July marketing news: part 2
…Which is actually June marketing news, which I forgot to post a month ago.
LEGO uses UGC for new Universe logo:LEGOuniverse isscheduledfor release sometime late 2009 but planning for the upcoming MMOG (Legos positioning, rather than a virtual world) appears well thought-out and geared well towards raising awareness.
Virtual world feature-sets and positioning: new report coming soon:A new K Zero report will be available shortly. Covering existing virtual worlds and those in development, this report will explain and assess…
Twinity – What is it good for? Asks the Metaverse Journal:Australian-based virtual worlds news siteThe Metaverse Journalhas taken a look at German-based virtual worldTwinityand doesnt really like what it sees.
Augmented reality and dynamic contextualisation:Folks from the Departments of Advertising and Computer Science at Michigan State University have recently published apaperrelating to augmented reality (learn about theMETLAB). The paper titled ?¢‚ǨÀúIncreasing Sales in Supermarkets via Real-Time Information explains a leading-edge idea conceptualised by Wei Zhu, Charles Owen, Hairong Li and Joo-Hyun Lee, called the PromoPad.
Geotagging the real-world:As seen on Google Maps
H&M brings a metabrand to life:Fashion retail companyH&Mhas brought virtual clothing in the real-world via a campaign deployed intoThe Sims 2. This metabrand move was prompted byThe Sims 2 H&M Fashion Runwaycompetition conducted over the summer of 2007.
And speaking of Mirror Worlds, heres Moondus:Moondusis a mirror world platform created by the folks behind Virtual Italian Themeparks. Seems theyve switched focus a little away from Second Life. FAQs are always a good way to understand how companys view their proposition.
Near intro video and background:Targeting an older audience than most virtual worlds at present, London-basedNearis prepping for launch. Near can be classified as a mirror world – a digital space modeled on real world places, in the first instance, surprise surprise, London.
Beg, Borrow or Steal? What can brands do in virtual worlds?:To the casual observer, during 2007, there was only one option for brands wanting to move into virtual worlds – Second Life. It still amazes me today how many totally unsuitable companies (based on product/service offering and target markets) actually set-up there.
Adweek: Movie Studios Expand Into Virtual Web Worlds:With fewer bodies in movie theaters and consumers migrating en masse to digital formats, Hollywood studios are understandably keen to reach their market in new, hopefully more effective ways. Although virtual worlds have a spotty record so far, some studios clearly see great potential in these environments for both promotion and distribution of their output.
Sports sector intel:Sports virtual worlds (examples of ?¢‚ǨÀúVertical Worlds?¢‚ǨÀú) are a niche I believe will becomeincreasinglypopular. Why? Two main reasons – relevance and gaming. Heres the latest intel in this sector.
Virtual Goods in Virtual Worlds with Virtual Greats:The virtual goods sector is primed for major growth due to the increased attention given by real world brands and of course the uplift in virtual world populations. – recent estimates value the virtual goods sector at $1.5bn.
No brand is an island:No brand is an island. In metaphoric terms in the real world, of course, no brand or organisation can afford to be an island.
Some things are better left 2D:One thing I learned pretty quickly by observing some of the marketing and tech-led tactics in Second Life was that some things are better left on websites rather than put into virtual world.
The World is Not Enough:Ive been to Niagara Falls. It was great for about 20 minutes. Then Ileft.
2009, the year of the.:But what about 2009? The great thing about virtual worlds is that its so hard to figure out whats going to happen next. So what will 2009 be the year of? Heres a few ideas on where the VC funding will be directed.
