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Thursday, July 14th, 2011
There is a growing trend by brands and companies to offer virtual goods through gaming and social networking sites, such as Facebook, Second Life and Empire Avenue. Instat reports that the sale of virtual goods rose by 245% from 2007 to 2010, and was worth $7.3billion last year.
This is not a new concept and back in 2002-3 Cyworld in Korea had many major brands on board, allowing users to purchase branded goods using the acorn, Cyworld’s virtual currency. Acorns could be bought using cash and this approach gave a solid business model for other companies to follow. For some years, it has been possible for avid gamers to sell characters and avatars for hard cash to those desperate to get on in the game but without the time to develop characters to the necessary level for their ambition. Now, companies such as Zynga and HitGrab have seen the phenomenal success of FarmWorld and Mousehunt etc enhanced by the sale of virtual goods for real money as well as for virtual currency.
The popularity of games has spread to a wide audience and is not restricted to those who might fall into the ‘gamer’ category, but also to housewives, white collar workers, and silver surfers. Those with a high disposable income are unlikely to flinch at a £5 buy of a virtual item in order to progress in the game, and the advances in micropayment systems and in-game or in-app purchasing has eased the way for the virtual goods market to expand.
Empire Avenue is the latest to offer virtual goods – an XBox – after teaming up with Microsoft, and the addition of a limited achievement will undoubtedly see the kleptomaniacs for such achievements forking out the currency required to purchase the item and then will spread the word they have done so using Facebook and Twitter, thereby helping to evangelise the product and reach a wider audience.
Offering virtual goods and rewards not only allows you to engage with users within a game, but you can also extend these to real world offerings. So, Foursquare.com offers companies the chance to offer deals to those checking in to their location, such as free coffees for the Mayor or discounts for multiple check-ins over time. Customer retention is far cheaper than customer acquisition and loyalty rewards and discounts are extremely popular the world over.
Whether you are a tiny pottery in the Yorkshire Dales or a global brand, the rising popularity of games and applications using gaming mechanics, along with the social networks’ growth, mean that this should be a strategy worth your consideration as part of your online marketing plan.
Tags: branding, empire avenue, foursquare, hitgrab, loyalty, Online Marketing Strategy, Social Media, social networks, virtual goods, zynga
Posted in Blog, Small Business Resources, Social Media
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Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
As of June 4th 2009, Google will be amending its policy on trademark terms and PPC bids on these in a further 190 countries. What this means is that you will now be able to bid on trademarks which belong to other companies and individuals, and vice versa. Previously, should anyone attempt to conduct a PPC campaign which included your trademarks you could appeal to Google and have their bids stopped.
There are issues about this, which were first highlighted when the policy changed for the UK, US, Canada and Ireland.
For an advertiser, the potential costs of running a PPC campaign can be increased substantially if you suddenly have competition from others who are only interested in leaping on the bandwagon of the success or popularity of your trademark or brand. In other words, rather than enjoying a monopoly on the PPC estate for that particular keyword, term or trademark, you now have to bid against your competition for your own trademark. And of course, Google is the outright winner in that bidding war as all revenue goes to their coffers.
The legal side is also a matter of debate, as potentially any use of a trademark which causes confusion in the marketplace as to the origin of the traded item could face legal challenge. However, it is unlikely that many brands would take such a case to court if they are benefiting from greater exposure of their trademarks, paid for by others.
And therein, potentially, lies the clue to how to make the most of this. Branding experts such as Rob Frankel, have been saying for years that building your brand, not just exposing it, is key to success in business. If you tie in your branding strategy with your marketing strategy, and let some of your competitors leap on the bandwagon of that success, then they will bid on your key terms and bring them to the attention of your target market for you.
Start branding today!
Tags: branding, trademarks
Posted in Google, Keywords, Pay Per Click (PPC)
