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Marketplace Frontpage, Always same kind of head banner images


Elicio Ember
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I am wondering if any other merchants have noticed this: For a while something bugged me lightly every time I logged in to the Marketplace front page.

Today, after the (very disappointing) Halloween banner, and after logging in and seeing a rack of empty clothes, I finally was able to put my finger on it. The Marketplace Front Page always has some variation of seasonal high fashion invite. Yeah, very nice photos, very nice models or references to fashion, but I have never seen any direct reference to the communities AND merchants not related to realistic landscapes and high fashion on the banners. Well, I think once I saw one about breedables. Once.

Although my personal sales depend not on these banners, it would be nice to see some different kind of banners on the frontage that are more...varied, as SL is, now and then. Some that use something different that a beautiful (somewhat stereotypical) female model (often of Caucasian race). Where are the banners about the gorgeous other aspects of SL? About Science Fiction, Fantasy? About other type of designers besides fashion? Of other very active communities like the Goth, the Furry, the Fae, Steampunk....there are so many!

As in many things, the devil is on the details. Thats my Two Scents.

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You are right, twice: I had not seen that one, and yeah, bless their hearts, thats...um... something I guess. I mean, I know running SL must be enormously complex, I much rather be a designer. But, I still think having these kind of images (or better :matte-motes-big-grin-squint: ) both on SL and Marketplace frontpages would be something good. I recognize I love SL fashion, its really good, sometimes even better than RL original fashion, but there is incredibly talent on al sub-cultures, and this too could show case what SL designers can do.  Thats a nice image...but...well...should I say it out loud? :smileyvery-happy:

Thanks for the post!

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Oh I absolutely agree. I love that they use the skills of user-level photographers/stylists now, such as Strawberry Singh and others instead of relying on what their web-devs think covers the entire range of possible activity. Most art displayed nowadays attempts to match the userbase targetted by the ads used by Secondlife, also - this is intentional (was part of an image/audience refocus) but it's veryvery limiting.

It's gotten better, and has room to get better still. I would imagine it'll never be good enough to show the variety possible in-world. :)

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Unfortunately there is one key element that LL has, apparently, no issue proving that they lack...and that is knowledge. They do not understand their product. They do not understand their user base. They do not understand marketing. Combine all three, and you end up with the advertising that we see.  It's rarely, if ever, actually reflective of the "current trends" as it were, that are constant in sl. They seem to play this odd game of "pick one", except the choice options available, are likely not reflective of the current user base, product, trends...or really much of anything. I'm fairly certain they pick them out of the air at random, and fashion just happens to be extremely easy to highlight.

The only adversiting you'll ever see that's actually reflective of something current, are the holiday banners, and even then, they can be sketchy at times. Other than that, you'll just find a whole lot of what you've already seen. It's been addressed in the past, but as usual LL has the whole "can't hear you, my fingers are in my ears" approach. It's stupid, I agree. They could do far better in the overall marketing department, if they put in even 1/4 of the effort required. Some folks are currently blaming this on the new platform they are developing. But this has been going on as long as I've been in sl, so it's definitely not that. It's simply a lack of knowledge, which leads to a lack of enthusiasm, and a clear lack of effort.

I wish they'd do better too. I also wish they'd highlight more than primarily fashion on the MP banners, but those do seem to take priority. I used to think it was because fashion was a much larger chunk of the profit seen in SL. At times, I still think it is. But I can't help but think if they made a bit of effort to highlight other aspects, people might just purchase even more, explore more, find interest in more....I'm sure you get my point. They take the easy way out, and it's a rather stupid move on their part.

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I have never thought it was LL's business to single out certain content / creators to promote over others.

 

 People buy content in order to create a setting for their Role Play. I would much prefer to see general settings showing avatars enjoying some experience together, but focused some of the time on more culturally mainstream people, as well as on those doing various kinds of more fantasy RP. 

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Sex Hud.JPG

 

Even though I am an Adult who even engages in Adult activities and who even sometimes searches for Adult Content that does not mean I want to be assaulted with Sexual Content when I go to the MP.  (Image edited to keep it Forum Safe.

But to the specific topic, the lack of ethnic diversity as in Freya's picture has always been a problem with all of SL's ads.

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Xiola Linden wrote:

Hey there!

A few genres and styles have been mentioned already here - and we appreciate the feedback. What specific types of things would you like to see represented there and which categories in the marketplace do you think they would best represent?

 

I would like to see things that are not represented by the marketplace at all.

1) Beautiful or interesting places

2) Charity/non-profit organisations (not shopping fairs)

3) Roleplaying venues

4) Activities such as sporting events, art exhibitions, educational events

 

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Lewis Luminos wrote:


Xiola Linden wrote:

Hey there!

A few genres and styles have been mentioned already here - and we appreciate the feedback. What specific types of things would you like to see represented there and which categories in the marketplace do you think they would best represent?

 

I would like to see things that are not represented by the marketplace at all.

