Interactive and Internet Marketing: Online Game Developed by Linden Lab - Case Study Example

Interactive and Internet Marketing Executive summary The key findings of the report is that internet marketing has in the recent time proved to be the most effective and less expensive way of marketing a company’s product. Another finding of the report is that elements such as blogs, social networking activities, wiki, navigation elements, mashups, and web based videos and branding palettes should be incorporated to the company’s website to make it more attractive and user friendly. This will assist in attracting a large customer base and retaining the current customers. Through this report the objective of the website has been clearly outlined. The main objective of the website is to advertise the products of the company through the internet. It will therefore be used to market the company’s product that is games online. Contents Executive summary 1 Introduction 3 Brief evaluation of target market 4 Objective of the website 6 Elements to be included in the website 7 A home page layout 8 A basic schematic that shows the categories of information that are directly accessible from the home page 8 Branding and color palette 10 Conclusion 11 Introduction This report aims at marketing an online game that is second life which was developed by Linden Lab. This will be done through story boards and pictures. It also aims at telling the developers of the website what elements the website should include (such as blogs, wiki, social networking activities, mashups, web based videos, the navigation elements, content elements and branding). The report also aims at outlining the objective of the website. Second life is an online virtual globe developed by Linden Lab. It was commenced on 23rd June 2003. A numeral of free consumer programs, or spectators, allows Second Life users, who are referred to as Residents, to intermingle with one another through avatars. The Residents can discover the globe which is termed as the grid, congregate with other residents, socialize, chip in individual and cluster activities, and generate and sell virtual possessions and services with each other. The game mainly targets people aged from sixteen years and above and by the year 20001 it had approximately one million active subscribers. Built into the software is a three-dimensional modeling tool based around simple geometric shapes that allows residents to build virtual objects. There is also a practical scripting language, Linden Scripting Language; both are used to in the aim of getting more interactivity with the users of the products. Sculpted prims (sculpties), mesh, textures for clothing or other objects, and animations and gestures can be created using external software and imported. The Second Life Terms of Service offer is that user’s hold on to copyright for any content they develop, and the server and client give uncomplicated digital rights administration functions. In 2001 there was a meeting with the investors and Rosedale noticed that the partakers were predominantly reactive to the joint, creative latent of Second Life. As a result the original objective-driven, gaming focal point of Second Life was changed into a more user-created and community-driven practice. There is a heated debate about Second Life's status as a virtual world, a computer game, or a talker. This is because unlike a traditional computer game, Second Life does not have a selected objective, and nor does it apply traditional game play technicalities or policies. As it does not have any predetermined goals, it is inappropriate to talk about winning or losing in relation to Second Life. Similarly, unlike a traditional talker, Second Life encloses a widespread world that can be discovered and interrelated with, and it can be used solely as an inventive tool set if the user so chooses. When it was initially developed anyone would have been viewed it but with time age limits were put in place. With the enforcement of age limits one was required to be 18 years so as to view the content related to adults while the underage could not access adult content. there are three categories of what is permitted in Sims in Second Life the first on is PG which has no tremendous violence or nakedness the second is Mature which has some aggression, swearing, adult situations, some nakedness while the third one is Adult which has extreme nudity and violence. Brief evaluation of target market In the business world most managers find it worth to invest in something worth while. As the internet marketing director of second life company it is worth evaluating the target market in which you want to market your product. Target markets are in general a group of consumers the industry has decided to aim its advertising efforts and eventually its merchandise. A distinct target market is the first and most important element of a marketing strategy. The success of a product in the market place can be achieved by intertwining the marking mix variables and target market. In the current business world various marketing strategies have been developed they are designed at fulfilling the target market. The strategies include: mass marketing, niche marketing, concentrated marketing and differentiated marketing. The target markets are typically alienated by noticeable and remarkable aspects such as the geographic location, demographic factors, psychographic, and behavioral and product correlated segmentation. A major notion in target marketing is that the population been targeted shows a strong resemblance or brand loyalty to that particular brand. Target Marketing allows the vendor / sales team to tailor their message to the targeted cluster of customers in a more focused way. The target market of these online games is all groups of people. This is due to the different levels available based on ones age. For young children they are allowed to view the games which require parental guidance. The games in this stage are characterized by insignificant violence and no nudity at all. The other target market or group of customers is the mature people this stage is characterized by games which have some violence, swearing, adult situations and some nudity. The last target group is the adult. In this group people are exposed to extreme violence and nudity. Based on the classifications the games based on age the target market will be easily reached since all groups have their own games which are customized based on age thus ensuring a greater target market which will eventually determine the success of the product in the market. Target marketing strategies are built upon customers suppositions of likeliness between some aspects of the advertisement and characteristics of that particular customer. Therefore consumers are convinced by the distinctiveness in the advertisement and those of the consumer to purchase the products been advertised. Objective of the website In the modern world today most organizations has developed websites. The website for the company will be used basically for internet marketing. Internet marketing involves a company marketing their own products over the internet. Internet marketing is reasonably priced, when probing the ratio of cost to get to the target spectators. Through internet marketing companies are able to reach a wider collection of clientele by means of a small portion of customary advertising cost. The nature of the medium allows customers to investigate on products and to buy products and services expediently. Therefore the business has the advantage of attracting the customers in a medium that generates results quickly that is within a short period of time. Internet marketing is also accredited to the fact that organizations are able to gauge their statics without difficulty and