[Case Study DO AVATARS DREAM ABOUT VIRTUAL ‘SHEEP? ‘When heventuresonline he'samuscular bronzed, 23-year-old surfer But, after afew hours chilling in the virtual world of The Sims 4, it's time for this shy. 110-pound student 1 get back to work. Sound weird? I's not. He is one of the more ‘than one billion people worldwide who inhabit a virtual world {in digital form, Welcome tothe world of avatars In the years since virtual worlds came into being. marketers have been ‘working to understand how the time people spend in vit- ‘tual worlds influences the way they learn about brands and ‘whether i impacts their relationship with the brand in the real word In The Sims 4 and other sites, users create an avatar 10 represent themselves online. Some people create avatars that look alo lke them inthe real world, but many residents choose ‘avatars that represent the person they would lke tobe fantasy ‘creatures or even individuals ofthe opposite ender With these ‘alternate personalities they go out and explore virtual words. ‘Sowhat does this mean to marketer? A lot more than some pixels on a computer screen. Avatars interact with real brands in these virwal words. They can purchase products such as Jeans for their avatars, and they can attend events such as concerts of lectures. Marketers can gain insights about how consumers learn about brands by analyzing the behavior of thei avatars invirwal settings ‘Butt’ not just virwal worlds that want to understand how to make money from the legions of avatars out there. Web site designers and developers also realize the importance of avatars that interact with vistors on corporate Web ses. Several com- panies such as Siepal offer software applications that design ‘avatars to greet and guide vistors. Some ofthese avatars take the form of famous people, including rock stars, actors. and historical figures. Stepal can even help a company’ to set up ‘an avatar-powered testimonial page where satisfied customers ‘can “talk” to potential customers visting the company’s ste. ‘Research suggests that avatars might increase users’ satisfac- ‘dom with the Web sites and aflect purchases. Apparel brands continue to experiment with the use of ‘avatars tw help customers havea better online experince in de- ‘termining the right it fr clothing. Star-up company Fite has developed a three-dimensional system that will enable a con- ‘sumer to create an avatar witha virtual representation of their body that i close to 99 percent accurate. Their system is being ‘designed to interface with the catalogs of 250 partner brands ‘that would allow users to “try on” clothing and create virtual ‘wardrobes. The impact on how consumers would learn about diferent brands of clothing and their fit seems like a potential ‘gamechanger for the apparel industry Organizations and educators are continuing to explore the Impact of avatars and virtual worlds Companies can hest their ‘business meetings online and encourage employees to develop ‘their own avatars when they attend the meetings. Several unt ‘versity presidents have even held online forums with students land create avatars to discuss current issues of concern with thei students. The word of avatars and virtual worlds will con ‘tinue to challenge marketers inthe years to come DISCUSSION QUESTIONS. (C8441 How might classical conditioning operate for a con- ‘sumer who visits anew tutoring Web ste andi greeted by the Web site's avatar who resembles Albert Bnstein? (€84.2 How might intramental conditioning influence a con- sumer who purchases a new outfit for his avatar in a virtua word? €84-5 Do consumers build associative networks from their ‘avata’s experience? Ifso, would the associations from ‘their avatar experience be any diferent from other