1) Beautiful or interesting places

2) Charity/non-profit organisations (not shopping fairs)

3) Roleplaying venues

4) Activities such as sporting events, art exhibitions, educational events

 

Agree with this.  

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Perrie Juran wrote:

Sex Hud.JPG

 

Even though I am an Adult who even engages in Adult activities and who even sometimes searches for Adult Content that does not mean I want to be assaulted with Sexual Content when I go to the MP.  (Image edited to keep it Forum Safe.

But to the specific topic, the lack of ethnic diversity as in Freya's picture has always been a problem with all of SL's ads.

Seriously?  If I had seen something like this before registering I would never have done so. I would have had a very distorted view of what SL is. 

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Lewis Luminos wrote:


Xiola Linden wrote:

Hey there!

A few genres and styles have been mentioned already here - and we appreciate the feedback. What specific types of things would you like to see represented there and which categories in the marketplace do you think they would best represent?

 

I would like to see things that are not represented by the marketplace at all.

1) Beautiful or interesting places

2) Charity/non-profit organisations (not shopping fairs)

3) Roleplaying venues

4) Activities such as sporting events, art exhibitions, educational events

 

Hi Lewis,

We highlight all types of events and places (including those you mentioned) in our Blog and Destination Guide if you've not had a chance to see those. It would be a great idea to show people participating in those types of activities on the Marketplace banners, such as sports, and link those to the appropriate commerce categories.

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Greetings Xiola!

As mentioned, its not about featuring specific artists or desingers.

In a more organized manner, these are my personal suggestions:

1)  The banners do have a tendendy to limit themselves most of the time to fashion in a very limited ethnic diversity in humans (and its very rare to see a fantasy avatar or sci fi as the main banner). If human avatars are to be featured it would be great to see some of the outstanding variety out there. SL variety goes way beyond humans...the imagination is the limit. This is not reflected really on the banners.

2) How about changing it sometimes for a banner focused on a nice scenery with a fantasy or sci fi avatar outside the standard "look what I am wearing" or "I have a grill". Something themed. Here, out of hand, are at least 12 themes or subcultures I cant think of:

     -Fantasy, Medieval Style     -Cyberpunk            -Regional (Country Cultures)          -Modern Art

    - High Fantasy                      -Sci-Fi                     -Furry                                                     -Horror

    - Steampunk                        -Dark Sci-Fi            -Animal avatar users                          -Period Themed

    -And of course, fantasy fashion and high fashion, which are well represented already.

  And I did not really think about them, there are 10s more, all represented by gorgeous views and designs.

 Of course, no adult subcultures themes mentioned. SL has its adult side too, but, like in RL countries, there is a red distrcit and people who are looking for it will find it. Its more really about giving an impression of how compex and diverse SL is. Having always the same fashion shots gives a very limited vision of how rich SL really is.

Although I understand why RP sims or Charity organizations are difficult to feature on the banners, nothing forbids shots being taken and featured when good enough. If the viewer wants to find more about who, where, why, that can easily be done through a link.  In my opinion, its more about giving an idea of how diverse and gorgeous SL is.

I hope this helps clarify my point.

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Thank you for all of the great suggestions. We definiately would like to add to the types of avatars and things you see not just on the MP banners but in other areas as well and the categories have some great examples where we might be able to branch out a little without excluding those who have more general interests as well.

I am passing along this information as well as encouraging our designer to review this thread as well, so please keep the suggestions coming!

 

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unisex.JPG

 


Xiola Linden wrote:

Are you age-verified and electing to include adult maturity rated items in your Marketplace search? If not, I will certainly pass this along to the Marketplace team.

 

 

Yes I'm Adult Verified.  And I had Adult enabled in my preferences when I took that sceen shot.  But here's the problem.  A LOT of non sexual content gets hidden if you turn down your ratings as in the screen shot above.  I may still run into that sexual content when I start searching with "adult" enabled but it doesn't belong on the home page.

 

eta:clarity

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Agree with this.

I think content, fun things, events and places should come FIRST.

Then one can sell related products on the sim the events are hosted on.

What I"ve always hated about SL is the prevalence of advertising, billboards, product boxes, etc that make everything look ugly.

For example, having a nightclub that mainly consists of a dance floor with 4 walls of product boards around it. If this happened in RL, it would not attract us into the establishment.

I understand people want to/have to pay for the exorbitant prices of SL's 'virtual' land that causes them to do this, but it hurts IMO more than it helps.

Most people I know come to SL, can't figure out what/where/how to do anything, go to some 'nightclub' that is just an excuse for garish advertisement of outdated obsolete products, and leave to never come back.

I'd like to make my own sim and create content for Second Life, but I simply cannot afford to do so. So I cant contribute any events, places, games, puzzles anything myself - so I cant even help to make 2nd life better.

Until then, looks like SL will center around selling Barbie clothes and houses to people, rather than REAL content.

