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THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Dell Computing, a leading manufacturer of computers and peripherals wanted to expand its commitment to social media and to create a foothold in the virtual world space, where they see their customers are going. Dell wanted a virtual world presence that clearly told the Dell story in an entertaining, immersive and highly interactive way, where not only could Dells customers join an active community of Dell users, but also have access to customer service and product information.
Additionally, Dell wanted a space where they could hold press conferences and meetings for Dell employees worldwide. After a long search, Dell turned to Involve..
THE INVOLVE SOLUTION
Involve created a virtual world sim on the Second Life platform, comprised of four sims or islands that are designed to tell the Dell story and engage the Dell customer base in an ongoing dialog. We created four distinct spaces:
Dell City. Featuring Michael Dell’s dorm room, where the Dell story began, the Buzz Bean café, home of Dell’s inworld customer service center and staffed by actual Dell employees, the Dell theater which features an ever-changing selection of videos features, up-to-date product information, and a life-size computer exhibit which lets customers explore the insides of Dell hard drives to help them understand just what makes a Dell computer tick. Dell City also provides space for an event venue; events have included an Evan Almighty premiere party (film carried Dell product placement and co-branding) as well as a “Plant a Tree for Me” concert designed to raise awareness of Dell’s carbon footprint reduction program.
The Dell Factory. Where users could configure a new Dell on a drafting table right in Second Life, and then have their choices pre-populate the Dell configuators, allowing them to easily finish their purchase from within Dell’s secure ecommerce site. Not only can Dell’s customers start their real-life purchase in the virtual world, but they can also create a virtual version that’s theirs to keep.
The Conference Center. This island contains the work and meeting spaces created for Dell’s employees worldwide. It contains meetings rooms ranging from office-size to lecture hall, and has hosted educational presentations (on the Vista OS, for example) as well as live webcasts of several of Michael Dell’s public speeches.
The Orientation Area. In an effort to make it easier for Dell’s customers to navigate and acclimate to the Second Life platform, we created a custom orientation area that allows new users to learn the skills needed to get around Second Life from within the Dell sims. In fact, Second Life is now listed as its own country on the Dell.com website..
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