Monday, October 1, 2007

First Belgian bank in Second Life.

Finally, Belgium has his first bank in Second Life, The Keytrade Bank, that is a part of the Crédit Agricole. Keytrade Bank opened in the virtual world his own island and has an innovative tool to extend their marketing views in SL.

A lot of companies have realized that visual advertising in Second Life does not pay off, but to add some value to their company, you have to offer something else. The Keytrade Bank has found a way to answer this need. They offer to every SL resident a HUD or heads-up display. With this tool you can easily convert Linden Dollars in every known currency.

According to the Sales and Marketing Director, Thibault de Barsy, Second Life users are complaining that all prices of the products are only displayed in Linden Dollars. Until now , users had to do the conversions themselves to find out the real value of goods or services sold in a Second Life shop. Our currency converter now saves users this task, making virtual shopping easier. Moreover, the conversion is carried out in real time in relation to financial market fluctuations, no matter currency chosen.. In the continuity of a spirit of permanent innovation, Keytrade Bank wants to be the first to explore the new territories of a tri-dimensional Web. Therefore, we felt important to provide a tool potentially useful to all present and future users of those virtual worlds. Our island in Second Life is to be considered as a field of experimentation for future products and the proof of our will to be at the cutting edge of web-based financial services.

Besides the conversion, the HUD gives you a permanent range of financial information, coming from Dow Jones Newswires. Finally, there is an information board on the Keytrade island, where you will be able to find the daily fluctuations of the Linden Dollar against all currency of RL.

The Keytrade bank Belgian’s first 100% Internet bank, explains Thierry Ternier, CEO of Keytrade Bank. We are also the first Belgian Bank to becom e active in Second Life. Ou ambition is to bring real value all over the globe, not only to Belgian residents of this virtual world.”

This project was realized by the agency Emakina and The Bluepillgroup, who has done such a project before, by offering a HUD tool for Belgian Airlines. These companies are giving a lesson to others of how managing marketing tools in Second Life, in a innovative and interactive way.

(Also read on secondlifecrew.be)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmmm... I recently overheard a conversation at a SL bank, between a potential customer and someone from the bank's stuff. This laters was dropping loads of information on this miserable guy who had fell into a serious mistake: he requested some infos on loans to buy some land and built a house.

After some heavy information paragraphs... the guy managed to type a line and asked something like "Errr... this also applies to SL, right ?" There were about some seconds silence until the bank officer replied "Oh no, I'm here just to inform people on our RL products".

Need I say more ? Will RL corporates ever understand that while in-world most people have little or null interest in RL ?

Looker Lumet said...

You are absolutely right by giving this example. It is a pretty good anecdote, of what we don't need in SL.
What is interesting in this whole story is the HUD.
And if you read their site, that is all they are offering to residents. So probably their interest is only getting their name known, I guess:

Whats is Keytrade Bank offering in Second Life?

First, a world premiere signed by Keytrade Bank. Thanks to a small converter offered on the Keytrade Bank Island, the inhabitants of Second Life can calculate the value of an amount displayed in Linden Dollars (Second Life’s official currency) in the currency of your choice: euros, dollars, yen, pound sterling etc. Moreover, the conversion is carried out in real time in relation to financial market fluctuations This simplifies significantly the life of many users. Our converter module also offers a range of financial information which is provided by Dow Jones Newswires.
Finally, we also have an office built on the island and even a zeppelin!