VIRTUAL WORLD

Virtual world is the one to whom marketers pay attention. Virtual worlds may soon become one
of the most important forums for tween interaction, alongside the telephone and e-mail. Within
five years they will become the key component in every marketing plan.

It has three main characteristics:

 Interactivity
 Physicality
 Persistent

Role –playing games, which are also know as multi-player games, are based on interactivity,
physicality and persistence, and have been shown to be most addictive and time -consuming
game type.

CREATING A NEW TWEEN IDENTITY

Games will most likely become the main driver in many tweens’ lives. Studies show that
spending time playing games becomes compulsive. Because tweens choose their own identity,
their own world and their own role.It is here where tweens can truly feel themselves at the centre
of the world.

Within the not-too-distant future, virtual world and their own role. It is here where tweens can
truly feel themselves at the centre of the world.

Within the not-too-distant future, virtual worlds will encourage bricks-and-mortar-based brands
to establish virtual 3-D stores in their worlds. This will force your brand to develop a ‘virtual’
brand platform.

Classical marketing approaches, such as identifying your audience’s age, location and
demographic ,are no longer possible. Each tween will in future represent several different
profiles , or in worst-case scenarios, several different personas.

Adapt your language to fit the audience.TweenSpeak and will most likely change your brand’s
tone of voice.

M-branding will follow gaming. Most likely your next campaign will run on a mobile phone
display.

The future is all about branding everything –including language .Theoretically your brand name
will present itself every time the relevant word is mentioned on the mobile phone display, in the
chat rooms, or of course in your own ads.
WINNING THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF CONSUMERS
Here are the key success elements of the Build-A-Bear success story:

 Start by listening to your customers. Get their help in designing the offering and the
customer experience
 Build customer feedback into your planning process
 Offer products that customers can brand with their won personalities
 Offer a fun, entertaining in-store experience
 Offer a massive assortment of products and services on your Web site-things that you
couldn’t possibly stock in every store
 Give your customers easy ways to tell their friends about their experience
 Recruit your sales associates from your best customers
 Create a fun –filled, honest corporate culture

CHANGING SCENARIO

Tweens in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom spend 60 percent more time
watching television each year than they spend in school

For building brand strategies marketer’s focal point will be Hollywood for brand inspiration

Traditional toys are disappearing phenomena. They’ve been replaced with hand-held computers,
movies and CDs.For a toy to survive it will need to develop and integrated movie, television and
computer game strategy in its media plan. The motion picture, whether on television or in the
cinema, has become the lifeblood of tweens brands.

Characteristics of future tweens include:

1. Identity seeking. For many years it has been claimed that tweens establish their identity
via the media. It has become increasingly clear that this is a fairly accurate assertion.
2. Fish streaming. Younger children look up to tweens to identity and adopt the latest
fashion.
3. Quick to adopt, quick to reject. The cradle-to-grave marketing theory is dead.
4. Hate to be sold to and love to be respected. Tweens have a strong resistance to
commercialization.
5. Broader in scope, shallow in detail. Single –stream concepts are on the way out.
6. Impatient
7. Community dependency