'Phoenix' soars into Second Life

August 03, 2007 A virtual marketing campaign for "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" engagements in Imax theaters that transformed Second Life avatars into "buzz agents" for the movie is getting credit as the main impetus behind Imax breaking all of its boxoffice records. In a campaign run by This Second Marketing Llc., a relatively new agency that specializes in brand marketing in Second Life, about two dozen avatars were recruited and paid real-world wages to act as virtual street teams, handing out free virtual promotional items and engaging fellow avatars in discussions about the film at Imax theaters. Dressed in white futuristic-looking outfits with the Imax logo and a cube with the "Phoenix" Imax 3D poster floating above their heads, the buzz agents gave out virtual 3-D glasses, Imax T-shirts, directors' chairs with the Imax logo and virtual movie tickets.

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