Marketing to Avatars- the Shadow Consumer
Avatars (a.k.a. “av”) is coined the ”Shadow Consumer”, in a Harvard Business Review article about avatar-based marketing in virtual worlds. The piece argues that, while the real-world subscribers to online virtual worlds are an obvious target for marketers, the online avatar, essentially alternate identities, “arguably represents a distinctly different ’shadow’ consumer, one able to influence its creator’s purchase of real-world products and conceivably make its own real-world purchases in the virtual world.”
Virtual Economy and Avatar Marketing“ is an excellent starting point. ”Marketing to Avatars. Companies spend vast sums of money trying to segment, reach, and influence potential customers. On this cast the discussion ask that perhaps they should think about targeting those customers online alter egos as well. This conversation is with Harvard Business Review senior editor Paul Hemp as he talks about the potentially lucrative domain of online games. At least one hundred million dollars transacted in the side market alone (online auctions) for skills and accessories just for avatars…
EPISODE 3: Marketing to Avatars:
Date: May 25, 2006. <Click To Listen or Download to “Marketing to Avatars” MP3 Format>
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