Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN-13: 978–0–230–20179–8 ISBN-10: 0–230–20179–2 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. First published 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. © Alycia de Mesa 2009 All rights reserved. This is a must read for any business person looking to gain a quick overview of the virtual world landscape and the value virtual worlds hold for companies and their brands.īRAND AVATAR TRANSLATING VIRTUAL WORLD BRANDING INTO REAL WORLD SUCCESS Companies as diverse as Adidas, Pontiac, Jean-Paul Gaultier, MTV, and virtual world agencies based on real life ad and web agencies have all plunged into these unchartered waters to give their brands a virtual presence, using varied strategies and tactics.Brand Avatar covers the emergence of virtual world web sites, the culture and psychographic profile of virtual world users, the companies represented and the effectiveness of their business and branding strategies as well as the challenges that have emerged as a result of these worlds such as creating worldwide virtual world standards and intellectual property theft. Virtual world "residents" use and spend real money within the fictional-turned-real-life economies. Virtual world web sites such as Second Life and have already garnered millions of users around the world, representing a cross section of ages, ethnicities and purchasing power. Cytonians could even run for elected office within the city, though developer Blaxxun Interactive has kept the lion’s share of power through a semi-legendary character dubbed the founder.Brand Avatar is a look at business and branding strategies within the Internet’s latest phenomena of virtual worlds. Signing up may feel like joining a real community and space in a digital world, years ago that was a daily occurrence. “You choose your avatar, you choose where you hang out, you choose your home, you choose the items you decorate, and you choose the clubs you’ve been a part of,” Rayken recalls. (Participants in the project asked to be known by their first names or aliases.) Among other things, the platform supported importing custom avatars that looked like anything from ordinary humans to animated Christmas trees. “Cybertown was personal,” says CTR founder Lord Raikin. But for many, it was an amazing discovery.
One Orlando Sentinel A writer, for example, recounts that he got banned after going through a frustrating robbery spree motivated by getting caught in the virtual Cybertown pool.
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