economically. Thus for an organizations to achieve the largest number of customers they should use internet marketing in marketing the organizations products. Objectives are mainly concerned with attaining a concluding set of events within a stipulated timeframe. The main objective of the website is to market the online game to the potential customer this will in turn increase people's awareness about the product been provided to them. Their also exist other objectives of the company website which include: building awareness of your business this involves escalating peoples alertness to who you are as a company and what you do that is the mission and vision of the organization, the website will also be used to give out information to the organizations supporters, customers and stakeholders on products. Another objective of the website will be to market and sell the company’s products online. Online shopping facilities are open 24 hours a day so the company can attract business from new and existing customers. The website will also enable the organization to gather market research statistics which will enable the company to where potential customers are and how they can be reached. Elements to be included in the website A website needs to be attractive so as that to attract a great number of people. Thus this necessitates the need to put add some elements to the website. There are a lot of elements to consider when designing and developing a website. These elements include: a good visual design, this is important in that even though a good design will not keep someone to your site an eye catching design will at least grab their attention long enough for them to take a look around. Another element that can be incorporated in the website is a thoughtful user interface. The user interface is the base of any good functional site. When designing your user interface one need to take into consideration who will be visiting the site in that the user interface should be easy to use by all users visiting the site. A primary navigation fold is also a key element when designing your website this will allow the user of the website to navigate to all other areas in your website. Both primary and sub navigational links should be put in the same place for ease of access by the customers visiting the site. Contact information is also a vital element that should be included in a website. Prospective client should b able to contact you if they are interested in your services thus contact information should be provided in the website. The last element to be included in the website is meaningful content. The content in the website should provide meaningful information about the company, its products and services. In modern day web design most web developers no longer use html tables for layout and design. Currently web developers use a combination of XHTML and CSS. For a website to look attractive to the one viewing it separate design should be used and a good combination a colors. A home page layout The layout of the home is as described in figure 1 below. It gives a sketch of how the website will look like while fully completed. The home layout below have a company logo, a search box to search for contents in the website, links to important contents in the website and the main content. A basic schematic that shows the categories of information that are directly accessible from the home page In website design a simple website will eventually results in a schematic that is easy to generate, easy to recognize and understand. The more complex a website is the more complex it will be to develop its schematic. Large websites will usually require each page to have its own box of schematics which may prove hard to track, recognize and understand. The diagram below shows the schematic diagram of the company. Figure 2: The company website schematic The company website schematic Bold text = links About us Introduction to the organization Mission statement Vision statement History Branding and color palette When most companies are developing marketing materials such as brochures, bill boards, ad, placards or other electronic communications for a business it is important to use the elements of the Brand Palette. The Brand Palette will make sure that the wide array of marketing products produced across the company complement each other and helps to build the brand. The design of a company’s website will give potential customers and clients an impression of what your company offers the moment they see it. If the designer does not capture the attention of potential customers and clients quickly, they may opt to look elsewhere to find what they need. Choosing an effective color pallet that will communicate your brand is thus an important step in developing an effective website. Though the marketing materials are not identical the customers and clients will easily recognize them to belong to the company due to the composition of elements form the brand palette. The effective use of color is one of the most powerful ways of establishing an organization’s brand presence. The aim of using a corporate color is to 'own' that particular color so that when people see it, the particular brand, corporation or product immediately comes to mind. The brand palette will help in ensuring continuity. Color palette also aids in attracting more viewers to your website hence in another way attracting more customers in your organization due to internet marketing. Colors are said to set a mood, attract attention, and make statements to existing and potential customers. Colors in a website are usually used to energize, or in other words cool down the customers. By selecting the right color pallet for your website you can create an ambiance of elegance, warmth or youthfulness thus increasing the number of people visiting your website. Colors are a powerful design element if they are used effectively. Since color confronts your visitor before your content does, it's important to make a good first impression by choosing the right combination of colors. Thus the second life company should choose their corporate colors so that customers can easily identify their products in the market place. This will help the business is gaining a lot of earnings from the customers. Conclusion After a thorough research internet marketing has shown a significant growth in the use of internet marketing. This has been mainly due to the advantages attributed to internet marketing which include: reduced advertising cost, ability to reach a large customer base and easier and inexpensive when measuring statics since roughly all features of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, calculated, and tested. Thus many organizations have shifted most of their advertising to the internet. Internet marketing is therefore a vital element in a business in today’s ever changing business world. Thus Internet marketing has opened so many doors for small companies and older companies that need extreme makeover of their business models. Internet marketing therefore has the latent to considerably augment revenue and also save the company from expensive advertisement modes. To maintain a company’s competitive advantage, Internet marketing should be considered. Many companies are realizing a major increase in sales and income as a result of Internet marketing. Thus second game company should enhance internet marketing in their organization so as to attract a large customer’s base and retain the existing customers thus gaining a competitive advantage over their competitors in the market (Hsu et el 2007). Bibliography Hsu, CL, & Lu, HP, 2007, Consumer behavior in online game communities: A motivational factor perspective, Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 23(3), pp. 1642-1659. Read More