AVATARS ON AVATAR-BASED MARKETING (Updated)

Harvard Business Review recently set the metaverse/Web 2.0 blogosphere ablaze with Senior Editor Paul Hemp's provocative article, "Avatar-Based Marketing", speculating on the future of advertising and promoting real products and services in online worlds and MMOs.  (Some extended blog commentary here and here.)  Now thanks to Harvard's Berkman Center, that topic will get refracted back to where it began:  in a virtual world, as a conversation between avatars.  Moderated by Ansible Berkman (the indefatigable host and caretaker of Second Life's Berkman Island) this will be a roundtable of real world/virtual world marketers, consultants, developers, journalists, and combinations of all four, including myself. Should make for a fascinating afternoon:

"Avatar-based Marketing: What's the future of Real Life Companies Marketing to Second Life Avatars?"  Friday, June 23 at Noon, Second Life Time (i.e., PST), Berkman Island.

The author himself will also be there in avatar form as Hempman Richard (above in electric blue T-shirt, with Ansible.)  Event's open to the public, but space is limited--  more details after the break.

Update, 6/23: Event went great.  Starting Monday, I'll be posting a cleaned-up transcript with screenshots of the many diverse avatars in attendance.

Update, 6:27: Event transcript begins here.

Panelists:

- Hempman Richard (aka Paul Hemp, Senior Editor, Harvard Business Review)
- Cristiano Midnight (SLUniverse/Snapzilla)
- SNOOPYbrown Zamboni (aka Jerry Paffendorf, Second Life Future Salon/Electric Sheep Company)
- Zero Grace (aka blogger Tony Walsh, Clickable Culture)
- Razor Rinkitink (aka Raz Schionning, Director of Web Services, American Apparel, with just-opened Second Life outlet)
- Hamlet Au (aka blogger Wagner James Au, New World Notes)

Direct portal to Berkman Island here.

IM Ansible Berkman to pre-reserve a spot. 

The event sign on Berkman Island has a link to the HBR article, but Hempman Richard warns that it will be online for free until the 27th.

Ansible's antennae-crested avatar by seasoned SL designer and inveterate romantic Eddie Escher.

Speaking of marketing to avatars, Hempman Richard is looking for a tweed jacket to accompany his electric blue T-shirt.  IM him for fashion tips.

Update, 11:02AM:  Fixed a few of the links and added a direct link to the Second Life listing.

Comments

[rikomatic]

Someone needs to tell Hempman that wearing electric blue tee-shirt and tweed jacket is muy gauche in SL. He should purchase some faerie wings or perhaps a prosthetic arm.

[Celebrity Trollop]

Bummed I'm going to miss it!

I did blog about the original article here.

[Hempman Richard]

Thanks, Riko. I'll hunt down the fairy wings. They'll go well with my J. Crew khakis and Sperry Docksiders! :-)
HR

[Celebrity Trollop]

As for fashionable men's jackets, I recommend stopping by Swell as written up here in Linden Lifestyles.

[Ansible Berkman]

good call, Rik. Hempman shall receive a gift of pixie freebie wings :D

My av's android skin is also created by Eddie Escher. I love his work and Fallingwater's fantasy builds :) Hope to meet them inworld someday.

[Krisjohn Twin]

Joy. Another interesting event at 2am. Is there likely to be any sort of recording of this?

[Ansible Berkman]

I'm sorry about the inopportune time, Kris.

The plan is to save the discussion transcript and post it up on a website somewhere. I'll return here and share the url when we nail down those details.

[Hamlet Au]

Yes, I plan to blog some or all of the event transcript, and I assume Zero Grace plans to, as well.

[Beth]

Where can one get the transcript? I could only stay for half of it.

[Ansible Berkman]

Until I get my version of the transcript ready(which will hopefully include some RL identities of people who participated/made interesting comments), Ilya put together this on his blog

http://www.vedrashko.com/advertising/2006/06/panel-on-marketing-to-virtual-avatars.html

[kliger]

Gee, your report that the event went "great" makes me lol. I tried for an hour to get in, only to be constantly redirected... and I know that I was far from being the only one, I bumped into lots of redirected AV's.

[Ansible Berkman]

kliger, we apologize for that...the number of people requesting to participate was larger than what our island could accomodate. im sorry you couldnt make it..you can see what was discussed in many places, including the berkman site:

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/secondlife_avatarmarketingdiscussion