar management and property services, through to academic uses and media coverage. The event itself was simulcasted with a virtual stage in SL and residents watching a live video stream taken from the auditorium. Building on this theme of integration, during the Q&A session we also fielded questions directly asked from virtual attendees. Continue reading “Mondi Virtuali” »
Virtual Worlds Conference Turin
Virtual Worlds Conference Turin. The Virtual Reality and Multi Media Park in Turin is hosting a one-day conference on business opportunities in virtual worlds on June 19th 2007.
I’ll be speaking about the Seven Point Plan for marketing in Second Life. Other speakers include:
- Aaron Brancotti: discussing Sony Home, Second Life and other metaverses
- Leandro Agro: on avatar interfaces
- Andrea Benassi: speaking about new media platforms
- Antonio Santangelo: explaining the language of Second Life
More information about the conference can be found here.