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Sponsors
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TRACKS:
Engaging Kids
| Engaging Youth |
Virtual Goods and Gifts |
At-A-Glance
Virtual Goods and Gifts
Room
1E08
Generating an estimated $200 million in the US and $2 billion in
revenues worldwide, virtual goods and gifts have emerged not just as
a growing business model but thriving model. This track includes
expert speakers from social networks, games and virtual worlds to
give you the knowledge you need to launch and manage your virtual
goods strategy.
Tuesday,
March 10, 2009
| 7:30 am 9:00 am |
Registration and Networking |
| 9:00 - 10:30 am |
Welcome and Engage! Expo Main Keynote
- Christopher V. Sherman, Executive Director, Engage! Expo
Keynote
Teemu Huuhtanen, Executive VP,
Marketing and Business Development, Sulake Corporation and
President, North America, Sulake Inc. and David Luner, Senior
Vice President Interactive & Consumer Products, FremantleMedia
Enterprises, North America |
| 10:30 - 11:00 am |
Networking Break and Demos |
| 11:00 - 12:00 pm |
What Are Virtual Goods, Gifts And Why They Matter
The virtual goods economy in the United States alone is
estimated at $200 million or more in 2008. Worldwide virtual goods
generate as much as $2 billion worldwide. Find out where the money
is being made with this emerging online business model. This session
gives attendees an overview of virtual goods, gifts and items. The
session will look at goods as a revenue stream, discuss the idea of
primary and secondary markets, and review the idea of goods on
social networks, in games and in virtual worlds.
- Charles Edward Hudson, VP of Business Development, Serious Business
Understanding Your Audience and Optimizing Revenue Streams
A key to increasing revenue potential is by understanding your
audience and figuring out what payment and alternative payment
methods fit to each unique experience. This session will help you
uncover insights, like defining which goods or incentives to use,
knowing where to place the call-to-action, understanding users in
order to best direct payment and alternative payment methods, and
how to optimize and continually test placements and payment
providers against detailed user demographics - to know how and where
offers are most effective and productive.
- Ian Swanson, Founder and
CEO, Sometrics
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| 12:00 - 1:00 pm |
Lunch |
| 1:00 - 2:00 pm |
Ecommerce 2.0: The Emerging World Of Virtualized
Transactions
Teens have created a new world via social media and social
networking. Now, they are becoming a leading indicator for a host of
emerging technologies that enable virtualized transactions for both
real and virtual goods. Pre-paid credit cards for social media sites
are on the horizon. These leverage portals, parental controls and
data analysis tools to enable teens to purchase goods and enable
parents to manage and track their activity. Other companies are
creating new methods of online and mobile billing for micro
transactions. Panelists will examine these technologies and trends,
and draw on their experience to illustrate how social sites and
virtual worlds are now beginning to monetize their offerings in new
and innovative ways.
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Sergio Monsalve, Principal, Norwest
Venture Partners (moderator)
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Ro Choy, Vice President of Business Development, RockYou
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Jeremy Zorn, Vice President of Product Development, myYearbook
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Andrew Schneider, Co-Founder and President, Live Gamer
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Jason Oberfest, VP Business Development, MySpace
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| 2:00 - 2:30 pm |
Networking Break and Demos |
| 2:30 - 3:30 pm |
What Users Want: Getting People To Interact With Your Goods
A key element of success with virtual goods is
understanding your audience, their needs and what they want out of
virtual goods. Virtual goods can take on multiple forms: from the
traditional vanity items (such as clothing for avatars) to special
features (levitation or in-game abilities), to prestige or special
privileges (the ability to go somewhere where other users cannot),
to gifts. Learning what motivations drive your users and how virtual
goods affect their day-to-day interactions will be critical to the
success of your goods strategy.
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Margaret Wallace, CEO, Rebel Monkey (moderator)
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Matt Palmer, Executive
Vice President and General Manager, Stardoll
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Phil Guest, Senior Vice President, Global Advertising, Sulake Inc.
