Virtual World Business Brands

Yeah, almost as suspect as a person who has admitted to having an alt for the sole purpose of posting on the forums.

My shiny goes up to ELEVEN!

Did you have something to say about branding, Enabran? Or are you done?

Now, let me analyze what's different about SL branding, and what Betsy missed.

First of all, branding takes place in a *game* whatever they want to call it, a game with funny MMORPG rules in it.

The first funny rule, unlike RL, is you have to take a name. Here, you're even forced to take from a list of names (unlike TSO which let you pick all your names). Cubey Terra's branding identity resists quite a bit on his name -- "Cubey" gives you that sense of geeky geometric stuff, and "Terra" is that deliberate opposite Cockney slang sort of idea, his last name is "Terra," i.e. the Latin word for "earth" but here's a guy who flies and makes airplanes in a world where you can fly yourself, and therefore don't need airplanes, but hey, they're cool anyway! (He makes cool parachutes and hot flight suits too). The juxtaposition of the familiar (terra firma or earth) the wonky (cubey) is typical of branding in this world in which the strange, sci-fi allure is mingled with something familiar so that the buyer doesn't feel disoriented -- too much. Make him a fantasy, but make it friendly and near -- friendly, foreign, and near, like Canada.

Aimee Weber's name is like every prom queen and yearbook diva you loved to hate -- the "Aimee" is definitely the kind of name that has a "heart" drawn in thick felt-tip pen over the i, and the two "ee's" are definitely not in her birth certificate name (her strait-laced New England parents called her "Amelia" and probably saddled her with some great-aunt's middle name like "Prudence" as well). "Weber" is the kind of name that makes you think "ordinary" and "normal" and "lots of them in the phone book" and "WASP". So with this name, Aimee's going with prom queen/normal but the twist there is that she is Geek Girl wearing black, horn-rim glasses and space-age gear (like on her famous picture on the new accounts page where she welcomes everyone who joins LL). Aimee's branding banks on the idea, oft-told, that Geek Girl can look like Prom Queen in a game like this with fancy dresses -- but of course the Cool Kids now are just yesterday's Geeks -- finally the geeky kids in the back of the room, in AV class, with the plastic pocket protectors in their white shirts, get to rule! WooT!

PREEN is one of those words that is an actual word meaning to admire yourself in front of a mirror -- what TEEN does not PREEN? It also happens to be a popular store in England, which Aimee may or may not be aware of, and which may or may not come after her some day for trademark violation (and many people could face such harassment such day in this "game" so it's something everyone should think about). PREEN has SHEEN and is KEEN too.

So a lot is accomplished just liguistically, before you get to the brand images. Cubey uses the old-fashioned blockey type faces of the 1910s-20s, to give the feeling one of the Futurists and Cubists and other artists of the 1920s, Malevich et. al. and look like old World's Fair and Vaudeville type posters that promise futuristic amazing entertainment (Pathfinder used the same typeface on his "picks". The association for many is going to be with "The Wright Brothers" who would have been familiar with this 1920s type face. All Cubey has to do is right his name and put some sky -- that's his graphics. Nothing to get fancy about.

Aimee's lettering looks actually amateurish -- but that's part of the charm. That awful green looks like something you were FORCED to pick in "Paint" in "Windows" -- but that's part of its charm, too. Neither of these ads look like "RL" ads but they succeed in drawing people both because they play by the rules of gaming -- where people make screenshots, characters with names, and upload stuff they make themselves on Paint and PSP -- and also having some glancing RL references, ie. Preen.

Betsy Book never looks at the terrible lack of advertising capacity in this game, nor the anti-business climate ("anti any business but my own" or she would have asked her subjects a lot more questions on how on earth they reach their public. And the answer is: they reach their public by grabbing the newbie stream. Cubey swoops down on newbs in the WA and takes them for rides and they come to love his work, as well they should. He's allowed to do this in the WA, it's considered OK because he's providing cool content for new arrivals that helps them stick. Aimee may not work the WA as much, but does she have to? She has a network of trusted friends who also reach newbies and tell them where the kewl place is to shop. And if they missed Aimee's picture on the front page or the new account page, they can see it again here on the forums lol. Just look up to the right as you pause to frame a post, like 80 percent of the people in the world!

Now, what issue did Betsy Book miss? She forgot to ask how this economy works and how other people without any branding of any type really manage to sell stuff. Let's look at the land business. Blue Burke has a totally non-descript for-sale sign. He has no discernible logo. You have to get in the game for awhile to realize that Bluestone Gems at the telehubs is him, too -- and even that "branding" is utterly simple and austere -- it's ... blue...and um...a stone facet of jewelry. Brutal simplicity -- which is how it has to be a busy telehub to capture and magnetize avs. Blue's signs have nothing to connote who he is -- they aren't even blue, like some of his cyan malls. Funny, yet he sells land. Because people buy without brands here -- it's not unlike the Soviet Union.

