Colgate-Palmolive's Second Life site not raising a smile
by Tateru Nino 
Dec 21st 2007 at 5:00AM
Filed under: Events, in-game, Launches, News items, Second Life, Virtual worlds
A few hours ago, I got an invite to zip out to see Colgate-Palmolive's Second Life promotion, which opens today. Colgate's Smile Power Team will be handing out free virtual goody bags, we are told. There are also four vending machines at the site that are supposed to give out the same freebies.
So, why aren't I smiling?
The site, at This Second has a number of distinctive flaws. The first flaw is the floor. The pieces of it just aren't fit together very well. There's gaps and nothing really lines up. Sign textures haven't really been paid proper attention to, and from the sides, they look shoddy.
As for the overall facilities, the site has not just one but nine one metre spinning cubes (non phantom, so they act as obstructions). Above each is the text:
"Click Smile Vending Machines for FREE Colgate Smile & Freebies!p!!"
(That's exactly as it appears)
Why nine of them?
Aside from the 9 spinning cubes and six wall posters of smiling avatars, there are four defective vending machines. They give out two notecards (one of which you'll find useful), but none of the other freebies that they contain or promise. Essentially, it's a one dollar scripting job gone awry.
That's about it.
On the other hand, one of the two notecards does give you a list of ten Second Life places that probably will make you smile. They're pretty good. This one, I'm thinking, is not. The island is running at or over capacity with aggregate frame times at 22.3ms or higher. Thank heavens the agent limit is set to 80, because it's maxed out by 30 or so campers pretty much all the time.
All that said, the site would take about five minutes flat to fix. By the time you read this, perhaps it may have been. I'm not sure any of that will give it any genuine appeal (Colgate appeal or otherwise).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nic mitham said on 5:31AM 12-21-2007
And that's the problem when companies fanfair Sl activity at launch - things can tend to backfire. Far better to issue a release after the activity when/if the campaign has been successful.
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Krystalle Voecks said on 7:02AM 12-21-2007
True, but isn't there such a thing as trying it out yourself before you smack your brand on it and release it into the wild? After all, it's not like you're asking them to do anything more than click a button/eyeball the place.
Adz Childs said on 9:29AM 12-21-2007
Hmm i wonder if the person in charge of freebies would like to look at the action toothbrush i created.
Why is it when i search for "Colgate" or "Palmolive" in ALL or PLACES or CLASSIFIEDS, i get no results?
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Tateru Nino said on 9:45AM 12-21-2007
According to the information I was *sent*:
keywords “Colgate,” “Smile Center” and “This Second Island” will get you there in-world, or you can use the SLURL http://slurl.com/secondlife/This%20Second/55/170/26
I included the link in the post above.
Adz Childs said on 10:01AM 12-21-2007
Searching for "Colgate" in All returns three results. One is a resident. The other two are "Places" hits to "Brasil Empresas" / "MLBR Copacabana 3 Region". One is an alleyway. The other is a little outdoor office with a spinning "Freebies" box next to it. I didn't click on it. Signage is in Portuguese, obviously. One of the signs has the Colgate logo (with several others on rotation). Clicking it takes you to http://www.colgate.com.br
Searching for "Colgate" directly in Classifieds returns nothing.
I will use the slurl you provided. I'm there.
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Adz Childs said on 10:02AM 12-21-2007
That was supposed to be a reply to #4.
Tateru Nino said on 10:10AM 12-21-2007
I didn't take the time to verify the search terms, I'm afraid. I suppose we could add that to the list of things not right.
Tateru Nino said on 10:20AM 12-21-2007
There is an important additional lesson today. We get a lot of requests and releases from people asking us to review this or write that up. There are two sides to that coin.
If we think it stinks, we'll tell you how much it stinks, what of, and which way it's blowing. We don't play favorites or anything - we don't rub love on things that we don't think warrant it, or report bad things that are undeserved.
Just remember that when you want us to come take a look at your stuff.
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Krystalle Voecks said on 12:37PM 12-21-2007
"We waste time so that you don't have to." :)
Adz Childs said on 10:24AM 12-21-2007
@#7
The vending machines were repaired by the time i got there.
And I found the person in charge. I told her about the parcel not appearing in search. That might get fixed soon, too...
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Aleister Kronos said on 12:59PM 12-21-2007
Tateru
I am happy to mention new sites opening - but that should not be taken as support for the end product. I have yet to visit this one, but I doubt my take will be any more positive. I probably should not have read the reviews!
I am a firm advocate of the "soft launch" - open without fanfare, put a word out, get some footfall and *IMPORTANTLY!* get some feedback. If you've worked close to something for a long time, your personal investment will cloud your judgement. Also, testing with a small internal team means that some glaring cock-ups, particularly regarding rights and ownership, can be missed. The impression I am getting, though, is that this site was "built" but never "user tested." Those days really ought to be behind us now - the lessons should already be etched in place.
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Ghen said on 12:38PM 12-22-2007
I still think Massively should make a colgate mock-up on how to turn something glaring into something glamorous. Call it a christmas gift to the company who is trying to be hip but just doesn't quite get the whole picture.
