With the popularity of alternate reality gaming such as The Sims and expecially Second Life, there's a relatively new concept in the marketing world that companies should target not so much real people but their avatars. Increasingly I'm seeing it put into practice. There's a car ad I walk past often after leaving work (for Ford, I think) that features a cute little cartoonish girl who basically looks like she's living the life most real people wish they were. She's petite, perky, has great hair and is just so...cute. Then there's this story about Wal-Mart sponsoring a Yahoo! Avatar Fashion Show where people can design and submit their avatar. Since these secondary personalities are often idealized versions of the people who create them and since advertising is often targeted at people's aspirations, this kind of make sense.Marketing to avatars gets put into practice
With the popularity of alternate reality gaming such as The Sims and expecially Second Life, there's a relatively new concept in the marketing world that companies should target not so much real people but their avatars. Increasingly I'm seeing it put into practice. There's a car ad I walk past often after leaving work (for Ford, I think) that features a cute little cartoonish girl who basically looks like she's living the life most real people wish they were. She's petite, perky, has great hair and is just so...cute. Then there's this story about Wal-Mart sponsoring a Yahoo! Avatar Fashion Show where people can design and submit their avatar. Since these secondary personalities are often idealized versions of the people who create them and since advertising is often targeted at people's aspirations, this kind of make sense.Add your comments
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