Part 2: Avatars for Retail Marketing? It’s Not Only Coming – it’s Here!

Well apparently H&M branding and marketing fashions virtually via the Sims are not the only big major retailers entering the virtual marketplace via “tweens” interest in virtual “avatar” fashion dolls. 

According to the Chicago Sun Times, Sears has launched a partnership with myvirtualmodel.com and meez.com to develop the e-Me site.  E-mes is another term for personalized avatar that the user can dress in a wide variety of customized shoes and apparel that is available on the Sears site. The user (tween) saves the virtual clothing in a  virtual closet and the parent can then select items from the closet to order in the real life retail world – with a 10% discount.  

 

I know the strategy is perfect to initiate this type of marketing because I have granddaughters that are entering the target demographic and they are highly responsive to these types of on-line sites. The concept is great and Sears is definitely on the cutting edge of virtual branding and marketing here but it needs more visibility – but maybe they are working on it because a large number of the gallery images were newly created. (note: they are working on it because “Internet Buzz”  about e-mes is rising) The addition of the planned on-line games inspired by something like the Webkinz concept should push up the awareness several more notches. Webkinz like e-Mes is a controlled on-line environment that bridges the virtual and the physical worlds.

On a side note I just mentioned this virtual e-Mes marketing stratagy to my son who is an MBA and the father of tweens.  He stated that Sears must have added some cool and cutting edge MBA’s to their  management team to develop this innovative virtual promotion. I would like to think it is a combination of MBA’s, IT and Creative Management working together as a team on this project.

Kuddos to Sears for moving to the head of the pack with this marketing/branding trend!

Double kuddos – I just listened to the NPR Morning Edition from 6/18/07 titled “Firms Seek Elusive Real Profit in Virtual Business.” It’s about a recent conference in the virtual world hosted by the Center of Business Opportunities in the Virtual World. 

It mentioned the positive promotional aspects of virtual marketing but also touched on the current simultaneous user limitations of 30 to 40 thousand avatars at one time. It mentioned that Sears was one of the major corporate participants along with IBM and American Express. The next logical move from a self contained virtual marketing package like e-Mes would be to a global virtual environment like Second LIfe and it looks like Sears is definitely leading the pack by exploring the possibilities of researching the marketing impact that an international virtual environment can provide. Past retail experiments in the virtual world have been unsuccessful because I suspect that based on what I have seen in the educational research – the key to success is building a virtual “community” as opposed to only a virtual replica of a real world store and assuming it will be instantly filled. The global virtual retail marketing community is being developed right now with Webkinz, Sims and now e-Mes.

NOTE: Here is a link to an excellent NPR studio session titled “Go Get a (Virtual) Life.“ It was on Talk to the Nation, 8/31/07. It has multiple guests addressing various psychological and social aspects in the virtual world and how and why it appeals to young users.