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Millions for a Virtual Coke on Second Life?

Second Life Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be.
Big marketers may have wasted millions

That’s the bad news. The good news is that those big marketers may have saved you a lot of money.

You’ve probably heard about Second Life. It’s a virtual world that exists on the Net and in people’s minds. You can create an avatar which, in turn, can live a ’second life.’ Some major marketers, including IBM and Coke, have conducted expensive experiments with their own virtual worlds. They were hoping to create a new brand experience. It sure sounded like a great deal with millions of avatars acting out and living it up.

Unfortunately, the truth seems to be that there is less than meets the eye on Second Life. Although millions of Avatars have been created, you are unlikely to attract very many of those millions to your brand experience. According to Wired.com, the problem is:

“What people do when they get there. Once you put in several hours flailing around learning how to function in Second Life, there isn’t much to do. That may explain why more than 85 percent of the avatars created have been abandoned. Linden’s in-world traffic tally, which factors in both the number of visitors and time spent, shows that the big draws for those who do return are free money and kinky sex…”

The bottomline is that mainstream marketers offering power tools or an ice cold Coke aren’t pulling in the avatars. Wired.com notes that, “The Sears store on IBM’s Innovation Island had a traffic score of 281; Coke’s Virtual Thirst pavilion, a mere 27.”

Why are these traditionally staid marketers–we want to teach the world to sing and Thanks Mean Joe–pouring money down a virtual rat hole? According to Joseph Plummer, chief research officer at the Advertising Research Foundation: :

” ‘The simple model they all grew up with” — the 30-second spot, delivered through the mass reach of television — ‘is no longer working. And there are two types of people out there: a small group that’s experimenting thoughtfully, and a large group that’s trying the next thing to come through the door.’

It seems that Second Life appeals to that second group of big bucks marketers who don’t want to miss out. Naturally, they’re not ready to admit they may have made a very big mistake.

If you were considering a major marketing investment in Second Life, you’d best wait to see if Second Life has any life left in it. Although I will say that a Coke would taste pretty good on this hot July afternoon.

Read more on Wired.com