At yesterday’s launch of crayon inside Second Life, president and founder Joseph Jaffe said his company wants to “use new marketing to prove new marketing.”

photo from crayon launch in Second Life showing speakers, as well as a streaming slide show (top left)

So here’s an idea for the gang of crayons that would do just that: organize the first-ever CaseCamp Second Life and host it at your new digs on Crayonville Island.

CaseCamp, if you haven’t heard of it, is a marketing-oriented unconference, where marketing professionals meet to present and listen to a series of marketing case studies (15 minutes). Presentations are brief (typically 15 minutes) and questions and conversation are encouraged. I attended CaseCamp Montreal back in July (see photos as well) and heard presentations on topics including blog marketing, the importance of surprise in a marketing campaign, and the “why” of online consumer behavior. It was informative, thought-provoking, and, quite frankly, the kind of event that more marketers need to be a part of.

So how about adapting this concept to Second Life?

How CaseCamp Second Life would work

Here’s what I envision:

  • Presenters prepare materials on video, slide show, or Flickr photos, all of which can be streamed behind the speakers (note the display in the top-left portion of the image above)
  • Much like Jaffe and crayon VP of new marketing C.C. Chapman did during the launch, presenters give an audio presentation that is also streamed and can be heard by all of the participants.
  • Audience members send queries via Second Life instant message or chat to the CaseCamp moderator, who can either interrupt the speaker when appropriate or save the questions until the end of the presentation.
  • After the presentations, head over to the “chil pool” or rooftop of the crayon towers for virtual drinks and to continue the conversation.

In the end, crayon would be bringing together some of the best and brightest marketers and new marketers from around the world for a virtual mashup of best practices and a discussion about the changing face of marketing. Now that would be using new marketing to prove new marketing.

To be sure, there would be obstacles to overcome, the majority of them undoubtedly stemming from Second Life’s many limitations, including an all-too-small limit to the number of avatars on an island — somewhere around 60 — for starters.

But, after all, crayon is making a play to become leaders of the new-marketing space. They could make this concept a reality.

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , ,