Fulfill real-life needs
Traditionally, marketers rely on events and campaigns to attract attention, and these techniques can work in Second Life as well. Sun and Intel regularly host virtual seminars for customers and developers. Consumer brands such as Sony BMG Music have hosted celebrity performances to draw visitors, with mixed success.
The American Cancer Society has been more successful with virtual events, primarily because its virtual support groups and Relay for Life fundraiser fulfill real-life needs. NPR has also grown a loyal community in Second Life for its weekly "Science Friday" shows. Yet, there is a primary challenge for events in a built-in limitation: Only 40 avatars can be in the same place at the same time.
In addition, media-based campaigns are on the rise in Second Life. After "CSI: NY" aired an episode involving Second Life, CBS launched an in-world game encouraging viewers to look for clues and use a virtual crime lab. Similarly, the film "I Am Legend" is being marketed with a Second Life game that enables users to run around New York streets shooting zombies. Second Life is an obvious fit for creating environments that immerse users in fictional worlds. But it's unclear whether these efforts lead to long-term mindshare and brand loyalty when users leave the game.
Ecommerce vs. extended customer service
Some brands are trying to make Second Life a successful environment for real-world transactions. For example, Bantam Dell Books has a store full of clickable books that open a web browser where you can buy the real thing. Life2Life, an Amazon-powered store, enables SL users to search Amazon's catalog and view the results as books floating in mid-air. Clicking through to Amazon's site moves everything to Amazon's cart. And Dell's virtual island enables would-be customers to sit at a desk and click options to configure a PC, then visit Dell's site to buy it.
While these experiments are interesting technically, the shopping experience itself has questionable value, since viewing books and PCs in 3D isn't very helpful. It's certainly easier and faster to just visit these companies' websites. Customer service, on the other hand, is ideally matched to a real-time environment. Best Buy offers live tech support on its Geek Squad island; so does IBM, if you rent its meeting space. Even Linden Labs, the maker of Second Life, has expanded its concierge service "in-world" so you can troubleshoot your virtual experience as it's happening.
Nonetheless, the viability of real-world ecommerce and customer service in Second Life is unclear. Some retailers such as American Apparel have realized this and closed their stores. At this time, there is no way to track or measure customer behavior within a virtual world store -- at least not to the extent that marketers can follow a customer's progress through a website. Some agencies are attempting to gather feedback using surveys and focus groups. But until Second Life and its kin provide companies with user experience data gathered straight from the sources, it will be challenging to draw objective conclusions.
Product development and prototyping
Second Life's open environment makes it an excellent place for prototyping, and some companies are recognizing this potential for internal purposes. For example, Sears' virtual store provides an interactive environment where users create a custom kitchen. Also, architects such as Crescendo Design use Second Life to prototype their designs and encourage potential customers to walk through their portfolio.
When Starwood Hotels started designing a new hotel chain called Aloft, architects and designers used Second Life to develop a 3D prototype. They encouraged users to visit and give feedback, making changes to the building along the way. Based on this iterative process, Starwood is now building real-world hotels that will mirror the in-world prototype. This relationship between user feedback and actual product development shows a lot of promise.