Ditto Anshe. Anshechung.com in brutally austere black and red and white without so much as a swoosh or a graphic is also the kind of laid-back, unobtrusive posture that land barons seem to want to make. I'm here, selling, and loads, but don't see me. I want to be bought, not seen. Anshe's signs eventually evolved to the Chinese character and flower style designed by Mae Best, but there is no recognizable graphic. Bob Bravo's famous yellow spinning square with the knight chess piece on it -- a funny looking somewhat amateurish piece of work -- is actually immensely effective in terms of branding and sales because it is friendly, warm, sunny, yellow, and lets you know he is the knight of the land business one move ahead of the rest LOL.

Most brands in SL are amateurish because many of us are amateurs -- we don't do this in RL. And that's the great thing about SL -- you can become a salesman, conceive of a brand, create it, market it, and have the fun of running a business without any RL expertise.

I feel Betsy Book did not grapple enough though with how these branding devices reached audiences. I feel I've fleshed this out quite a bit myself by pondering the linguistic and psychological effect. The same with Hamlet Linden's discussion of Timeless Prototype's branding -- he basically gushed that Timeless had a kickass branding and market strategy without ever telling us a single thing about Timeless' actual work or images or anything. Again, it's all in the avatar name -- that ought to be the headline for anyone studying branding. "Timeless" -- with its futurey space-age feel -- he even uses the eternity symbol in his graphics -- bright green, like the Matrix and computer glowing thingies -- and "Prototype" -- the first of its kind. All the rest is secondary.

All of these SL name-brands -- literally -- mainly sell themselves through reaching other avatars in person, in the most old-fashioned method in the book. So you wonder why scholars and journalists get so breathless about it -- it is like the medieval village where people took names like Cooper and Smith.

NashCraft

SLeek Creations

Harbor View

I am eagerly awaiting for Prokofy's "analysis" on my brands.

Keep talking Prokofy, you are your own worst enemy, and the best part is that you haven't figured that out yet.

"Hey when Prokofy is right he's right."

FYI, nobody discussed in the article told me about the article. I found it simply because I keep track of Betsy Book's writings.

I wanted to share it as an example of a research paper written about Second Life and the whole concept of "Branding" in virtual worlds, with no intended endorsement on my part of anyone discussed in the article.

Given the recent Town Hall about Marketing, I simply thought it would be of interest to everyone.

Interesting interpretation, but it gives me too much credit. I'm just not that clever.

I chose the name long before I built my first vehicle, or even knew that I *could* build vehicles if I tried. "Cubey" is a nickname I picked up elsewhere as a short form of "Cubicle Dweller". I chose "Terra" because (as you point out) it's Latin for "earth". I liked the earthy feel of it.

If it fits what I do in SL, it's sheer coincidence. Just luck.



Aw, and I thought I was being clever. You're pretty close here, actually. Before Feb 2004, I used a Germanic typeface that was based on the maker's marks you often see on pianos -- the first product I "branded" was a piano. On the founding of Abbotts Aerodrome, Apotheus and I decided to pursue an art deco look. That's when I adopted the art deco typeface.

You (and Betsy) are right that typeface is important. It should support what you and your products are about. However, I don't think it's an easy choice exactly.




Many would say that SL is very pro-business and growing more so every day. In fact, that's been a subject of forum debate recently. I think it's all a matter of perspective. The fact that so many people can run businesses successfully, as well as the sheer number of shops, indicates a positive environment for business. I think the goal of LL is to find a balance that satisfies both commercial-minded and those who seek a retreat from pervasive RL marketing.



You know, you were doing so well with your critique until you fell back on strange, unfounded attacks. I don't "swoop down"... well actually I do, but only because that's how you have to fly in for a landing. In reality (that's the one that doesn't exist in Prokofy's head), I rarely go to the Welcome Area. If I do, and if I happen to do so in a balloon or something, I generally take people for a little tour of the city or something. Or maybe some of the other sims.

Are you complaining that I do this in my own balloon? Should I use someone else's? Am I not allowed to use my own vehicles? I'm not sure why you're objecting, except to make yet another foundless attack... this time for simply flying a balloon.

(ignoring several other allegations and attacks)



Now that you returned to actual critique instead of mud-slinging...

I think that's one of SL's strengths: that amateurs can drop into SL and enjoy building a shop and become successful. I wonder if anyone could compete if marketing professionals stepped into SL? Could word-of-mouth and workmanship compete with slick ad campaigns?

