Big Businesses Engage Customers in Second Life

Big companies such as IBM, Starwood, Toyota, Sony BMG, and AOL have opened shop in Second Life, where new media tools converge to provide an unparalleled environment for engaging in a dialogue with customers, seeding brand loyalty, developing new products and gathering feedback.

A Rich Business Platform

Second Life platform technology allows customization.

  • Open Source – The source code for the Second Life Viewer is available to everyone. Talented developers from around the world collaborate with Linden Lab to refine and enhance the Second Life experience for all Residents. Open source also means that companies can modify the Viewer to fit their needs.
  • APIs – Linden Lab is developing a variety of application program interfaces, including network protocols, REST documentation, web capabilities and the like, that will communicate with the Second Life software infrastructure. This extensibility enables companies to explore new ways of interacting with their customers.

The Second Life world features easy to use built-in tools.

  • Communication and collaboration – Residents and employees use real-time voice conferencing and chat, instant messaging, group messaging, and notecards. In addition, Residents continually develop business collaboration, communication and event management tools in response to emerging methods of doing business.
  • Content creation – The Second Life world is full of user-generated content that provides a rich backdrop to every experience of Second Life. Companies that own virtual land can choose to control building activities on their property, depending on their needs.
  • Micropayments – Real and virtual products, services and entertainment can be easily purchased with a click. Residents make purchases using the in-world currency, Linden Dollars (L$), which are automatically transferred from the buyer to the seller’s account. The seller can then convert the L$ to US$ on an open market exchange such as the LindeX.
  • Media sharing – Streaming video and audio to Residents is as easy as copying and pasting a URL. Employees can upload images of plans, products, and graphs as well as give PowerPoint slideshows.
  • HTML Integration – Web data travels seamlessly between Second Life and a company’s established web presence.

Build Community around a Brand

“For businesses, these early forays into virtual worlds could be the next frontier in the blurring of advertising and entertainment.”
– Richard Siklos, New York Times View article

While product placements are common in media, nothing compares to the way customers can engage with a brand in Second Life. Immersive environments allow customers to interact creatively with a brand. Companies build positive brand associations with their customers through activities Second Life Residents find compelling. Events focused on community building, charity sponsorships, concerts, awards, celebrations and contests allow customers to be more receptive to promotional messages.

Case Study: Residents who are thinking of buying a Toyota Scion, or are already owners in the real world, can pick up a fully scripted virtual car from Toyota’s Scion City and customize their ride, cruise the town or catch a drive-in movie.

Companies use Second Life to test new designs and concepts before introducing them to the real world. Along with gathering invaluable market data, companies also build brand loyalty with Residents who develop an emotional investment in the design process.

Case Study: Starwood Hotels brought the Aloft brand into Second Life to refine the design of its new hotel. Residents explored the virtual Aloft hotel in-world and submitted feedback on the design. The Starwood project blog provided timely updates on the consumer feedback-driven design iteration process and the eventual construction of a real-world version of the hotel.

Taking Business Communication to the Next Level

Good-bye conference call, hello 3-D collaboration. Companies have built private, corporate headquarters in Second Life to host their virtual meetings and share data. Remote employees and regional offices stay connected using built-in voice conferencing, text chat and group messaging systems. Project leaders can share data through slideshows and streaming video, which can be shown at a meeting or played on-demand by employees in different time zones. Designers can show 3-D product models to stakeholders, and easy to use object editing tools allow feedback to be immediately incorporated and deployed.

Case Study: Little Wonder Studio values the collaborative advantage of Second Life as a real-time multi-user 3D-sketchbook for the toys it dreams up. Allowing customers, engineers and designers on different continents to simultaneously work together helps keep the vision clear and the lines of communication open.

Resources

For more information about brands and Second Life, contact Lewis PR at secondlife(at)LewisPR.com.