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Jan 3, 2002, 10:04pm

[View Quote] I agree with that wholeheartedly.

> I thought you hired a marketing person. Why aren't they generating =
advertising revenue?

Good question. AWC has had YEARS to get this part of it right, but all =
I've seen is one expensive mistake after another. I don't personally =
know the marketing person they've hired, but generally speaking, most =
marketing types know what they are doing (they have to, it's a =
competitive field), so I have to wonder: Are the marketing person's =
efforts being hampered by the decisions of upper management? If so, =
then upper management needs to back off and let the marketing person do =
their job the right way, without upper management interference. That is =
what they were hired to do, so let them do their job. It is the =
marketing person's job to create the company image, to promote that =
image, to enhance that image, to work with the financial officers to =
seek investors and partnerships and work with those partners in a =
mutually beneficial environment (in marketing, AWC and it's partners =
could ALL benefit from this person's efforts, but they need to let this =
person do their job), to work with upper management in planning the =
future growth and development of the corporation and the product - but =
to do that, upper management needs to give the marketing person a voice =
in the decision making processes, and upper management needs to learn to =
listen to what the marketing person is recommending, as well as listen =
to it's long-time users, builders, modelers, and content developers. =20

Up to the present time, I don't believe that that is what upper =
management has been doing. They have been making decisions from *on =
high* and forcefully pushing their own agendas... and look where it's =
gotten them. They need to realize that their old model of doing =
business will not lead them to future success, but to failure and =
bankruptcy of the corporation. They need to be willing to really listen =
to new ideas, really listen to the needs of the users and world owners =
and other content developers... not just give lip service to the =
concerns raised by them. =20

Marketers do not just market to people outside the corporation, they =
must also have their ears and eyes open to what the end users, world =
owners, and other content developers are saying and doing. Any =
marketing expert can tell you that Word of Mouth is the absolutely BEST =
way to promote a product or service (and the least expensive way, too). =
If the users, world owners, and content developers are unhappy, you can =
bet your bottom dollar they are talking about it and telling others of =
their dissatisfaction... and that is NOT the kind of marketing AWC needs =
right now.

Part of the problem, too, is that some of the users have been quite =
nasty in their correspondence with AWC management. These are business =
people we are dealing with, not creative artistic types, so we, as users =
and world owners, need to address them in ways that they can relate to, =
and you (Casay) have done so in this post. We need others to be able to =
write such posts and letters clearly, concisely stating what they think =
needs to be done to make AWC a success in the future... and to do it in =
a polite, business-like way as if you were addressing the Board of =
Directors (which you are), not snarling and swearing at people like an =
armed angry mob. If you were upper management, would you listen to the =
angry mob types? Not likely.

> I'd think because your user total at any given time is low, too low to =
sell
> ad space. They have to be fighting a losing battle without having =
thousands
> of ppl on-line at a time.

True, which is why I think the marketing person's efforts have been =
hampered by upper management. Either that, or the marketing person they =
hired does not know how to do marketing (I don't really think that, but =
I'm not in a position to be able to determine what efforts this person =
has proposed, and which have been approved or rejected).

> Go to Pogo.com and learn. See how MANY people are on that site and any =
given
> time. They don't charge. Why not see about making some kind of deal =
with
> them or someone to provide the games in 3D? What about games.com or =
EA? If
> you want to charge so much per month you better start providing some =
good
> content! Put the Gaming worlds and other types under world content =
sections.
> It's too easy for someone to come in, see a few really bad worlds and =
never
> come back. Games is where it's at on the Internet right now. Ditch the =
whole
> AW mall idea and also the 3D web pages for now. They are terrible imho
> anyway. All this can be done with the current technology. Get some =
Case's
> ladder leagues going in there. Get hundreds of ppl in game rooms at a =
time
> well, there's your advertisers and the $ from them instead of from =
users.
> Games, games, games and more games!!!!!!! Umm contact Hasbro!!!! ;-)

YES YES YES!!!! You want to talk gaming? How about some decent prizes =
for some of the games they already have? If AWC could establish =
partnerships with the right companies, they could give away some really =
GOOD prizes, which would, in turn, attract more users (and more =
corporate partners), increase user participation in the games they =
already offer, and word of mouth promotion about how great the prizes =
are would spread from one end of the net to the other. How many people =
would be willing to go into AWBingo if they knew they had a chance to =
win a free copy of Caligari TrueSpace, or Adobe Photoshop, or Painter, =
or ZBrush, or a Nomad Jukebox, or a Palm Pilot, or a 5.1 surround =
speaker system, or a Wacom Intuos2 graphics tablet, etc.? I would, for =
sure!! [And if they need more ideas along those lines, hey, marketing =
person, contact me. I'm sure we could work something out.] =20

How do they attract corporate partners to get those prizes to give away =
at the games? First off, create a world and invite the best modelers, =
builders, and content developers (website designers, music afficianados, =
etc.) into it (AW should know who they are, they give away Cy Awards =
every year, right?). Let those expert users build an AWC showcase world =
to show these prospective corporate partners what is possible in =
activeworlds. Allow these modelers and builders and content providers =
to display their contact information so that they can get subcontracts =
from the new corporate partners. THEN, have the AWC marketing person =
make appointments with the people in those corporations who have the =
authority to make partnerships, and actually bring them into the =
"Showcase World," as well as into some of the best, most fully-developed =
worlds within activeworlds (not just AW-owned worlds, but privately =
owned worlds, too); describe what's been done and by whom; describe what =
possibilities they can foresee for promoting those corporate partners, =
if only they had their own world here in activeworlds, right?; promote =
the modelers and world builders and content providers (hey, wouldn't =
some of you like to get subcontracts for some of those corporate =
worlds???)... and sell those corporations their own worlds and the =
hosting services to go with those worlds! Show them how activeworlds =
could benefit their corporation, show them the tools that a 3-D world =
can offer that no 2-D website can even come close to. Sell them =
advertising in key areas within alphaworld and awgate, sell them ad =
space in the building yards and at the AWSchool world, sell them =
advertising on the website, and how about a text ad at the bottom of the =
AW newsletter every month? Make reciprocal agreements with those =
corporate partners so that they carry prominent ads for AWC on their =
products and on their websites (and make sure the AWC ads are not buried =
on page 126 of those sites, but on the front page!). =20

AWC, are you listening?

Once they got that part right, then they could start thinking about more =
games with more sophisticated interfaces, and even BETTER prizes. =
Wouldn't it be kewl to go on a treasure hunt and find an all expense =
paid trip to St. Thomas, or even to the AW Reunion in Vegas (or =
wherever)? Get the new corporate partners to use their marketing people =
to attract even bigger crowds of users. The snowball effect would catch =
on in a hurry. AWC would have more money for research and development, =
marketing and promotion, infrastructure and upgraded equipment, and =
eventually they wouldn't have to charge anything at all for =
citizenships.

<snip>
> I think, AW is still the best 3D technology available at this time.

So do I... and so do a lot of other people.

<snip>
> Build it and they will come, build the games, don't charge, they WILL =
come.
> Let the advertisers pay not the citizens!

EXACTLY!

=C1ine


"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here.
I'm mad, you're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
--Lewis Carroll, _Alice_In_Wonderland_

Jan 4, 2002, 12:52am

Who is the person in charge of marketing? Have any of the world owners =
met this person or had them come into their worlds? Has the marketing =
person spent any time learning how to build, so that they know what =
kinds of things are possible within the program, and can then formulate =
ways in which the program or advertising could be marketed to =
prospective partner corporations? Have they learned how to create a =
simple 3-D model so they know what is involved in creating objects for =
use within the program? Does the marketing person have any idea of what =
software programs modelers, artists, musicians, web designers, etc. use =
to create the worlds? All of that information would be essential for a =
marketing person to know, so that they know which corporations to =
approach for advertising revenue. =20

Here is a list of prospective advertisers and corporate partnerships =
which the marketing person could be focusing on:

Caligari, Jasc, Adobe, Corel, Micrografx, Autodesk, Cycore, Viewpoint =
Data Labs, Cytopia Software Inc., 3D Cafe, Design Vision Incorporated, =
Pixels Inc., Digital Thunder Inc., Softimage, Animated Communications =
Inc., Ray Dream Studios, Autonomous Effects Inc., Curious Labs Inc., =
International Software Engineering, Macromedia, Kodak, Olympus, Canon, =
Nikon, Minolta, Silicon Graphics (SGI), Creative Labs, Yamaha, Wacom, =
Logitech, The Learning Company, Orbitz (yes, what better way to market a =
cruise?), Microsoft/MSN, Nintendo, Sony, AOL, Yahoo/Geocities, Pogo.com, =
Popcap Games, HP/Compaq, Dell, Apple, Electronic Arts, Sierra Studios, =
Interplay Productions, Blizzard Entertainment, Ubisoft, THQ Inc., 3D =
Realms Entertainment, 3DO, 989 Studios, Acclaim, Marvel Comics, DC =
Comics, Hasbro, Infogrames Entertainment, Konami, LucasArts =
Entertainment, MagiCastle, Maxis, Pulse Entertainment, Square =
(Squaresoft), Zombie Virtual Reality Entertainment, Experimental Object =
Technologies, Fourth Planet Inc., Satori, ULead, Xara, Lightscape =
Technologies Inc., LightWork Design, Paraform, McDonnell-Douglas, =
Boeing, NASA, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, General Motors Corp., MP3.com, =
Amazon.com,... and the list goes on and on and on. And that was only a =
fifteen minute search.