Disclaimer: (There is good content to be found, some great Halloween sims this year, though most still are designed around stores rather than fun things to do still)

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Since this post is primarily discussing the MP banners, and not just general LL advertising, I'll add some ideas for MP banners(though truth be told, they're fitting for both).

Aside from fashion, which we see far more than any other category of commerce in the mp banners, I would like to see more of the following(and no I am not saying we have never seen them, merely that I would like to see *more* of them, and less of fashion oriented banners-focus on things like landscaping, activities, etc..).

Seasonal-not just holidays, but actual seasonal....now whether or not the seasons coincide with any specific corner of the world, doesn't matter to me, just more of it would be nice. 

Creating-this is one the largest markets in sl, yet often ignored in advertising. You can use a banner to showcase mesh, sculpts, texturing, script work, animations, etc.. quite easily

Landscaping-I'd love to see more landscape related banners, showcasing the various ways one can decorate a sim, low land impact of course would have a large audience impact(yep, pun intended), you can even incorporate different types of buildings as well

Activities-we rarely see stuff like this, and I think its an sl tragedy. Banners showcasing different activities available on the mp would be an awesome idea, if implemented properly. You can showcase different sports, entertainment, amusement, etc.. activities. People are always looking for things to do in sl, be it in other sims, or things they can add to their own land, why not cash in on that desire?

Like I said, these ideas, are just a few, but can be implemented in both mp banners and general sl advertising. All of these things(and others) are things people are constantly asking about and looking for, why not make it just a wee bit easier and in the process, perhaps find even more who might take an interest in sl because of the fantastic advertising. I see no reason to shoot for the lowest potential outcome when you've every opportunity to shoot for the highest potential income. You're shooting yourself in the foot by focusing so much on fashion. I too love that other photographers have been featured on the sl homepage, but I do wish even they had a lot less focus on "how pretty people are" and more focs on the things one can do within sl. I love the photos, I love the work put into them, but they don't necessarily tell me what I can DO in sl(which is the number one question asked by new folks).

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There's actually no reason why you would want to force your customers to get a face full of that on the front landing page of your major commerce web site for inworld properties . 

 

Anyone who wants to see such over the top graphic content will soon look deeper to find it.  It does nothing to enhance the customer experience when it's a choice between a blunt censorship category that applies across the entire experience or having graphic depictions of back door sexual antics assaulting you full in the face on the marketplace landing page.

 

Environments characterized by adult content are not required to be tasteless and utterly lacking in class.  Being tacky is not obligatory but rather a policy choice at best (at worst it's being too lazy or shortsighted to make any policy provisions and then just blaming customers' content settings when the outcome is an unpleasant hot mess).

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Anaiya Ahren wrote:

There's actually no reason why you would want to force your customers to get a face full of that on the front landing page of your major commerce web site for inworld properties . 

 

Anyone who wants to see such over the top graphic content will soon look deeper to find it.  It does nothing to enhance the customer experience when it's a choice between a blunt censorship category that applies across the entire experience or having graphic depictions of back door sexual antics assaulting you full in the face on the marketplace landing page.

 

Environments characterized by adult content are not required to be tasteless and utterly lacking in class.  Being tacky is not obligatory but rather a policy choice at best (at worst it's being too lazy or shortsighted to make any policy provisions and then just blaming customers' content settings when the outcome is an unpleasant hot mess).

Very well said.

I'm certainly NOT a prude.

But the content filters in the Market Place, something the Merchants constantly find themselves tortured by, are such that a lot of less than explicit Adult Content gets hidden if you don't have Adult enabled.

The explicit should not be in our face in order for us to search for the less than explicit.

Users like myself are caught by a Catch-22 here and there is no reason we should be.

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i was also logging in to say that i also think fashion or avatar appearance as the ONLY game in town gets a bit old. i do like the seasonal themes though and i am always or almost always impressed by the quality of the images. but you know, maybe some landscapes, or activities oriented scenes could be just as seasonal. 

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Let me see if I can get into L.L.s head again. And thank you Elicio for making such awesome rezzable inworld fantasy stuff that has profitted LL greatly over the years. :-DD

 

-The great majority of things selling on the SLM are wearables for modern human women avatars, so they market what peeps seem to be mostly interested in. I think the thought is that if LL marketed variety, even based on distribution of sales even for a moment, it would take away from overall profitability because focus must 'always' be on the bread and butter. Always. Plus, the marketing department in LL is probably populated with mostly women who have an interest only in modern day fashion things, influencing things greatly toward that direction. 

-The only thing that seems to be growing in SL is sexually oriented stuff, so that is becoming a greater and greater emphasis in LLs marketing.

-LL knows that the vast majority of peeps can't afford in world rezzables because land affordability is out of their reach, so therefore the focus is on Avatar wearables which peeps can afford, as LL is loath to bring land prices down even for long term profitability.

So as for most 'problems' in SL, marketing focus is also tied to the high cost of pixel land in SL. as well as a general disregard for what the SL community (and the could have been SL community) wants.

 

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