Pinkberry in Second Life?

Recently, I have been talking a lot about Second Life. After all, why not? Mark my words, as well as the many others from people who told me, it will eventually be all over the world, or a new world within itself.

I am also performing extensive research on Pinkberry, a relatively new frozen yogurt craze that has swept addicted customers across the West Coast (California), and a few locations in New York City. In determining a successful marketing plan for this company, I have teamed up with a small group to target 18-24 year old College Women of these areas. The primary markets will be geographically located in California, while the secondary market will consist of relatively the same type of students located in NYC.

As part of our plan, we feel that creating a SL build for Pinkberry will be essential and a creative way to express Pinkberry's brand image. From my numerous hours spent in SL, I have noticed one key characteristic: people love to accessorize and add to their avatar's experience. What would be more perfect then SL people walking around indulging in some tasty Pinkberry frozen yogurt. I myself love to be carrying around a Coke can, casually sipping of the drink from time to time. If there were Pinkberry stands set around different locations, however, I would obviously switch to this cold and delicious treat.

One of the major distinctions between SL and real life is the endless amount of creativity and imagination that SL can provide. With that said, if you want your company to stand out in the game, then by all means do so. People usually don't explore SL to be bored by a crowded and unimaginative Mercedes Dealership, or a boring PR firm. Companies should express their creativity in the game to show how open-minded their brand can be. Take the advertising agency, Leo Burnett, for example:
Leo Burnett Headquarters

What, you didn't expect a large "tree trunk" building with bouncing apple rides and flying pencils for this firm? Well this is exactly the point, companies like this are able to show their creativity and prove to prospective clients that they have the imagination it takes to support their products.

Or how about Kawaii Ku, a fantasy shopping center where some parts are based from "cartoonish" landscapes, and others portray more dirty, bad parts of the city:



As for Pinkberry, they need to create a main Island shaped like a giant dish of their frozen yogurt. The swirl would be very colorful and contain several toppings, offered in real life, and placed as objects for visitors throughout the island. A very important factor would be the presence of Pinkberry representatives (as avatars of course). This way, if people had any questions about Pinkberry products, nutritional value, locations, or anything, they could be easily helped. They should also include the company website as a link so people can simply click on the link and be taken to the site.

Beyond the island, Pinkberry should work out agreements with other major locations in order to open up SL stores and mini-stands. This would further increase the awareness, and hopefully popularity of the yogurt.

The reason Pinkberry should open in Second Life, according to our plan, is due to the increasing statistics of college users across the world. It is projected that this market will soon be a leading segment of Second Life, and that branding a company in world would increase their chances for success.

By using the appeal of creativity and friendly representatives, Pinkberry has the potential of successfully increasing their brand image and awareness through SL involvement.