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Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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Cancer Society blows away goal in Second Life fundraiser

Don’t you dare tell me that marketing cannot be effective in Second Life.

The American Cancer Society raised $115,000, which eclipsed the organization’s event goal of $75,000. The July 28-29 event attracted nearly 1,700 participants (that is, 1,700 avatars) who pledged money and walked a virtual track. According to a press release, volunteer organizers interacted with in-world residents and had already raised $90,000 before the event even began.

“It is only through our extraordinary volunteers, who dedicated months to raising funds and awareness in Second Life, were we able to have such a successful event,??? said Randal Moss, the Society’s manager of futuring and innovation-based strategies.

Not to beat a dead horse, but you can’t just build a structure, slap your logo on it, and then proclaim Second Life worthless when residents don’t flock to your edifice. It takes work to interact with people, but the results can be gratifying. I’ll link to the press release as soon as it shows up online; I got my copy via email.

Comments
  • 1.That's amazing. So, not including the money donated prior to the actual event, the average donation per avatar was about 15 bucks; is my math right?

    Not bad at all.

    Michael Allison | August 2007 | Canada

  • 2.As I understand it, Michael, the money donated in advance was the actual gathering of pledges, pretty much the same way it works in Real Life. The balance was the result of pledges made at the event itself. So a lot of people who attended probably had already pledged, and some people may have pledged but not attended, so it's hard to know how much per person was raised. But for simple averaging purposes, yeah, that sounds right to me.

    Shel Holtz | August 2007 | Concord, CA

  • 3.I agree Shel. When it's done right it can be very effective. I hope to see more examples of positive results like these.

    Michael Seaton | August 2007 | Toronto

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