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Joni West said on 4:13PM 12-22-2007
Greetings All,
I am the President of This Second Marketing LLC who is doing the Colgate Smile Promotion. I would like to clarify what the promotion actually IS and what the Smile Center is meant for. The "story" for Colgate, the actual promotion, is that a team of Buzz Agents will be spending over 500 hours over the next 2 weeks out on The Grid, NOT in the Smile Center, distributing the Colgate Smile to residents of Second Life, who typically don't smile. They will also be giving away a notecard in the freebie folder with a list of 10 places in SL that will make you smile. This is something that people are responding VERY well to because a large portion of residents, especially newbies, have no idea where to go once they get off orientation island. We expect to give-away tens of thousands of freebie packages including the Colgate Smile by the end of the promotion. The Smile Center is meant to be a place where people who read blogs, like yours, can go and pick up the freebies if they don't run into a Buzz Agent.
I believe our mistake was not making that aspect of the promotion clearer in the announcement. However, we find that since bloggers are used to writing about builds and not marketing programs, they often focus on that anyway. When I visit your top 10 list of brand sims, I rarely see another avatar at them. They are beautiful, but not doing anything for their brand. I can see where you would think this venue isn't doing much because it is not meant to be doing all that much. But please, before tearing up the whole point of the program, consider what the program is beyond the small vending machine area. I would be happy to send you the number of residents who accept the Colgate Freebie package at the end of the program so you can see that Colgate is actually doing something awesome that residents will appreciate. The can use their Colgate Smiles in time for the holidays.
I would also be happy to TP you to see the Buzz Agents live in the field interacting with residents and giving away the freebies...they are warmly greeted and greatly thanked.
Feel free to contact me directly with any questions or comments.
Joni West
avitar Joni Rich
joni@joniwest.com
415-776-4755
www.thissecondmarketing.com
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Ghen said on 8:29AM 12-26-2007
Was there anything in the retail space that would point said bloggers to the avatars in question?
Tateru Nino said on 8:45AM 12-26-2007
No - the avatars were supposed to roam, as I understand it.
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Joni West said on 11:49AM 12-26-2007
The avatars roam and given the dicey lag conditions on the grid, they often move quickly or get stuck in lag-land. We will release the number of people who happily accepted the Colgate Smile and Freebies from our Buzz Agents at the end of the 2 weeks and hopefully you will all agree that Colgate did a really nice thing (smart even) by handing out free Colgate Smiles to tens of thousands of avatars who otherwise, would not be smiling over the holidays!
Our mistake was the PR, not the program...the Smile Center should have been kept closed until AFTER the promotion so people could get the freebies when they read about the results. Hey, we do amazing promotions in SL and have 2 of the top 4 brand-related venues but we are still learning too...be kind. If we want to keep Second Life alive and vibrant as the new virtual worlds begin to appear (I hear there are 8 new ones launching in 2008), we need to support people and companies trying new things to make the experience richer, not tear them down. It is for everyone's benefit.
Joni West
President
This Second Marketing LLC
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Joni West said on 1:23PM 1-10-2008
I am writing again to report the results of the Colgate's entry into Second Life. As I reported earlier, it was not about he Smile Center which is there to provide the freebies to people who read or hear about the freebies and don't encounter one of the Colgate Buzz Agents. The vending machines are simply that...not a party. The RESULTS of the promotion have been amazing! Colgate Smile Power Buzz Agents hand-delivered the virtual Colgate Smile and other freebies to more than 30,000 UNIQUE Second Life residents. As far as we can determine, this is the largest one-on-one brand outreach that has ever happened in Second Life. In spite of what many "old timers" in SL think, the reception we get from residents is warm and welcoming. Our Buzz Agents are friendly and helpful and are often the ones who teach newbies (who would otherwise fall into the great retention abyss) how to "wear" things (like a virtual Colgate Smile or t-shirt) and how to teleport to places. We even provided a list of 10 places in SL that we think will put a smile on their faces. Note that the Colgate Smile Center is not on that list...it is a list of favorites that our staff find particularly fun.
If you haven't noticed, avatars are not "born" smiling and now there will be 30,000 more happy faces available in SL! When we focus on a build as a main attraction, we do it right! We currently have the #2 and #4 most highly trafficked brand-related venues in SL as reported on the stats chart at The Project Factory site which monitors this. However, not every brand marketing promotion is about "the build" and it is frustrating that bloggers totally ignored the first paragraph of the 2 paragraph Colgate announcement email about the promotion being a team of Colgate Smile Power Buzz Agents roaming the grid and giving away great freebies and a list of places to make you smile and decided to pick apart a room of vending machines that is meant to make the freebies available to those who read those very same blogs.
We do not believe in "Build it and they will come" for Second Life brand marketing and we are dedicated to bringing things of real value to residents with every promotion we do. Given that some of the better known SL developers seem to focus almost exclusively on the build, it is not surprising that bloggers would assume that a brand entry into SL means a "location" but that is absolutely not the case with Colgate. Residents who interacted with our Colgate Buzz Agents and accepted the inventory folder were largely appreciative and got a little laugh out of the encounter...and now they can wear a Colgate Smile when they laugh!
For more information, please contact Joni West at 415-776-4755 or IM Joni Rich in SL
Happy 2008 to all!
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