I'm talking about a time that no one under the age of 20 will ever know. The one from Second life, created in 1999 by Philip Rosedale. An infinite, virtual and connected world in which each of us could evolve and interact. A world that called upon everyone's creativity and evolved according to the gamers' desires. The success of this platform relied on 3 factors:
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The vastness of this virtual world. An endless, addictive game where developers could create worlds within worlds…
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The capabilities of avatars to interact. The early beginnings of social media of sorts.
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The ability to embody a better version of yourself, with a realistic avatar that can be personalised.
Second Life revolutionized marketing when brands began to invest in the virtual world by offering gamers the opportunity to buy the latest Nike, or take part in events (such as fashion shows). The platform has even developed its own virtual currency: the Linen Dollar. Most probably the forerunner to our current cryptocurrency.
A physical world within a virtual world was created.
In this difficult climate where we're all encouraged to stay at home, virtual worlds are re-emerging, even though they'd never really disappeared.
Advertisers, brands and the entertainment industry are well aware of this.
The majority of these players' businesses is reliant on the physical: Shops, supermarkets, concert halls and festivals. So how can we limit the losses?
By recreating what works in real life within the digital world.
A concert of 40,000 growing to 12 million.
The undeniable advantage of virtual worlds is that they have no geographical boundaries and no space issues.
When, in a time of crisis, an artist can no longer entertain 40,000 fans in a stadium, why not digitally bring 12 million people together at the same time?
It was Travis Scott's performance on 25th April this year, that set the stage with a historic concert held within the celebrated video game, Fortnite.
A superb performance perfectly executed by... His giant avatar!
A scenography worthy of the greatest Pixar and Disney animations, lasting 10 minutes, in front of the whole world. So while Travis Scott may not have generated a lot of sales from his performance, he has maintained a unique emotional bond with his fans and the world at large, during this challenging period. And that's what makes all the difference
Take a look at the video here: : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sozzqDpXfnA
The virtual world. A brand paradise?
The virtual world economy doesn't ever stop! These platforms make it possible to almost identically recreate what we, as consumers, experience in real life.
Except, instead of going out to buy the latest Salomon's, we buy them from our avatar.
The ability to create points of sale, meeting places, cafés and concert halls in just a few hours and reach the whole world within minutes versus several months in real life, in addition to addressing new audiences, are all key factors driving this growth.
And it goes beyond that.
Nowadays, as real people, we may become immune to advertising. Sometimes, we're subjected to it. However, in virtual worlds, it is us who request it. We want to have the best avatar. The best house for our avatar. The best car. Everything's possible in the virtual world. We're therefore, much more likely to be receptive to this style of marketing.
It's important to remember: It's only because your avatar has just bought themselves the latest Salomon's in Animal Crossing that they'll be running in your place :)
The virtual world. A brand paradise?
The virtual world economy doesn't ever stop! These platforms make it possible to almost identically recreate what we, as consumers, experience in real life.
Except, instead of going out to buy the latest Salomon's, we buy them from our avatar.
The ability to create points of sale, meeting places, cafés and concert halls in just a few hours and reach the whole world within minutes versus several months in real life, in addition to addressing new audiences, are all key factors driving this growth.
And it goes beyond that.
Nowadays, as real people, we may become immune to advertising. Sometimes, we're subjected to it. However, in virtual worlds, it is us who request it. We want to have the best avatar. The best house for our avatar. The best car. Everything's possible in the virtual world. We're therefore, much more likely to be receptive to this style of marketing.
It's important to remember: It's only because your avatar has just bought themselves the latest Salomon's in Animal Crossing that they'll be running in your place :)
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