Some of those game companies could be helpful in developing 3D games for =
AWC, or perhaps they would like to donate prizes, or perhaps they would =
like to have their characters made into avatars for use in various =
worlds. What about the entertainment industry? - movie studios, music & =
recording industry, Disney, Six Flags, etc.? They don't all need to buy =
a world, though that would be a prime selling point... there are also =
custom avatars, advertising space, webpages (for example, you could play =
pogo games in POGOWORLD on the webpage, but have chat in the rest of the =
window so that players could talk to each other in realtime.) National =
Geographic World could consist of the Seven Wonders of the World in 3D =
while it's webpage shows some historical articles, maps, etc. The =
possibilities are endless, really... all it takes is a little =
imagination and figuring out ways to work in partnership with these =
companies. =20

=C1ine

Jan 4, 2002, 4:40am

Well damn... You shure as heck told them straight! I hope AWC is listening,
though i doubt they like being slapped in the face with all these *simple*,
but useful ideas. (In fact, I think you should send a copy of this to every
activeworlds.com e-mail address. Support, ENZO, roland, luc, MM, the whole
gang... Or better yet, clean it up a little and print it out.. snail mail it
to them)... You've got some good ideas, and I hope AWC takes them to heart.

My 2 cents..

-J

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeremy Booker
JTech Web Systems
(www.JTechWebSystems.com -- Coming Soon)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[View Quote] [View Quote] I agree with that wholeheartedly.

> I thought you hired a marketing person. Why aren't they generating
advertising revenue?

Good question. AWC has had YEARS to get this part of it right, but all I've
seen is one expensive mistake after another. I don't personally know the
marketing person they've hired, but generally speaking, most marketing types
know what they are doing (they have to, it's a competitive field), so I have
to wonder: Are the marketing person's efforts being hampered by the
decisions of upper management? If so, then upper management needs to back
off and let the marketing person do their job the right way, without upper
management interference. That is what they were hired to do, so let them do
their job. It is the marketing person's job to create the company image, to
promote that image, to enhance that image, to work with the financial
officers to seek investors and partnerships and work with those partners in
a mutually beneficial environment (in marketing, AWC and it's partners could
ALL benefit from this person's efforts, but they need to let this person do
their job), to work with upper management in planning the future growth and
development of the corporation and the product - but to do that, upper
management needs to give the marketing person a voice in the decision making
processes, and upper management needs to learn to listen to what the
marketing person is recommending, as well as listen to it's long-time users,
builders, modelers, and content developers.

Up to the present time, I don't believe that that is what upper management
has been doing. They have been making decisions from *on high* and
forcefully pushing their own agendas... and look where it's gotten them.
They need to realize that their old model of doing business will not lead
them to future success, but to failure and bankruptcy of the corporation.
They need to be willing to really listen to new ideas, really listen to the
needs of the users and world owners and other content developers... not just
give lip service to the concerns raised by them.

Marketers do not just market to people outside the corporation, they must
also have their ears and eyes open to what the end users, world owners, and
other content developers are saying and doing. Any marketing expert can
tell you that Word of Mouth is the absolutely BEST way to promote a product
or service (and the least expensive way, too). If the users, world owners,
and content developers are unhappy, you can bet your bottom dollar they are
talking about it and telling others of their dissatisfaction... and that is
NOT the kind of marketing AWC needs right now.

Part of the problem, too, is that some of the users have been quite nasty in
their correspondence with AWC management. These are business people we are
dealing with, not creative artistic types, so we, as users and world owners,
need to address them in ways that they can relate to, and you (Casay) have
done so in this post. We need others to be able to write such posts and
letters clearly, concisely stating what they think needs to be done to make
AWC a success in the future... and to do it in a polite, business-like way
as if you were addressing the Board of Directors (which you are), not
snarling and swearing at people like an armed angry mob. If you were upper
management, would you listen to the angry mob types? Not likely.

