The interactive marketing industry is better off with Joe Jaffe around. He gets us talking about conversations, rethinking the :30 spot, podcasts up a storm, and just generally makes us all smarter. I've known him for years, and respect him greatly.
But I just don't get the Second Life thing.
I mean, I get Second Life. I get why some people use it. I've spent lots of time in there (most of it wondering where people were, then realizing they were all in strip clubs, brothels, nude beaches, and casinos). There is just SUCH a limited number of people that are reachable via SL. And one has to wonder just how much influence they actually wield in real life. I can understand if you are trying to reach a highly technical or tech-savvy audience with an appropriate experience, but does an effort like this for Coca-Cola really amount to anything with measurable results?
There are just so many other communities and virtual worlds that cater to teenagers (i.e. MTV's Laguna Beach, Gaia Online) out there that would make more sense to me if you were going for some kind of brand association (not to mention a bigger, and more influential [and influence-able] crowd).
The era where there was media value in building islands in SL for a press release's sake has passed us by. If you want to get press from SL now, Crayon's effort is certainly one way to do it — create an alternative to the "classic" island-building experience. But for the money it cost, I'd love to know if it was worth it.
Without sounding contradictory, though, I do applaud the effort. Someone's got to do something new, for us to learn something new. But that doesn't mean it feels 100% right to me.
Or, maybe I'm just still feeling the Nyquil.
**UPDATE**
AdFreak covers this as well.
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You posted this under “rant”? Dude, that was not a rant. I’ll show you a rant sometime
I’ve said this (on ATS #76 I believe) that SL is better off now that many of the naysayers (yourself NOT included) have got bored and left. Many of whom were never in SL to start.
Second Life is a Virtual World and there are plenty of other virtual worlds…so we should make sure we don’t label all Virtual Worlds and Second Life as one and the same.
Some believe (I am one) that Virtual Worlds are kind of like 3D-browsers. In other words, this is as much a new way to navigate, explore and EXPERIENCE as it is a way to play a game for example.
Already the “browser” is taking on a new role (and a less important one). Take Widgets, Ajax, Twitter etc etc. Couple that with the notion of a Website versus a world perhaps and you enter a “new dimension”
Your post could possibly be divided into 2 parts – the first of which is all about Second Life (and to a lesser extent, Virtual Worlds). The second is about Coke…their intentions, objectives, metrics etc. Obviously I’m not going to speak as much to that, however I will say that their approach shows a pretty unique and differentiated perspective on how to go about Virtual Worlds and in that, you will see a unique and differentiated motivation.
One final point…I’ve often said that instead of trying to prove the worth of new marketing, I’d like to see someone prove the worth of old marketing. Take your industry for example, I’d like to see the study that shows the movie biz how well giant ads in newspapers are working out for them. Now THAT’S the DayQuil talking.
Thanks for the input, Ian. Always appreciated, you know that!
For a proper if relatively civilized example, look no further than my *rant* on what I think of Coca-Cola’s effort.
As for the potential, I’ve gone well beyond what people like Jaffe are saying. If you care to stretch your imagination just a little, you might want to read Chris Anderson’s (of The Long Tail) post about something I’d done ( http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2005/05/my_own_personal.html ). Note that I didn’t post my entry to get attention for what impressed Chris; I did it as a warning to businesses that “storytelling” would no longer suffice when dealing with consumers in a connected, empowered world.
Next up, try a scenario I outlined for how future businesses could leverage virtual worlds, data collection, and JIT rapid manufacturing technologies in ways that make Wal*Mart and Toyota (known, as you’re doubtlessly aware, for efficient inventory management and just-in-time manufacturing, respectively) look like they’re operating in the stone-age ( http://blog.rebang.com/?p=577 ).
The problem imo is that the “conversation” needs to be sincere. I don’t see much of that.
I think Jaffe needs to get his first life in order…
I agree that the interactive world is better for having Jaffe in it, if only for the enjoyment of witnessing his numerous (and growing) blunders, gaffes, public fights and SNAFUs. Joe is undoubtedly a great advocate for new media like Second Life, but occasionally let’s his rhetoric get in the way of properly thought-out strategy. To your point – don’t use SL just for the sake of it, and if reach is low, just make sure media investment is commensurate…