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Virtual Worlds on the rise… quietly

I was reminded of the progress of Virtual Worlds today by this post on Technorati.  Seems like a long time ago (although it was only a few years back) that Virtual Worlds were promising the “mother lode” when it came to new consumer audience discovery by big companies.  I remember a lot of the uprising happening in 2007 and yet it seems that the movement was nothing but a flash in the pan as companies invested time and money into their presence and then found it to be a mega-letdown.  But, as I’ve said in my book (chapter 8), we haven’t seen the last of them. 

Yes, the Virtual World environment has rules most marketers don’t understand.  Yes, when engaging in them you open your brand up to public opposition.  Yes, the users aren’t neccesarily your target demo.  But whether you acknowledge it right now or not, the Virtual World space continues to grow, just not highlighted by the media outlets that threw the premature spotlight on them a few years ago.  In 2001 I remember Second Life just getting up and running.  The drawback at the time was the connection speed and processor requirements to yield a smooth experience.  In 2007, There.com, Second Life and a handful of others were being touted as the “next big thing” in digital audience.  A slew of companies invested hundreds of thousands to have their virtual world presence.  The drawback wasn’t connectivity, it was understanding.  Virtual Worlds had a whole new set of rules of engagement that marketers weren’t prepared for.  Commercial applications were practically “shunned” by the inhabitants and the promise of audience began to dissapate.  Now there are nothing but “ghost towns” in Virtual Worlds where brands such as Pontiac, American Apparel and Coca-Cola once were.  So… does this mean the concept of leveraging Virtual Worlds will go away?  Absolutely not.

While we all continue working our other emerging channels of brand distribution, Virtual Worlds continue to grow.  I believe that as technology continues to advance and provide these worlds cross-platform, we’re going to see another round of “testing”.  But this time, concerns over connectivity are lifted, marketers are more versed in the social aspects of engagement media and the Virtual environment will possess more target demographics and audience size than ever before.  2001 was the startup.  2007 was the “hype” (ending in disaster).  Perhaps in a few years “Third Times a Charm”.