> I'd think because your user total at any given time is low, too low to
sell
> ad space. They have to be fighting a losing battle without having
thousands
> of ppl on-line at a time.

True, which is why I think the marketing person's efforts have been hampered
by upper management. Either that, or the marketing person they hired does
not know how to do marketing (I don't really think that, but I'm not in a
position to be able to determine what efforts this person has proposed, and
which have been approved or rejected).

> Go to Pogo.com and learn. See how MANY people are on that site and any
given
> time. They don't charge. Why not see about making some kind of deal with
> them or someone to provide the games in 3D? What about games.com or EA?
If
> you want to charge so much per month you better start providing some good
> content! Put the Gaming worlds and other types under world content
sections.
> It's too easy for someone to come in, see a few really bad worlds and
never
> come back. Games is where it's at on the Internet right now. Ditch the
whole
> AW mall idea and also the 3D web pages for now. They are terrible imho
> anyway. All this can be done with the current technology. Get some Case's
> ladder leagues going in there. Get hundreds of ppl in game rooms at a time
> well, there's your advertisers and the $ from them instead of from users.
> Games, games, games and more games!!!!!!! Umm contact Hasbro!!!! ;-)

YES YES YES!!!! You want to talk gaming? How about some decent prizes for
some of the games they already have? If AWC could establish partnerships
with the right companies, they could give away some really GOOD prizes,
which would, in turn, attract more users (and more corporate partners),
increase user participation in the games they already offer, and word of
mouth promotion about how great the prizes are would spread from one end of
the net to the other. How many people would be willing to go into AWBingo
if they knew they had a chance to win a free copy of Caligari TrueSpace, or
Adobe Photoshop, or Painter, or ZBrush, or a Nomad Jukebox, or a Palm Pilot,
or a 5.1 surround speaker system, or a Wacom Intuos2 graphics tablet, etc.?
I would, for sure!! [And if they need more ideas along those lines, hey,
marketing person, contact me. I'm sure we could work something out.]

How do they attract corporate partners to get those prizes to give away at
the games? First off, create a world and invite the best modelers,
builders, and content developers (website designers, music afficianados,
etc.) into it (AW should know who they are, they give away Cy Awards every
year, right?). Let those expert users build an AWC showcase world to show
these prospective corporate partners what is possible in activeworlds.
Allow these modelers and builders and content providers to display their
contact information so that they can get subcontracts from the new corporate
partners. THEN, have the AWC marketing person make appointments with the
people in those corporations who have the authority to make partnerships,
and actually bring them into the "Showcase World," as well as into some of
the best, most fully-developed worlds within activeworlds (not just AW-owned
worlds, but privately owned worlds, too); describe what's been done and by
whom; describe what possibilities they can foresee for promoting those
corporate partners, if only they had their own world here in activeworlds,
right?; promote the modelers and world builders and content providers (hey,
wouldn't some of you like to get subcontracts for some of those corporate
worlds???)... and sell those corporations their own worlds and the hosting
services to go with those worlds! Show them how activeworlds could benefit
their corporation, show them the tools that a 3-D world can offer that no
2-D website can even come close to. Sell them advertising in key areas
within alphaworld and awgate, sell them ad space in the building yards and
at the AWSchool world, sell them advertising on the website, and how about a
text ad at the bottom of the AW newsletter every month? Make reciprocal
agreements with those corporate partners so that they carry prominent ads
for AWC on their products and on their websites (and make sure the AWC ads
are not buried on page 126 of those sites, but on the front page!).

AWC, are you listening?

Once they got that part right, then they could start thinking about more
games with more sophisticated interfaces, and even BETTER prizes. Wouldn't
it be kewl to go on a treasure hunt and find an all expense paid trip to St.
Thomas, or even to the AW Reunion in Vegas (or wherever)? Get the new
corporate partners to use their marketing people to attract even bigger
crowds of users. The snowball effect would catch on in a hurry. AWC would
have more money for research and development, marketing and promotion,
infrastructure and upgraded equipment, and eventually they wouldn't have to
charge anything at all for citizenships.

<snip>
> I think, AW is still the best 3D technology available at this time.

So do I... and so do a lot of other people.

<snip>
> Build it and they will come, build the games, don't charge, they WILL
come.
> Let the advertisers pay not the citizens!

EXACTLY!

Áine


"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here.
I'm mad, you're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
--Lewis Carroll, _Alice_In_Wonderland_

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