consumer behavior, buying, having and being. subject

Case Study an avatar-powered testimonial page where satisfied customer DO AVATARS DREAM ABOUT VIRTUAL can "talk to potential customers visiting the company's sette SHEEP? Research suggests that avatars might increase users' satisfac tion with the Web sites and affect purchases. When he ventures online, he'sa muscular, bronsed, 23-year-old Apparel brands continue to experiment with the use of surfer. But, after a few hours chilling in the virtual world of avatars to help customers have a better online experience in de The Sims 4. it's time for this shy, 110-pound student to get termining the right fit for clothing Start-up company Fite ha back to work. Sound weird? It's not. He is one of the more than one billion people worldwide who inhabit a virtual world developed a three-dimensional system that will enable a con In digital form. Welcome to the world of avatars in the years sumer to create an avatar with a virtual representation of their since virtual worlds came into being, marketers have been body that is close to 99 percent accurate. Their system is beling working to understand how the time people spend in vir- designed to interface with the catalogs of 250 partner brands tual worlds influences the way they learn about brands and that would allow users to try on clothing and create virtual whether it impacts their relationship with the brand in the wardrobes. The Impact on how consumers would learn about real world. different brands of clothing and their fit seems like a potential In The Sims 4 and other sites, users create an avatar to game-changer for the apparel industry. represent themselves online. Some people create avatars that Organizations and educators are continuing to explore the look a lot like them in the real world, but many residents choose impact of avatars and virtual worlds. Companies can host their avatars that represent the person they would like to be, fantasy business meetings online and encourage employees to develop creatures, or even individuals of the opposite gender. With these their own avatars when they attend the meetings. Several uni- alternate personalities they po out and explore virtual worlds. So what does this mean to marketers? A lot more than some versity presidents have even held online forums with students and create avatars to discuss current issues of concern with plzelo on a computer screen. Avatars interact with real brands In these virtual worlds. They can purchase products such as their students. The world of avatars and virtual worlds will.com Joans for their avatars, and they can attend events such as tinue to challenge marketers in the years to come. concerts or lectures. Marketers can gain insights about how consumers learn about brands by analyzing the behavior of DISCUSSION QUESTIONS CS 4-1 How might classical conditioning operate for a co- to make money from the legions of avatars out there. Web site sumer who visits a new tutoring Web site and is greeted by the Web site's avatar who resembles Albert Einstein? CS 4-2 How might Instrumental conditioning influence a con- sumer who purchases a new outht for his avatar in a virtual world CS 4-3 Do consumers build associative networks from their avatar's experience? If so, would the associations from their avatar experience be any different from other their avatars in virtual settings. But it's not just virtual worlds that want to understand how designers and developers also realise the Importance of avatars that interact with visitors on corporate Web sites. Several com- panles such as Sitepal offer software applications that design avatars to greet and gulde visitors. Some of these avatars take the form of famous people, including rock stars, actors, and historical figures. Sitepal can even help a company to set up