Contacts! Contacts! Contacts!

The beauty of the Austin Game Conference is the contacts! We made a great contact with There Inc. There whole focus is virtual world branding. Virtual world branding? What the heck is that? The idea of branding has crossed over from the offline world into the online. Think of the potential.
You're Nike and you want to promote and sell your new running shoe. What better place to advertise than in the virtual world.
There are rules of engagement when it comes to branding in virtual worlds. One is, if you're Honda, don't promote your brand in World of Warcraft. Brands are mostly accepted, promoted, and passed along in social worlds like Second Life. Social interactions with the brand help solidify the brand and promote it.
So where does Nike go? They promote in There Inc. and in Second Life. Why? Because of the social interaction with the brand. If Nike's smart, as we all know they are, they would make the shoe re-mixable. Allow the user to create their own version of that particular shoe being promoted.
Virtual worlds are great [laces to make brands re-mixable and enhance user experience. So the next time you want to promote a new brand or enhance an existing one, give a virtual world a shot. You will be surprised by what you get in return.