Marketers Cut Back on Digital Media†

Budgets for Videogames, Cellphones, Other New Formats Fall Victim to Downturn

Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2008 — Financial woes likely will derail the growth of a slew of advertising technologies that until recently were being hailed as the next big thing.

In recent years, marketers have set aside a portion of their ad budgets to experiment with digital technologies such as Web video, mobile phones, gaming and virtual worlds. But with broader economic turmoil reaching Madison Avenue, these "experimental" budgets are among the first to hit the cutting-room floor.

The Five Biggest Digital Marketing Cliches†

Why Marketers Use Them, Why They Often Don't Work and What to Do Instead

Advertising Age, September 29, 2008 — Once upon a time — say, 2002 — digital spending was a negligible portion of total marketing budgets and we lived in a world where few marketers would dare go "beyond the banner." Fast-forward to 2008, and in some cases we have the opposite problem. Digital spending is still too low, but in the spirit of wanting to appear current, some marketers have rushed to embrace any and every new digital tactic.

This has resulted in a scenario where some digital tactics are dangerously close to "jumping the shark." Everyone is doing them, so they're not original anymore. They generally are not done well (i.e., in a way that builds brand equity, awareness or sales), and they may be so commonplace that rather than making a brand seem current or hip, they have the... continue reading

The kids are taking over virtual worlds

Although digital realms haven't caught on among adults, future is paved with child-centric fare

Statesman, September 8, 2008 — Remember how we were all supposed to do our real-world shopping in virtual malls and hold our business meetings in virtual offices by now?

Despite the ups and downs of highly detailed 3-D virtual worlds such as Second Life, There.com and Kaneva, that never really happened.

Retailers 'Sell' to Young Virtually†

Kohl's, Sears Build Brands As Children Clothe Their Avatars Online

Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2008 — Retailer Kohl's Corp. this month launched a new line of apparel, but the plaid skirts and printed T-shirts won't be sold in its 957 stores. Instead, it's selling them on Stardoll.com, a virtual community for teens and tweens where kids can fork over "Stardollars" — purchased online at a nominal sum — to buy apparel for their online characters.

Fans Resist End of Virtual Disneyland†

Created to Celebrate 50th Anniversary, Free Game to Shut

Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2008 — For Walt Disney Co., the task of opening a virtual version of Disneyland on the Web was relatively easy. Closing it, though, is proving to be quite a bit more difficult, thanks to the wrath of obsessive fans of Disney's theme parks.

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Disneyland in 2005, Walt Disney launched a free online game called Virtual Magic Kingdom whose look and layout mimics Disneyland's. Users created avatars and explored the online park's various regions, such as Tomorrowland and Main Street; chatted with other users; and participated in online promotions that crossed over into real-life activities at the company's resorts in California and Florida.

Disney's notoriously obsessive fans got deeply into this.

A Second Look at Virtual Worlds

It's all about engagement.

eMarketer, April 14, 2008 — At the recent Virtual Worlds Conference held in New York, a keynote speaker asked the crowd of a few hundred for a show of hands. About a third of the attendees represented kids' brands, a third were with virtual world companies and a third were vendors of software and other technology.

Web Playgrounds of the Very Young

Forget Second Life. The real virtual world gold rush centers on the grammar-school set.

New York Times, January 2, 2008 — Trying to duplicate the success of blockbuster Web sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz, children’s entertainment companies are greatly accelerating efforts to build virtual worlds for children. Media conglomerates in particular think these sites — part online role-playing game and part social scene — can deliver quick growth, help keep movie franchises alive and instill brand loyalty in a generation of new customers.

Virtual Worlds, Real Ad Dollars

Kids and marketers enter pixellated space.

eMarketer, October 22, 2007 — Ad spending is likely to increase substantially as more kids and teens spend time in virtual worlds and as more marketers create campaigns for those environments. Parks Associates estimated in June 2007 that $15 million was spent advertising in virtual worlds in the United States in 2006 and projected that it would rise tenfold to $150 million in 2012. The figures did not include marketer-branded virtual worlds. They also did not include other revenue sources, such as micro-transactions or subscription fees.

A Virtual View of the Store Aisle†

Kimberly-Clark and Others Track Shoppers in New Ways; Finding Huggies on the Shelf

Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2007 — Using a new tool developed by Kimberly-Clark Corp., a woman stood surrounded by three screens showing a store aisle, a retina-tracking device recording her every glance.

Asked by a Kimberly-Clark researcher to find a "big box" of Huggies Natural Fit diapers in size three, she pushed forward on a handle like that of a shopping cart, and the video simulated her progress down the aisle. Spotting Huggies' red packages, she turned the handle to the right to face a dizzying array of diapers. After pushing a button to get a kneeling view of the shelves, she reached forward and tapped the screen to put the box she wanted in her virtual cart.

Kimberly-Clark hopes these virtual shopping aisles will help it better understand consumer behavior and make the testing... continue reading

Toyota's Club Scion Gives Socializers A Lift At There.com

MediaPost Publications, August 14, 2007 — TOYOTA'S SCION DIVISION HAS ENTERED a second Second Life. Actually, a fourth. Toyota's Gen Y car division has this year created a presence on Whyville.com, Gaia.com, Second Life, and now, There.com. For the latter, the company--with help from Makena Technologies, which hosts There.com--has just launched Club Scion, a social club doubling as vehicle exploration.