Proximity Worldwide has conducted global research into people’s online identities and behaviours, what motivates them and what it means for brands. The findings from 18 countries among frequent web users are intriguing. For example:
§ 66% think that people who spend a lot of time in virtual worlds probably have difficulty forming relationships in real life*
§ 59% say that visiting virtual worlds helps them understand more about themselves*
§ 56% say that spending time online changes the way you feel about the real world*
People feel and behave differently online. Of those who said that being online changed them:
§ 63% feel more adventurous
§ 55% feel more confident
§ 66% feel more deceitful
§ 64% feel braver
§ 53% feel sexier
§ 75% feel less stressed
There was good news for brands – overall 36% of women and 39% of men say that they actively welcome their favoured brands online. In France and Ireland almost half welcome favoured brands. 24% of respondents have already purchased brands as a result of virtual world interaction: men are more likely to have done so than women (27% to 21%).
Yet this posed a problem as well: the vast majority believe people would choose different brands to suit their different online identities.
The research found that brands often to fail to connect with people online because they do not understand how differently people behave. How do you communicate with the highflying lawyer who writes a blog in the name of an Irish bog monster? Or the sixteen year old playing at being thirtysomething Carrie Bradshaw on Bebo? Or the Assassin Elf in World of Warcraft?
Proximity Worldwide not only found the answers but identified seven steps guaranteed to ensure failure for brands online:
1.Playing ‘LogoCop’ with your brand
2.Being dull, boring or useless
3.Behaving exactly as you do offline
4.Hiding the truth
5.Believing there is a difference between human needs online and offline
6.Confusing ‘peer to peer’ with ‘targeting’
7.Assuming you have a right to be there
§ 66% think that people who spend a lot of time in virtual worlds probably have difficulty forming relationships in real life*
§ 59% say that visiting virtual worlds helps them understand more about themselves*
§ 56% say that spending time online changes the way you feel about the real world*
People feel and behave differently online. Of those who said that being online changed them:
§ 63% feel more adventurous
§ 55% feel more confident
§ 66% feel more deceitful
§ 64% feel braver
§ 53% feel sexier
§ 75% feel less stressed
There was good news for brands – overall 36% of women and 39% of men say that they actively welcome their favoured brands online. In France and Ireland almost half welcome favoured brands. 24% of respondents have already purchased brands as a result of virtual world interaction: men are more likely to have done so than women (27% to 21%).
Yet this posed a problem as well: the vast majority believe people would choose different brands to suit their different online identities.
The research found that brands often to fail to connect with people online because they do not understand how differently people behave. How do you communicate with the highflying lawyer who writes a blog in the name of an Irish bog monster? Or the sixteen year old playing at being thirtysomething Carrie Bradshaw on Bebo? Or the Assassin Elf in World of Warcraft?
Proximity Worldwide not only found the answers but identified seven steps guaranteed to ensure failure for brands online:
1.Playing ‘LogoCop’ with your brand
2.Being dull, boring or useless
3.Behaving exactly as you do offline
4.Hiding the truth
5.Believing there is a difference between human needs online and offline
6.Confusing ‘peer to peer’ with ‘targeting’
7.Assuming you have a right to be there
