Brands like Coke, Disney, and Motorola are experimenting with virtual worlds to seek new audiences and promote their brands in novel ways. These solo or co-branded virtual worlds allow users to inhabit personalized avatars, socialize, and purchase virtual goods. While expensive to develop initially, proponents argue they can engage users for hours versus the seconds typical of traditional ads. Metrics like monthly user visits show millions are attracted to branded worlds like Stagecoach Island and Virtual Magic Kingdom, but determining clear ROI is still evolving.

1. Bold New Opportunities in Virtual Worlds
Now boarding: ad flights to the new, new thing. Interactive leaders like Coke, Motorola, Wells
Fargo & Co, Disney, and Hollywood film studios are daring to go where few brands have gone
before. These innovators are experimenting with the next dimension of online-- virtual worlds. Their
missions vary-- to seek new life for wavering brands, to expand civilizations (audiences) or even
make "first contact."
Wikipedia.com defines a virtual world as a "computer-simulated environment intended for its users to
inhabit and interact with via avatars." Most of the virtual worlds today allow for multiple users and
feature chat, texting and even audio messaging and ecommerce apps, enabling marketers to "sell"
virtual or real world objects and apparel.
The greatest opportunity for brand expression may just be in the 'solo-branded' Virtual
Worlds like Coke Studios, Wells Fargo's "Stagecoach Island," Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom and
Motorola's Mokiworld. But other options like co-branding or develop promotions or sponsorships
within other brands' virtual worlds -- like Wal-Mart did in Coke Studios -- are feasible.
In the past few years, brands have began to tip toe into this world's arena by co-marketing with one
or more of a triad of the bigger online virtual worlds like Sulake Corp.'s Habbo Hotel, Linden Labs'
Second Life and Makena Technologies' There Inc. Agencies and creatives often turn to this triad of
firms or others like Electric Sheep, Active Worlds or Peace City to develop their environs or use their
platforms to build the basic structures of branded worlds. Examples include Habbo Hotel's

2. relationship with Disney's Virtual Magic Kingdom and Coke Studio, There Inc.'s contracts with the
U.S. Army and Peace City's 3D Plaza for the cult film "What's the Bleep?"
My world's not just a game
Sometimes called "adverworlds" by tech pundits, these worlds seldom use advertising in the
traditional sense of pushing banners or commercials at the users. Instead, these self-contained
environments often resemble MMORG (massive multiplayer online games), usually featuring
custom-tailored experiences to promote the brand's products and services in what the creators hope
is a more organic manner. Most worlds welcome player or user involvement in designing their own
personalized virtual "rooms," customizing their avatars (digital identities) and even "buying" virtual
objects and apparel to upgrade the experiences.
What's the big payoff for the brands? One innovator Erik Hauser, founder of San Francisco-based
Swivel Media, provides a powerful answer-- engagement. A proponent of experiential marketing,
Hauser's firm contracted with client Wells Fargo & Co. to develop the Stagecoach Island role-playing
game. "In today's, hyper cluttered space, marketers are lucky to get a second or minute of a
consumer's attention. We were able to 'engage' our audiences for hours not minutes or seconds,"
says Hauser. Engage is a key word here according to Hauser, because he says it means, "To get
and hold somebody's attention." He adds, "We were able to provide a meaningful, entertaining, and
brand-relevant experience that keeps our audiences entertained and learning for hours."
The price tag for creating what Hauser calls 'these new mediums' isn't cheap. How big are the brand
and agency investments? Swivel Media recommends its clients allocate six to seven figures to
create one of these experiences. Beyond an estimated one-half to one million dollars in development
costs, expert interactive marketers will advise you to add rollout fees such as viral marketing, email
promotions, print and electronic buys and offline tie-ins. The true bottom line investment in virtual
branded worlds is tough to gauge. According to the Yankee Group, advertising in games is expected
to rise to $800 million in 2009 and about one-third of that revenue will come from what those
analysts are saying will be from 'advergaming.' A Yankee Group source defines advergaming as
"when advertisers create a game around a product rather than place their brands within a title." None
of the reports surveyed online posted specific figures for spending by advertisers or brands in virtual
worlds per se.
Why not an island or kingdom?
For the right brand, the cache of owning and operating your own virtual world, island or town may be
priceless. Want to give your customers the royal treatment? There's nothing like rolling out the red
carpet to your own kingdom.
Beyond engagement, what metrics determine the ROI of these efforts? Certainly monthly user visits
can be toted up. Across the web, destinations like Stagecoach Island, Virtual Magic Kingdom,
Mokitown, Coke Studios and other branded worlds are attracting millions of visitors. Disney's Virtual
Magic Kingdom launched only seven months ago and is already celebrating the one millionth

3. character joining what its press promo calls "a free multiplayer gaming community" inspired by its
theme parks. Other measurement systems are evolving just as they did in the real world event-
sponsorship arena. At this point, whether the world is effective or faulty in enhancing the brand is in
the eyes of the beholder.
What's the appeal for the user? Minutes after registration, you can shed, or if you wish, simulate your
real life (RL) identity by personalizing an avatar (digital image you create to represent yourself),
custom-design your own hang-out, haven or "crib," import your buddy list and IM new pals. For many
visitors, the worlds fulfill the yearning for a much-needed outlet beyond home, work and school-- not
unlike what Starbuck's founder Howard Schultz touts as the coveted third space in RL. Because of
the brand's underwriting, the price is right with entry free in most cases courtesy of the advertiser.
Advertising as content
In a quest to leapfrog beyond 20th Century interruptive ad models, agencies, creative firms and
developers are transcending what many media leaders and even audiences thought was an
impenetrable final frontier where advertising is perceived as content. Tips to accomplish this
amazing feat include: hiring the right developers to create your world, making sure your game
creators are savvy with what's trendy and scaleable, and encouraging user involvement and input.
Some branded virtual world creators swear that you can even entice the commercial weary TiVo
adopter with the right creative online. You'll want to learn from your beta users and continue to
upgrade and refresh content along the way. Blogger Ilyan Vedrashko says he "Thinks it would be
smart of a company to provide tools and incentives to have the brands incorporated by the players
directly."