Have you considered Virtual Promotion of your product line?

[Tyrus]

Greetings,

I have been going over some thoughts on getting the word out on your product. Now I have a few ideas but chief among them is an online campaign specifically a Second Life Promotion.

Your companies presence online indicates that you understand the power of the internet. Your forums and blog both written and video show you know that a strong internet identity is key to marketing in this modern age. Ok so how to capitalize on the already huge internet community.

Suggestion; Build a “Second Life” Identity

What is second life? Well to put it in a nut shell its another world in virtual format available for all sorts of activities. This should not be confused with an online game in the strict sense. There are no bad guys to shoot or quests to do as in most of the online games. This is literally a new world. There are buildings, shops, concerts, churches, schools you name it. You can hit wiki for a better description and keep in mind that not all the press on this system is good press but overall it’s a big hit. There are large numbers of real world institutions that have a presence such as is indicated here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life#Institutions_in_Second_Life

IBM, has become a fixture in second life also. Incidentally I worked for IBM for almost 9 years. IBM was a great place with lots of forward thinking folks.

http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2006/10/24/ibm-eyes-move-into-second-life-v-business/

With the tools available to you in the game, you and your team could build a shop to display your products and people could buy the items for use in game. Now I know that on the outside that sounds kind of odd but consider the fact that the cost to access the game system is free, that’s right free no charge. To buy enough land to put a small shop would probably run you 5-30$ US per month. I dare you to find advertising space bigger than a stamp at those costs

Development of a business identity in Second Life can open huge doors to potential clients from around the world at minimal costs. I have included a few links to back up my suggestion.

Virtual Worlds for Business http://www.nbhorizons.com/

EMVEE Metaversatility http://www.metaversatility.com/presence.html

Entrepreneur magazine articles on Second Life Business http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/article172768.html

And last but not least, the Google string that will take you to a larger list of Second Life business opportunities. http://www.google.ca/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBS_enCA274CA275&q=business+in+second+life

In closing I would like to say that the potential business opportunities available through online interactivity have only begun to be realized. The potential is staggering; consider a single online game that has taken the world by storm, WoW or World of Warcraft. Currently boasting almost 10 million players, yes I said 10 million, at a charge of 14.99 per month that’s a mind blowing 149 million per month and more than 1.5 billion a year on the production of a single video game….

Cheers!

[Scott E. Jordan]

my thoughts are here (http://www.tokbox.com/vm/q3zo4cve3rml)

[Tyrus]

Bingo!

In response to your video. Yes I was thinking of a ScottEVest store that would be created within an existing Second Life community.

Second Life Benifits

Brand Exposure
Allow a virtual hands on
Allow people to see how the clothing would look in day to day settings, Yes it's virtual but its still a better testing ground than just looking at flat 2D pictures.
In game events.


Ok now to expand on a few of these ideas.

Create a small well designed store within a larger Second Life community. It must reflect what you would do with a real world store. Design, layout, color etc must be in line with what you would really produce.

Schedule real world events via Second Life storefront. This is a massive campaign aimed at bringing folks to this site and getting the exposure you want for your products.

Example Event.

Post a note in the store indicating a contest.
Request Second Life players make a quick post on this website in a forum article tied to the in game event. Just a quick " I visited Scottevest.com and my second life name is ___" This draws people from within the game to your site for full exposure to your product line.
Then schedule a date and time when a draw will be done from the names of those who logged into this site and left their Second Life names.
The Winner of the draw has to be in or near the ScottEVest store in Second Life to be contacted.
The draw is completed and you give away X product of your choosing.


Now what has this accomplished? Well you have exposed your product line to a ton of people from a very diverse pool. You have the opportunity to see how many people a virtual store can draw via the post numbers on the site. You are also able to visually see how things go by seeing how many bodies show up at the store in game for the draw. While there is no way to guarantee the outcome it has the potential to be a big event. I would also suggest you record the event using an online game recording tool like "fraps" there are other tools I am sure your staff will know what I am talking about.

If the first contest has some success you can announce another bigger better one to draw even more attention.

You have a ton of business smarts and learning.. you know the value of advertising far more than I do.. how much would all this cost?? next to nothing. I really mean that. we are not talking 1000's of dollars and quite possibly less than 100's.

Are business ventures into cyberspace risky..heck ya.
Can they pay of big.. 8) you bet they can..

There are always pro's and con's. For a look at both go back and check the links I provided in my opening comments.. Then google "setting up shop in second life" this will give you a "both sides of the coin" look at things.

"some find danger in every opportunity, others find opportunity in every danger"

P.S. my apologies for the grammar and spelling but I am multi tasking my brains out and I have no idea when I would have been able to reply in a quiet peaceful atmosphere. Cheers and good luck.

[Scott E. Jordan]

designing a good virtual store would be almost as hard, and in some cases harder, than designing a real store. If you know someone that can do this, with very little supervision and not terribly much money, I am all over it. Otherwise, it will be just another good idea that never gets done due to other higher priorities.

But don't let that discourage you from presenting other good ideas.

Scott

[Tyrus]

Second Life is full of individuals and companies that serve as designers and architects. I think that the best way to locate one is to go into second life, find a few buildings or stores that you really connect with and then via the owner of the building contact the designer.

Of course there is always google for second life architects but frankly I am of the opinion that the first suggestion is the best as you will have a good idea that the person or company is capable of delivering what you want right off the bat.

To be honest my original vison was not so much as store with four walls but more along the lines of a kiosk or small shop.. consider a surfboard shop on the beach in California small and packed to the roof with gear. Given the currently limited product line the kiosk idea may be better. A big Scottevest logo with racks of clothing out for display. more important than the store though is having it staffed a certain number of hours each week with enthusiastic people who are passionate about your product line. its one thing to have the store built and contests and such but having someone on hand to "preach" the good news, to announce to all the benifits of having a Scottevest product..now thats where the big win's can happen.

Go one step further and spend 1 or 2 hours on a weekend in the world of Second Life find someone to craft an avatar that looks a bit like you and you can be on hand.. " Hi I'm Scott Jordan founder and CEO of Scottevest. Gather around and let me tell you why I started this company. Spend a few minutes with me and I bet we can find a Scottevest product that can improve your life!"

Anyhow it's just a thought. :)