Another point that both Betsy and you missed is that several in-world businesses started out before the Linden dollar could be sold for US dollars. When I started the "branding", it was just a lark that might boost my little shop and get me more play money. And this leads back to the previous question... how long can we amateurs compete in SL before the really big players step in, drawn by the lure of dollar signs? The motivations and world that it leads to could be very different from what it is today.

On a final note, I really wish you'd stick to objective discussion, Prokofy. Your personal attacks distract badly from the intresting points you brought up.

Um, Cubey, there aren't any personal attacks, or mudslinging but REPORTING.

I have seen how you come to the WA and swoop down and then take people for rides. You are perfectly positioned to do this. However, um, if I swoop down and offer to advise someone on first land and offer to buy it from them, I'm accused of being a sleazy disgusting land speculator, probably wearing a loud, loose, houndstooth suit while chomping a cigar, see.

My favorite advertising technique of yours, though, Cubey, is the blimp hovering over the Waterhead WA. Why swoop -- why even be online? Just leave that thing there. I've seen it there for days. The first time I ran smack into it like a fly into a windshield was when I struggled out of that awful tangle in Waterhead where you bang your head on the roof beams as they rez and trap your av.

I kept seeing it, kept clicking on it -- geez, like I said, couldn't I get my Ravenglass Raven to fly over there trailing some banner advertising RENT MY LAND IM PROKOFY NEVA? LOL. Talk about branding!

Maybe I need to dress up as a Raven and stand around the WA? Now that Mirra Hathor has sold me a raven to wear on my shoulder, I think I'll try roaming the WA and have a notecard of latest listings in the bird. Shouldn't ruffle any feathers that way HAR HAR.

*Reporting* Cubey. I know it's a strange concept to get used to. But that's all it is.

The gauntlet has been thrown down! This shall not stand, sir!

I will begin a crash program to create the first 1000% shiny object: Shine particles, blings, shimmering textures! Marcos will cower beneath the might of my dreadfully succulent shine!

Yes, your suit is very shiny, dear Marcos, but what about my...

SHINY ROBOT SPEEDO

Like Ingrid said. Pepsi and Coke.

If you swoop into the Welcome Area and start talking about first land, you're liable to bore people to tears.

Vehicle tours, on the other hand, are a blast. I've given a few tours of SL myself.

In my Terra Cypress Shuttlecraft.

Reporting a lie qualifies as mudslinging.



I "swoop" down, as you say, because I like to fly things, and I like to give rides. That's why I make aircraft. There's nothing nefarious about that.



The difference is that (if you were to do that) you'd be doing it with the objective of doing business, and in a predatory way. Doing business in the WA is against the WA rules, if I remember the Linden notecard correctly.



I have an airship that starts in Abbotts and crosses the world. The route ends at Waterhead, and has done so since before it was a welcome area. It moves at a speed of between 4 and 10 knots (very slow), and is incapable of stopping.

There is no airship that "hovers" over Waterhead. See, this is part of that suspect "reporting" that you do.



Yes. Yes you could. Nobody's stopping you.



Your "reporting" should remain in quotation marks, because you report only what suits your trolling, and it rarely resembles the truth.

Cubey, you swoop. I didn't put a perjorative spin on this word. You swoop. And you said you swoop. You are perfectly suited to swooping! It's not a lie! You DO swoop! LOL



Cubey, but you ARE doing business. That's called "branding" and "loss-leading". You're imprinting your image on people's brains, leaving your card, maybe even giving a friendship card -- it's all part of marketing. It doesn't have to be a gross hard-sell pitch, it's just normal marketing. I'm noting that you do it. Now why are you squirming?

Now in the history of SL, did no one take on Cubey Terra? Am I the first? Mon Dieux!



I see it "hovering" there for hours -- days -- on end. Maybe it just jammed there? I come out of that telehub constantly because Ravenglass is out that way and other communities where I have my rentals. Now, is it ok to have an airship that starts in Abbotts and crosses the world, serving as a blimp advertisement, an airship that you can click on and get a notecard that serves as an advertisement? Well OF COURSE it is Cubey!!! Did I say it wasn't? Did I say anything bad about it? Of course NOT.

It is you that is suddenly defensive and again, putting a perjorative spin on this. My point is, EVERYBODY should get to do it. I should have a raven that flies around the world too (can anyone make me one? Or does only Cubey Terra make and own such cross-sim flight technology?). Hell, let people bring in lights, cameras, action, let it be lit up like Yankee Stadium, if you can't sell the newbies as they walk in the door, hell, when CAN you sell them?



Um, wait a second here pal. YOU just told me that I can't "do business in the welcome area". So, this isn't doing business in the welcome area? Well, let me try it then and see how long I last! I thought it wasn't allowed? It wasn't my idea to not allow it. I'd be more lenient and I'd have more billboards.



