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While marketers may not be gaining much traction, market researchers could soon find endless possibilities in Second Life. The key for researchers is the open source code that powers Second life. It allows people to create their own persona, design buildings and even create interactive objects such as billboards that ask pre-programmed market research questions whenever someone walks by.
The open-source nature of Second Life makes it a little like the Wild West, in that market researchers can create almost anything they want as long as they have the requisite programming knowledge. Second Life’s tagline “Your World. Your imagination.” holds true for market researchers as much as anyone else.
Consider the following:
Product and concept testing take on an exciting new direction in the virtual world. Consumers are always in interactive mode, sitting on furniture, trying on clothes or even wandering the
aisles
of a virtual store. It doesn’t take a huge leap of the imagination to move on to co-creation: picture a scenario where avatars (the virtual representation of the people who explore Second Life) help design and build product prototypes as part of the market research process.
Virtual shopping malls and stores provide opportunities to test shelf layout and purchasing activities of real-world products. Researchers can measure actual shopping behaviors versus what they say they will do.
Metrics are becoming available. Sensors on company’s virtual lands record and analyze the number of visitors as well as their movements.
Surveying is possible through highly interactive methods. A scripted object senses when an avatar approaches or passes by, which prompts it to take part in the survey by touching the object. The object, looking like a kiosk or billboard, asks the avatar questions and the data is connected to survey collection software.
Virtual interviewers that resemble half human/half robot can be used to cruise around with clipboards. These interviewers are more interactive than scripted objects.
Research participants can be rewarded with Second Life’s in-world currency, the Linden. Virtual interviewers or scripted objects can pass currency to avatars as soon as the survey is complete.
Second Life is increasingly seen the first incarnation of a coming 3D Internet or meta-universe. It’s not that far-fetched anymore to imagine avatars wandering a web of connected virtual spaces instead of today’s flat 2D web environment. Predictions suggest that 80% of Internet users will be active participants of virtual worlds by 2011.
Quirk’s Marketing Research review May 2007. Writer:Mario Menti, Gobal Market Insite
Demystifying Open Source for MarketersAn Interview with Brian Jamison,
CEO of OpenSourcery by Alissa Barron Stranz Marketers in Oregon could have a distinct Open Source advantage. Portland is a hub for Open Source development. Open Source developers collaborate to create and improve free software with publicly available source code (as opposed to proprietary software, which has legal and/or technical restrictions on using, copying and/or modifying its source code). Many talented Open Source experts make their homes in Portland and the surrounding areas (including Open Source godfather Linus Torvalds, who moved here in 2004).
Brian Jamison, CEO and co-founder of OpenSourcery, recently spoke with AMA Oregon to demystify Open Source and share tips for marketers. His 3½-year-old company with 14 employees provides computer networking, programming and maintenance for sustainable businesses and non-profits. OpenSourcery can support existing Open Source software or develop new software, tackling everything from creating efficient workflows to building Web applications.
First, Jamison dispelled Open Source’s reputation as difficult to use.
“All useful, powerful technology is complicated to set up or modify, whether it is proprietary or Open Source.” he said. “It takes some ‘wizarding’ to get it up and running. That’s what our name refers to.”
But, he said, once companies are set up with Open Source software, it’s easy (and cheap) to use and maintain. “Once it’s up and installed, everything just works beautifully,” he said.
While many non-technical people view Open Source as beyond comprehension, they may be surprised to learn that they’re already using it. “You use the Internet? You use a Mac? You use Wikipedia? You’re using Open Source,” Jamison said.
Reputable companies from Google to eBay to Amazon employ Open Source technology. “They’re doing it for a reason, not just because the software is cheap,” he said. But the cost savings are certainly part of Open Source’s appeal, Jamison added.
“There are million-dollar, world-class marketing tools at your fingertips – without million-dollar licensing fees,” Jamison said.
Free Open Source software of interest to marketers includes:
- Drupal – a content management system (CMS) that allows users to easily create and edit their own Web sites, with tools for blogs, ecommerce and more.
- SugarCRM , Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software that allows companies to build and maintain more profitable relationships with their customers.
- Wiki software (such as MediaWiki, TWiki, Kwiki and PmWiki, which are tools for exchanging and collaborating on documents, enabling multiple authors can add, remove and edit content.)
Jamison believes Open Source software is often superior to proprietary software because of the motivations for creating it.
“The actual reason that software is made is: 1) to make money, or 2) to solve a problem. Of course, there can be overlap. But for proprietary software companies, the business model is selling more software. For example, you may have to pay to get what I would consider critical bug fixes,” he said.
On the other hand, he said, “Open Source software is developed because someone saw a need.”
Since development of the code is shared, it keeps getting better and better, in what Jamison fondly calls an “Open Source ecosystem.”
“We consider ourselves to be disruptive,” he said, “We’re very low-cost compared to proprietary developers.”
When working with an IT consultant, Jamison suggests that marketers ask if there are Open Source solutions to evaluate. If the product is proprietary rather then Open Source, Jamison warns, “the consultant ends up owning you.”
Open Source projects work best when they’re not one-offs; that is, when multiple companies will collaborate on making and using the code.
“Look for a community,” Jamison said. “If it’s just one developer, there’s less value.”
For marketers interested in learning more about Open Source, Jamison recommends getting in touch with Portland Open Source Software Entrepreneurs (POSSE) a local group he describes as “a neutral place to ask questions.”
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About the writer: Alissa Barron Stranzl is Lane Powell's marketing coordinator and an AMA volunteer. She has a soft spot for computer geeks.
Alissa can be reached at a.stranzl@gmail.com |
Cris SchulzYour marketing mentor: I do not have just one; I have many. I watch and absorb really good marketing campaigns rollout, I look at the aesthetics of a really good marketing campaign and then follow the leaders. I have learned so much from the many mentors I've met through the AMA and SMPS—they've helped make me a more well-rounded marketer.
What you like most about being a marketer: ROI is what I like most. It shows that marketing really works. I also believe in getting paid for results.
What you like least about being a marketer: The details. I am horrible with details, and my team knows it. We have an established group of proofers here to help make sure we produce top quality work as consistently as possible.
Your favorite tag line (any product): The Oregon Lottery’s sound of the machine printing out your lottery ticket. So it is an actual sound, instead of a tag line. But I love that sound, and immediately feel happy with thoughts of how I could spend all that money.
If you had to sell marketing as a profession to teenagers what would your message/value statement be? Know who you want to buy your product or service inside and out. Become that customer for at least week, so that you can see what makes them make the buying decision.
Newest marketing trend to watch: Sustainability will be attached to everything, not just products, but law and accounting firms and dentist offices. Sustainability was the hot thing in the construction industry about two years ago, and now the mass appeal of sustainability is being applied to all industries.
First choice for a new career and why: I am truly in my dream job. My career is in its 3rd evolution and I've found the perfect fit with what I am doing now. I really do get to have my cake and eat it too. First career, accounting; 2nd career, sales manager; 3rd career, sales and marketing manager. Who could ask for more?
Baby Boomers and Word-of-Mouth
When asked for product purchasing advice, baby boomers deliver:
- 89% give product/service purchase advice
- Advice is given an average of 90 times per year.
- 93% of boomer trust their friends for information.
Baby boomers like to receive recommendation as personally as possible:
- 84% prefer face-to-face
- 82% prefer phone
- 45% prefer Internet
Boomer online behavior:
- 66% of boomer conduct research for making purchasing decisions when they go online
- 28% purchase recommended products online
- 9% join blogs or discussion groups
Source: Marketing Management May/June 2007
Research source: Weber Shandwick and KRC Research
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