In discussing the tendency for marketers to sometimes dismiss virtual worlds because “people setting up avatars in virtual worlds are probably creating fantasy figures so their actions may be less useful to advertisers,” Giff from Electric Sheep Co notes that “The avatar look can often be a red herring in my opinion, unless you are able to track someone’s avatar and behavioral choices over a longer period of time.”

In some ways the avatar is a marketer’s dream because it’s both aspirational and measurable. Whereas in the real world you’re constrained by genetics, wallet, etc, many of these limitations are lifted or less formidable in a virtual world. And since at the end of the day it’s all code, you can actually analyze an avatar in interesting ways. More on that later….