List of Helpful SL Marketing Blogs found..!

http://habitat.thefarmers.org/

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/

Movie Screening in Virtual World..and more!!

Recently I've became interested in the idea of having a movie screening event in Second Life as a part of my IML thesis project after I talked to my marketing professor. The idea was that we could experiment whether we can use vitual world like Second Life as a test market for pre-relieased movies. For example, when studios run a test screening of an upcoming film, it costs a lot of marketing budget to set up and run the event. (e.g. Renting out a physical screening place, finding and paying the audiences who would be willing to sit down, watch the film, rate it and make comments etc.) But if studios or independent film makers or producers throw a test screening in virtual world, it would cost them virtually nothing! And..of course, they can get the same type of results.

Well.. I searched online to find if there has been any virtual screening in the past, and I found one!!

http://foureyedmonsters.com/secondlife
This website shows how they teamed up with Sundance Channel Island in the virtual world and screened a movie.

"Sundance Channel has branched out to explore the screening possibilities in virtual worlds and its efforts have been noticed by Second Life's virtual citizens and established periodicals like The New York Times. The screening of FOUR EYED MONSTERS in Sundance Channel Island was the first big event of its kind in Second Life and you can expect to see similar events in the future." (http://www.sundancechannel.com/secondlife/)

In addition, I also found a New York Times article fully devoted to Second Life and its potential to be a great screening place where viewers can not only watch the content but also socialize and intereact with others at the same time in the virtual world.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/arts/television/24itzk.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2)


A very interesting example I found from this article...is about MLB All Star Game screening in virtual World where people mingled and stayed for few hours watching the game in a virtual screening place.

"As an example Mr. Verbeck pointed to a Second Life island his company created for Major League Baseball last summer where users could mingle during the All-Star Game and watch the home run derby. “People who came to mlb.com and watched online stayed for about, on average, 19 minutes,” Mr. Verbeck said. “Whereas the people who came into Second Life, mainly to talk to each other and be in a crowd, they stayed for an average of two hours.”"

From what I've read today, I think there's a potential that SL or Virtual world can play a very effective tool to test screen a film or any type of content. Let's keep exploring the virtual world!!

Case Study: Starwood Hotels

There had been so much coverage on Starwood Hotels in Second Life. It was partly because there's always a big buzz on media whenever a big brand or corporate lauches in SL. But most of all, unlike many other big brands' marketing disasters in SL in the past, Starwood Hotel's case actually seemed to WORK..pretty well!

Here are some pictures of virtual Starwood hotel.

In short, this case was unique because it launched a new Starwood hotel in SL (this part is not so unique..) and tested out a new loft-style hotel with prototyles in virtual world. This means they built a virtual hotel in SL and opened it up to avatars. Then the users would visit and look around the hotel (interior design, furnitures etc) and would comment about them. The hotel closely examined the user's feedback and took them in account when they build a new loft hotel in real world! This is a fantastic example of how a real brand used SL for test market or get some insights and feedback before they do real world business.

Linda Zimmer talks about how providing the "experience" not the product itself if the key to success in virtual marketing, and I strongly agree that is true. What Starwood provided was an "experience" of the virtual hotel, that users could feel, walk around and touch etc. It turned out be very effective not because there was a lot of traffic in the virtual hotel in SL, but also 1) it created so much media buzz and 2) could get consumer's insight and feedbackss through a virtual model of the hotel. It was a win-win case for both marketers and consumers.

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Related links:

(If you want to know the general story about Starwood and its launch in Second Life, read this Businessweek story.)
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/aug2006/id20060823_925270.htm?chan=innovation_branding_branding

(Linda Zimmer talks about how "experience" is the key to marketing success in SL; I Strongly agree.)
http://blog.futurelab.net/2006/10/starwoods_aloft_hotel_in_secon.html

(Some other related blog posts)
http://freshtakes.typepad.com/sl_communicators/2006/09/starwood_hotels.html
http://www.marketingprofs.com/6/verdino1.asp

Case Study: Showtime's "The L-word"

The Mediaweek article below talks about Showtime's "The L-Word" show launching a virtual world based on the drama. It's still in progress and will be launched in early 2009 with the debut of the series' new season.

What they did in the past in virtual world had been successful in terms of promotional purpose. They threw out events such as Screening of the episodes, celebrity guests, speed dating events, birthday party kits etc. I think they were the right kind of events that actually work in SL to promote a brand.

Rob Hayes, VP and general manager for Showtime Digital Media said in the acticle, "they were centered on the show and some of them will be around the lifestyles, but the goal is to find ways to extend the brand."

Personally I think this kind of subtle approach (e.g. not just trying to sell a virtual version of the product or build a gigantic building with the brand logo that no one visits, but making a subtle promotional approach through these types of fun, lifestyle based-events that SL users would actually participate in ) always turns out to be much more effective in SL.

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'L Word' Virtual World in Works
Showtime partners with Electric Sheep for Web project
July 17, 2008
-By David Ward, The Hollywood Reporter

Showtime has inked a deal with virtual world technology company The Electric Sheep Company to create a standalone Web-based virtual world for drama series "The L Word."

The L Word virtual world, which begins testing next month and formally launches with the debut of the series' new season in early 2009, will be the first to use Electric Sheep's new WebFlock, a Flash-based solution that eliminates the lengthy downloads and other technological barriers that have prevented some virtual worlds from attracting the mass market.

Rob Hayes, vp and general manager for Showtime Digital Media, noted "Word" did have a successful promotion last year in Second Life, but added he expects to this program to attract a much larger audience.

In addition to screenings of "Word" episodes, Hayes foresees a whirlwind of virtual activity surrounding the series. "We'll also have celebrity guests as well as speed dating events and birthday party kits," he said. "Some of these will be centered on the show and some of them will be around the lifestyles, but the goal is to find ways to extend the brand."

Though Showtime currently views virtual worlds primarily as a promotional tool, Hayes said it also considering ways to monetize this avatar-based audience going forward.

"Word" will be the first to use WebFlock, but Electric Sheep CEO Sibley Verbeck said the company is already in talks with other entertainment brands intrigued not only by a user-friendly Web-based solution, but also by the opportunity to create their own stand-alone worlds rather than run programs on existing worlds like Second Life.

"These brands want to have a relationship directly with their audience and not have to participate in a system where someone else might be advertising right along with them," Verbeck added. "We can drive hundreds of thousands or millions of people into a virtual world."

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/esearch/e3i57765b16dbd8c2ae91419a09427450df

List of Interesting Websites on SL Marketing/Publicity

I've just began to compile the list of interesting websites or blogs on Second Life marketing or publicity. I'll be keep adding new info as I find more..


http://rezzable.com/

• Rezzable operates one of the largest public entertainment areas in the metaverse. Widely respected for top quality content, Rezzable creates and manage engaging virtual world brands and destinations, including the well-known Greenies, Crimson Shadow, Carnival of Doom, Virtual Surfline, Black Swan, Tunnel of Light and many more. Each day, the company hosts thousands of visitors for live dj music, clubs, art shows, games, contests, shopping and content creation.