Um, Cubey. What's "wrong" with this picture?

1. You work the Welcome Areas and give rides to newbies -- no Linden ever stops you.
2. You have a blimp that arrives in Waterhead so that newbies can click on it -- no Linden ever stops you.
3. You have media coverage out the wazoo -- and why shouldn't you?

So, why not? Why not have this wonderful thing for everybody? I think it *is* wonderful and I'm *reporting* on what are FACTS, Cubey, geez.

Well Pork, I feel personaly attacked. *points and laughs*

Well, at least you are admitting to hijacking this thread by being confontational with Cubey. I think a mod should know about it.

As far as the rest of your points, they're crap. I remember months ago you bitching about Cubey to me. You know, when you were pissed at his "attitude", after you yourself rode in his balloon with him. Same old song and dance. Whatever you do, don't let personal issues get in the way of your "reporting".

Squirming? No, but I am scratching my head in sheer confusion. What are you saying? That by merely existing in SL, I'm doing something wrong?



You *are* among the first to consistently make bizarre, unfounded allegations against almost every prominent SLer. That's nothing to be proud of, however.



I'll log in later tonight. If you're online, I'd like it if you could show me this hovering airship.

If you don't feel there's anything wrong with putting my logo in the side of a blimp, why do you bring it up? Oh yes, you're trolling again. My mistake for clicking Reply.



I don't put pejorative spins on anything. That seems to be your job.



No, I'm NOT "doing business" in the welcome area. What "business" am I doing, exactly?




That's because there's nothing wrong with giving rides to newbies. It's fun, in fact.



The airship arrives in waterhead, not "so that newbies can click on it", but because that happened to be the last sim that I happened to include in its route. That doesn't constitute "doing business" in a welcome area, even ignoring the fact that it wasn't a welcome area when I programmed the route.



You wouldn't know a fact if it leaped from the screen and smacked you in the face.

I think someone had to come along and challenge your privileges *shrugs*.

Whether Waterhead was a WA or not, it is now, and I think that if you have the right to bring hovercraft with notecard givers available upon clicking, we all should! I'm all for it!

It is a FACT that your blimp hovers for long stretches in Waterhead, unmanned, and clickable. AND you give rides to newbies. Well, I wanna give rides to newbies TOO, Cubey! LOL

I have the same privilege to visit the welcome area that every SLer has. If you wish to challenge that, go ahead, but it really doesn't make much sense.



Prokofy tactic #49a: ignore obvious facts that might interfere with trolling. As I said before, the airship is incapable of hovering or even stopping. There is no "hovering" airship.

And if you want to give rides to newbies, that's great. It's a lot of fun.

Considered professional help?
I mean admittedly, Aimee's often on my mind too, but damn, that's like... obsessive!

Seing as I could quite easily make a dirigible or similar craft toodle out to the Waterhead telehub (and it's a far shorter run for me from Caldbeck than it is for Cubey from Abbots) and be well-and-truly clickable as well, and seeing as I also tool around and give rides to newbie and oldbie alike... I think I fail to see your point. If we can all do this when we want to do this, how is it a privelege for Cubey to do it?

Also, I've read and reread your posts in this thread. In short, you report there are well established business folk in SL who market thier wares. A goodly portion (or all) of these businessfolk are, unsuprisingly, prominent members of SL.

Well, yeah.

So, please, could you post in as succinct and plain a manner as you are able what it is I must be missing. Because, surely you aren't simply pointing out the obvious.

It's not a privelege if anyone can do it. For one who acts as if they have such mastery of language, you sure are having a hard time understanding certain words, like "privilege".

Who said we don't?

I am in waterhead frequently. I have never seen that blimp "hover for long stretches", as a matter of fact, I have seen about 2 times ever.

Whose stopping you from giving newbies rides? No one, but that doesnt fit in with your little stageplay here does it?

Oh, no, no, no, no!

You must understand!

Only the techie-wiki-sticki-scripterati-feterati-elitee-squeeti-puffi-stuffi-shini-architecturoos would be able to make something that could do this.

And in order to join their ranks, you must pay Linden Lab $3000 (US) to have the LSL Wiki uploaded into your brain via an occipital jack that Linden Lab provides and installs.

So, obviously, there is some unequal treatment going on here.

Yeah, one gets the feeling that a certain troll would like to handpick each and every SLer, and boot the rest. Then he could live in his snow globe world and have all the newbies to himself.

Yay! Psuedo-Intellectual-Linguistic interpretations! Let me give this a try using Prokofy Neva's name/brand.

Nah, reporting is objective and relys on facts and sources....

the official name for what *this* is 'typing shit'