Avatar based marketing in indian context

AVATAR – BASED MARKETING

!”

Amit Morya

Demystification of an Avatar

• A Brief History of Word AVATAR– According to Hindu Mythology, Avatar describes

the worldly incarnation of Lord Vishnu.– It was popularized in its Cybersense by Neal

Stephenson in his 1992 cult novel Snow Crash.

This is an Avatar – Alter Ego

Demystification of an Avatar

• Visual representation of a user in an online community.

• Conspicuous online manifestation of people’s desire to try out alternative identities.

• Avatars are endowed with mannerisms, skills and wardrobes.

Classes of Virtual World

Virtual World

Combat Focused Games

EverQuest Lineage World of

Warcraft

Virtual Social Interaction

Adults Oriented

Second life

Entropia Universe Redlight

Teenagers Oriented

There Sims Online

Habbo Hotel

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 1. Entropia Universe

• It is a massively multiplayer online virtual universe designed by Swedish software company MindArk.

• It is a direct continuation of Project Entropia, with MindArk reporting a 2006 in-game turnover of over 3.6 Billion PED ($360 Million USD)

• Over 650 000 registered participants from over 220 countries

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 1. Entropia Universe

• The cultural city of 'New Oxford' within Entropia Universe offers participants the opportunity to purchase real world items, such as contemporary art and clothing.

• Some of the companies that have partnerships to sell real world items within the Entropia Universe include 'Vexed Generation Clothing Ltd' of London, England, and '21st Century Fine Art' which has its real world offices in New York. 21st Century Fine Art have also opened a gallery in the heart of 'New Oxford' within the Entropia Universe

Business Opportunities@Entropia

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 2. There.com

• It is a 3D online virtual world created by Will Harvey and Jeffrey Ventrella

• Venue for socializing with less role-playing than is typically found in MMORPGs

• It contains 12 major islands and numerous smaller islands, 500,000 members and many community places including businesses

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 2. There.com

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 3. Second Life

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 3. Second Life

• A Massively Multiplayer Virtual World (MMVW) with users designing, conducting business, building relationships, entertaining, learning, and living their second life.

• 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents and inhabited by people from around the globe.

• Spread over 20,000 acres of land.• San Francisco-based company Linden Labs governs

Secondlife.com

Place to

shop

network

buy and sell land

build proverb

ial castles in the

air and

work to become successf

ul businessmen.

Place to satisfy

libidinous fantasies

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 3. Second Life

Business Opportunities@Second Life• party and wedding planner • pet manufacturer • casino operator • tattooist • nightclub owner • automotive manufacturer • fashion designer • aerospace engineer • custom avatar designer • jewelry maker • architect • XML coder • freelance scripter • game developer • fine artist • machinima set designer • tour guide • party and wedding planner

dancer musician custom animation creator lottery operator theme park developer real estate speculator vacation resort owner advertiser bodyguard magazine publisher private detective writer gamer hug maker

• Facts & Figures– Total residents 27,21,280 – Logged in last 60 days 9,65,263 – Online now 14,364– Us$ spent last 24 hrs $12,03,354 – Lindex activity last 24 hrs $1,51,276

Virtual Social Interaction Sites: 3. Second Life

Reality of Virtual World

• ‘Value’ of a thing determines price. • ‘Real Money’ economy is connected to

virtual world economy through the exchange rates w.r.t. to the site. For eg. it is Lindex for Second Life

• Economy figures and statistics are available on the respective website.

Myriad Possibilities and Opportunities

• Fast increasing number of Avatars.• Thriving business on 3D social networking

sites.• E-commerce model: From Virtual to Real

world. • A right place to advertise.

Marketing in Virtual Worlds

• Ability to generate sustained consumer engagement with a brand.– Second Life residents run businesses that sell virtual

products and services priced in Second Life’s Linden dollars.

– Wells Fargo Bank operates a virtual world called Stagecoach Island, designed to educate teens about money matters.

– Coke Studios is a teen-oriented virtual world run by Coca-Cola.

Marketing to Avatars

• Advertising has always targeted a powerful consumer alter ego

• Marketing depends on soliciting people’s dreams

• Avatars might also be enlisted to play a marketing role.

• Second Life clothing designers have been approached by real-world fashion houses, and at least one business makes real-world versions of furniture based on virtual “furni” designed by Second Life residents.