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Jeff Weiser, Head of
Analytics, SGN (Social Gaming Network)
- Darren Green , Co-founder,
SmallWorlds
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| 3:30 - 4:00 pm |
Networking Break and Demos |
| 4:00 - 5:00 pm |
Investor & Entrepreneur Meetup
This specially organized meet-up brings together entrepreneurial
companies seeking funding and investors interested in investing in
privately held companies. Not purely focused on virtual goods but
open to any and all, please join us a special Investor & Entrepreneur Meetup.
View additional details here. |
| 5:00 - 6:00 pm |
Evening Reception
View exciting demos
and have a drink. |
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Wednesday,
March 11, 2009
| 7:30 am 9:00 am |
Registration and Networking |
| 9:00 - 10:30 am |
Welcome and Engage! Expo
Main Keynote
- Christopher V. Sherman, Executive Director, Virtual Worlds Conference
Fireside Chat
With Jack Buser, Director of
PlayStation®Home Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA).
Interviewed by VirtualWorldsNews.com Editor Joey Seiler
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10:30 - 11:00 am |
Networking Break and Demos |
| 11:00 - 12:00 pm |
Virtual Goods As A Marketing Strategy
Engagement marketing invites and encourages consumers to
participate in the evolution of a brand. Branded virtual goods puts
your brand in the digital hands of consumers, making it a
significant part of the user experience. When virtual good campaigns
are implemented effectively, users choose to interact with your
brand rather than having it pushed towards them. Not only are
traditional metrics, like impressions and time spent climbing with
virtual goods, but the quality of the experience is improved by its
voluntary nature. Find out what works and what doesn't from
marketers and designers who have been leading the way.
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Lisa
Rutherford, President, Twofish, Inc.
- Marta Kagan,
Vice President of Marketing, Viximo
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Joe Hyrkin, Vice President, Sales & Business
Development, Gaia Online
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Yuanzhe (Michael) Cai, VP of Research, Video
Games, Interpret LLC
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| 12:00 - 1:00 pm |
Lunch |
| 1:00 - 2:00 pm |
Case Study: Sony’s House Bunny Promotion on Gaia Online
This case study will highlight the virtual world promotion
surrounding the movie “House Bunny” which ran on Gaia Online.
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Joe Hyrkin, Vice President, Sales & Business
Development, Gaia Online
- Jen Martel, Media Supervisor, Digital Communications, Universal
McCann
Case Study: Virtual Gifting On The iPhone Platform
Social networks, virtual worlds, and online games are
moving from the web and into peoples' pockets. The iPhone is one of
the most powerful and robust mobile devices on the market today, and
it provides a unique opportunity to bring virtual goods and
microtransactions to the mobile world. In this case study, we will
examine the opportunities and challenges of bringing virtual gifting
to the iPhone.
- Ravi
Mehta, Vice President, Viximo
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| 2:00 - 2:30 pm |
Networking Break and Demos |
| 2:30 - 3:30 pm |
Implementing Goods In Your Site, World, Or Game
Virtual goods are booming, but how do you take advantage and get up
and running? Whether you’re looking for a partnered platform
solution or a do-it-yourself strategy, there are pitfalls and
essential steps to be aware of. This session discusses the nuts and
bolts when considering a virtual goods strategy, what elements are
necessary to be successful, and critical solutions that are
necessary to get going.
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Timothy Chang, Principal, Norwest Venture
Partners (moderator)
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Dan Jansen, CEO and Co-Founder, Virtual Greats
- Eric
Hartness, Chief Marketing Officer, PlaySpan Inc.
- Erikka Arone, VP Business Development, Zong
- Albert Lai, CEO, Kontagent
- Rob Frasca, CEO, Viximo
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| 3:30 - 4:00 pm |
Networking Break and Demos |
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4:00 -
5:00 pm |
Payment Systems That Power Social
Monetization
From determining acceptable payment types to combating
fraud, there are critical issues in creating a monetization
solution. From credit card solutions to SMS/mobile solutions and
everything in between, this panel of experts will discuss the
necessary steps in building a payment solution that powers the
monetization of engagement and social media.
- Martin Herdina,
CEO, FatFoogoo
- Jennifer Bartlett, Business Development Manager, Sometrics
- Jesse Manuel, Director of Marketing, Super Rewards
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