International directories company Yell has launched what is thought to be the UK’s first recruitment campaign in virtual world Second Life.
Second Life is a 3D virtual world entirely built and owned by its ‘residents’. It opened to the public in 2003, and today is inhabited by more than five million residents worldwide.
Yell – the company that produces Yellow Pages – has teamed up with advertising agency TMP to launch the campaign, designed to bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds.
A team of avatars (the term for the digital characters that people create online to inhabit Second Life) has been recruited and kitted out in distinctive yellow T-shirts, promoting Yell’s career website.
They will wander around busy Second Life areas at specified times of the day chatting to other avatars, offering information and answering questions about careers with the company.
The virtual team will also direct other avatars to phone boxes, specially created and sited strategically so that avatars can pop in and be transported back to reality.
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Isabelle Hung, head of national resourcing at Yell in the UK, said: “As a business we’re constantly looking to develop new products to maintain our position at the head of our field. The kind of people who are using Second Life may have just the right blend of creativity and innovation that we’re looking for in our future talent.”
With residents spending increasing amounts of real money every month, big business is taking notice of Second Life. The world has a fully integrated economy, where millions of virtual dollars change hands for the goods and services residents provide, and can then be traded for real currency.
