More than 600 professionals from 19 countries participated in the sold-out Virtual Worlds 2007 Spring conference in New York on March 28-29, 2007.
VW2007 gave you an inside look at the Virtual Worlds activities of MTV, Disney, AOL, Pontiac, Nickelodeon, Leo Burnett, Sundance Channel, GSD&M, IBM and other major brands. Attendees gained exclusive insight into a variety of Virtual Worlds platforms including Second Life, There.com, Multiverse, Forterra Systems, Whyville, ProtonMedia, Entropia Universe, Habbo, Areae and more.
NOTE: The links below link to the 2007 web site.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
8:00 - 9:00 am
Registration, Networking and Demos
9:00 - 10:00 am
Welcome -
Introduction -
Trends and Numbers - where is it all going This session lays the groundwork giving you the numbers you need to understand how to take advantage of Virtual Worlds today. We'll also look at forecasts for where Virtual Worlds are going. What are the growth projections? And what are the factors that will promote or inhibit growth. - - - - - - (moderator)
10:00 - 11:00 am
Keynote - Viacom's MTV Networks and Nickelodeon - - - Viacom has emerged as one of the new media leaders combining television, 2D web and 3D virtual communities in one integrated system. Virtual Laguna Beach to Nickelodeon’s Nicktropolis, Viacom is helping define the next-generation media and advertising models. Virtual worlds allow media and entertainment innovators unprecedented new ways to engage consumers with the franchises they’ve enjoyed in front of their television screens.
11:00 - 11:30 am
Networking Break and Demos
11:30 - 12:30 pm
Platforms and Technologies This session will examine the new technologies and platforms. Speakers will discuss the alternatives that are available for the various platforms. The virtual worlds medium offers unique complexities including interactivity, immersion, scalability and intense user involvement. New technologies now leverage those elements. New and emerging platforms will also be discussed. - - (moderator) - -
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12:30 - 1:30 pm
Lunch - Sponsored by
and Demos
1:30 - 2:30 pm
Defining your Strategy, What does ROI mean to you? How to ID your goals and strategies within virtual worlds. Look at prior considerations from established players and hear planning that worked and planning that didn't. What opportunities do virtual worlds hold over other, more established, media formats. How do you insure that your campaigns quantified and verified. What does ROI mean to you? - - - - (moderator)
2:30 - 3:00 pm
Case Study - Sundance Film Channel -
3:00 - 3:30 pm
Networking Break and Demos
3:30 - 4:30 pm
Virtual World Consumer Behaviors and The Evolution of Social Networking - How to Plan for it. Are virtual world consumers trend setters? Are they early adopters? Understand the demographics of virtual world participants so you can plan your presence accordingly. What do they respond well to? How do you communicate your efforts... from launch to day-to-day management... understand the "in's" and "out's" of your audience. Are virtual worlds the MySpace-killers? - - - - - (Moderator)
4:30 - 5:00 pm
Networking Break and Demos
5:00 - 5:30 pm
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Whyville and Second Life The CDC has established a presence in multiple virtual worlds in an effort to meet its particular objectives. This unique session will highlight separate efforts in two separate virtual worlds - Whyville and Second Life. Understand the challenges and opportunities on multiple platforms from one entity. - -
5:30 - 6:30 pm
Evening Reception - Sponsored by
View exciting virtual worlds demos and have a drink in the demo area.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
8:30 - 9:00 am
Registration
9:00 - 10:00 am
A Virtual Worlds Road Map - where is it all going? Accurately reading the tea leaves for tomorrow is sometimes more art than science. Hear from the experts what demographic trends are emerging and what to expect for the rest of 2007 and beyond. A look at established and emerging platforms coming to market or having recently entered the marketplace. This lecture will speak from experience in how to take advantage of opportunities inherent in new platforms. - - - (moderator) - -
10:00 - 10:30 am
Keynote - Under his leadership IBM has formed an emerging business born from the IBM Innovation Jam around emerging technologies and virtual worlds. Join Colin to hear how IBM has been experimenting in virtual worlds for business in three key areas: virtual commerce and work with clients to apply virtual world to business problems; driving new kinds of collaboration and education; and experimentation in pushing the limits with a broad community on what might be possible in virtual worlds.
10:30 - 11:00 am
Networking Break and Demos
11:00 - 12:00 pm
Integrated Marketing - Merging Virtual Activities with Real World Activities Never before have there been so many new outlets for marketing. Find out from leading experts how to create a virtual worlds presence that integrates and complements your existing marketing activities. - - (moderator) - - -
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Lunch and Demos - Sponsored by
When Web 2.0 goes 3D: How Social Networking and Immersive Virtual Worlds will Transform the Enterprise The era of the read-write web is in full swing. Along comes a new technology that takes all the sensibilities of the participatory web and renders it out in a 3D context that makes interactivity and co-creation more intuitive and immersive for all of us. What does this mean for the future of commerce, collaboration and learning? How will businesses tap into growing multiverse economies and how will firms manage the transition from managing intranets to managing intraverses? And what platforms will be the most appropriate to leverage across the Multiverse/Intraverse spectrum? Join our panelists as they explore these questions in depth and make themselves available to answer some of yours. - Tony O'Driscoll, Performance Architecture Analysis and Design, IBM On Demand Learning - Peter Zamiska, Creative Officer at the CementWorks, a global healthcare advertising agency based in New York City. - David Schendowich, Senior Vice President, Mastermind Marketing - Ron Burns, President, ProtonMedia
1:00 - 2:00 pm
Virtual Worlds as Interactive Television With the advent of virtual worlds networks, individual channels and individual shows can now create interactive versions of their franchises and engage fans directly, immersing them into the environment. Find out how to successfully extend a television brand, including measuring audience participation and extending the advertising business model. - - Additional Speakers to be announced
2:00 - 2:30 pm
Pontiac Second Life Case Study Leo Burnett Detroit helped its Pontiac client launch a presence in Second Life in November. Pontiac’s launch of its six-region land mass called Motorati Island began with a twist--an offer of free “land” for Second Lifers to create a vibrant car culture within the community. Staying true to the spirit of Second Life, which empowers members to build the community, Pontiac has provided parcels of land around Motorati Island to Second Life entrepreneurs and artists who wish to create their own projects devoted to car culture. This session will give attendees an inside glimpse of how Motorati Island came to be, and key learnings from being a major marketer in Second Life. -
2:30 - 3:00 pm
Networking Break and Demos
3:00 - 4:00 pm
Virtual World Applications That Work This session will focus the pros and cons of different styles of virtual worlds applications; what value they bring to a company or brand. What are the demographic opportunities and control over reach, frequency and timing? What is the best format to stay in front of a truly engaged audience? Branding, social networking, promotion, education, ecommerce, employee collaboration, test-marketing, content generation, training, recruiting and new product development - what application works best and under what circumstances. - - - - - (moderator)
