8 Thoughts for 2008

At Futurelab we've decided not to do any New Year Cards or gifts, yet instead put the money into Kiva loans. Still, as we did want to convey you our best wishes, we put together this short presentation with eight things we ponder as the new year is upon us (and you might want to give some thought as well).

Have a great 2008!

8 Thoughts For 2008

View more presentations from Alain Thys.

IAB Defines Types of Game Advertising

Now marketers have finally caught on to this interactive thing and seem to be ever more shy of places to put their new found digital 2008 budgets, gaming finally seems to be hitting the radar as well. An excellent time to seize the day, the guys at IAB must have thought as they just released the first of a series of papers to establish some standards in the chaotic world of advergaming (or was it gamevertising?).

This question is quickly answered after reading the Game Advertising Platform Status Report: Let the Games Begin. In a concise 12 page report, IAB gives us all a short introduction to what gaming is about as well as a first stab at the right terminology to attach to the right type of activity.

Nothing really new in the report itself, and from a consumer/player perspective I have some serious problems with the ad-formats proposed, yet starting to speak the same language is ... well, a start.

Call for Interest: It's Time European Brands Got Serious about Virtual Worlds

In America, brands experiment in Second Life and There, hang out on Laguna Beach or even set up their own not-so-little universe.  Korea has Cyworld  and China is building one of the most ambitious virtual worlds on the planet (or should I call it an e-commerce enabled mass-customisation system with virtual world storefront?) 

And meanwhile, Europe sleeps.

Sure, we've got Habbo, Entropia and a few others which are doing impressively well. And we all have high hopes for Twinity. But beyond them I'm not feeling any real "buzz" around virtual worlds and what they could mean for brands, businesses and the people who pay their salary (i.e. the customer).

This while more than half of the Second Life residents hold European passports and World of Warcraft left the European one million mark behind them almost 2 years ago

I think this should change.  That is why - at Futurelab - we want to see whether there are European brands, businesses, universities or even governments out there who would like to have a serious look at launching a branded virtual world for European audiences in 2008. 

The deal would be simple.  We organise a round table where we all get together for a serious chat (over 2 or 3 days).  From our side, we'll bring along our best research and thinkers, a bag of cutting edge ideas and the project management expertise of Stefan Weiss from our virtual world outpost in Germany (which just cloned the city of Munich).  You bring along the money and commercial fire-power to support the things that you like.

If we jointly come to a concept you believe in, we hit the gaspedal and those who were there from the start get a priority seat at the table for years to come.  If we don't, you walk away and we all learned a lot.

So, drop myself or Stefan Kolle a line if you'd like to hear more about our plans to put Europe on the virtual map of the world.  We think it can be done. Do you?

Post Scriptum
To truly focus the minds on having a productive meeting, the cover charge for participating in the round table is € 5,000 for the first participant of a brand, and € 2,500 for any additional person after that. 

Participation is limited to maximum 3 principals per brand in which we recommend to include your marketing and your HR leader.  Agency representatives are also welcome to accompany the brand they represent (at the rates mentioned above).

Brand Traffic in Second Life

Not so long ago, Ilya featured an awareness study on brands in Second Life.  But as the last time I checked Second Life was still supposed to be about conversations and communities, the real proof for brands lies in "how long do people actually hang out in your wonderful virtual building". 

This slide gives some insight into this (click to enlarge).

It is based on an excellent analysis by Gary Hayes over at Personalise Media where he compared the traffic or "dwell" at a number of key brand locations in the virtual world.  This is a relative measure operated by Linden Labs which creates an index based on the number of visitors and the time they hang out on a piece of land (for a fuller explanation, check out this post by Sue Baskerville.)

Gary also made a nice video compilation of brands in Second Life.

Sony Home ... Why Can't I Make My Own Stuff?

When looking at part 1 and part 2 of the unveiling of Sony Home for the PS3, I was dazzled by what I can only describe as a cool combo of an über-interface to the Sony media-world and a hi-res version of Second Life for my living room TV.  Even my wife started saying she wanted a PS3.

The message -even though not explicitly mentioned- is that Sony wants to:

• slay a few TV stations by embedding movies and TV-shows into Home
• disintermediate a few retailers by making games downloadable
• take on Second Life and There by offering a hi-res living room experience, featuring "premium" virtual clothing, furniture and what more.

And in the process of course make the guys in Seattle sweat on about how they will counter that move.

Whether Sony will pull all of this off, only the future can tell, yet the most interesting feature which I missed in Home was the ability to "make my own things".  But then I wondered, is that actually something which the majority of people actually want? 

If Sony are going to include "sponsored environments" anyway, wouldn't a virtual IKEA be more convenient for the average punter who just wants to hang out with his in-world friends.  But then the next question forms in my mind, who do I call to open my shop?

I don't know … what do you think?