• Avatars ultimately could run virtual-world stores selling real-world products

• As the barriers between virtual worlds and real life blur, so do the barriers between virtual worlds and the rest of cyberspace.

Marketing to Avatars

• Live customer attendee and feedback can be outsourced!

• Letting customer create a new shirt design, and see if other avatars buy that => if yes, new product development back in real world.

• Buying real world products from virtual world! (shipped, paid in linden dollars)

Marketing to Avatars

Real Brands in Not-So-Real World • Second Life - Nike sold virtual shoes to avatars.• There - Levi Strauss promoted a new style of jeans.• Sims Online - McDonald’s installed virtual fast-food

kiosks• Sims Online - Intel incorporated its logo into the

screens of virtual computers• Habbo Hotel - Kellogg’s sponsored a competition• Second Life - Coke machines/kiosks are common. • Second Life – Adidas did a marketing campaign for

one of its products, while Toyota sold virtual cars.

Real World Business in Virtual World

Best Buy Geek Squad

For Second Lifers with a technical bent, Geek Squad Island is a great place to get free technical support.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Geek%20Squad%20Island/175/173/72

H&R Block

The H&R Block presence on Second Life is an accountant's paradise

Real World Business in Virtual World

Cisco IslandWell-populated island showcases Cisco products in a cleanly designed "connected home" of the future

Real World Business in Virtual World

ReutersA free gadget at Reuters helps people to stay in touch with the news in the physical world

Real World Business in Virtual World

Dell Island• Portal for

advancing the company brand.

• Drafting table to build the basic components of a real-world computer

Real World Business in Virtual World

Sun MicrosystemsChat sessions related to Client/Server, Java, Cell phones, etc.

Real World Business in Virtual World

Pontiac• Recent models available

for a test drive• Car garage lets people

customize vehicles to their liking, including the paint job and styling

• Pontiac awards experimental land for designers -- free of charge.

Real World Business in Virtual World

IBM• 230 employees

involved actively, on almost 2 dozen islands

• Invested $100 mn in virtual world

• Employees use private island for client discussions

Real World Business in Virtual World

Fitment of Avatar Based Marketing in Indian Context

Indian Internet Market• Every 10th individual in urban India has accessed the internet

Source: Online Gaming in India March 2007, IAMAI

Fitment of Avatar Based Marketing in Indian Context

Indian Internet Market• 100% user base growth in 2006 over 2004 • Overall penetration less than 5%

Source: Online Gaming in India March 2007, IAMAI

Fitment of Avatar Based Marketing in Indian Context

Indian Internet Market• Internet is percolating across India, from a high 64% of all

users in 2001, the top 4 metros now account for 50% of all users

Source: Online Gaming in India March 2007, IAMAI

Fitment of Avatar Based Marketing in Indian Context

Indian Internet Market• Internet is still an affluent phenomenon

Source: Online Gaming in India March 2007, IAMAI

Fitment of Avatar Based Marketing in Indian Context

Indian Internet Market• Biggest target segment on internet – School going kids and

Youth

Source: Online Gaming in India March 2007, IAMAI

Fitment of Avatar Based Marketing in Indian Context

Online Advertising in India• Internet advertising comprised less than one

per cent of advertising in the year 2005• Expected to be four per cent by the year 2010

i.e. 747 crores on a base of 19,562 crores• Growth of the online ad industry will be

consistently more than 40%

Advantage: Indian Marketers• Counter Touch and feel mentality of Indian

consumers• Leverage creativity of customers – free of

cost!• Digital self – true aspiration of consumer• Right place for test marketing• After sale services through virtual sites

Fitment of Avatar Based Marketing in Indian Context

• Poor enabling infrastructure– Low internet penetration – Limited broadband penetration

“Platform required too much computer hardware capability ”

• Localization of content– Language is a major barrier to popularize Virtual

3D sites in India“Each virtual world has a different culture”

Major Challenges for ABM in India

• Consumers’ privacy concerns about the detailed tracking of avatar data pose obvious challenges

• Operators of virtual worlds make sporadic attempts to limit the unauthorized use of real-world brands

• Strong resistance to real-world commercial encroachment exists in many virtual worlds.

Major Challenges for ABM in India

Thank YouThank You!!