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ALYCIA DE MESA is a brand consultant, author, writer and speaker. Her published works on branding news, trends, analysis and commentary have appeared around the world most notably for Brandchannel.com and Businessweek.com's Design and Innovation sections. Her book Before The Brand on the principles of brand identity was published by McGraw-Hill in 2002. De Mesa's client list includes companies across industries from Fortune 100 to start-ups, including Xerox, HP, McDonald's, and the Phoenix Coyotes NHL team. Over the last few years, she has been a key speaker at various conferences including Stanford University's Graduate School of Business Future of Entertainment conference and Paris-based Luxe's Luxury Branding on the Internet conference.More on de Mesa Brand Consulting can be found at http://www.demesabrands.com and Alycia de Mesa's blog at http://alyciademesa.blogspot.com Alycia de Mesa can also be contacted through relevant social media channels.

• Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1. The Emergence& Characteristics of Virtual Worlds The early worlds The adoption continuum The establishers Chapter 2. The Culture of Virtual World Users Adult user profiles and habits Tween user profiles and habits Kids& tween worlds Chapter 3. The Emergence of Business within Virtual Worlds Why use virtual worlds? Types of businesses within virtual worlds Strategies and tactics from real-world brands Chapter 4. The Virtual Worlds of Proprietary Brands Strategies, tactics and impact of virtual worlds built around a global brand Disney's Toontown Coke Studios vMTV Chapter 5. Success Stories What's the measure of success? Examples of co-branding in virtual worlds What companies can learn from 'grass-root' virtual brands Chapter 6. Failure Stories Failure defined What went wrong Lessons learned Chapter 7. New Challenges Virtual world standards (the case of IBM) Intellectual Property Theft Digital Domain Law Hijacked Brands Chapter 8. The Futurist's Review Reflections on trends, user behaviors and the impact on business and brand strategies Brand Avatar Virtual Worlds Companion Guide Glossary of Terms Author Bio

'A fantastic handbook for navigating the uncharted waters of virtual marketing and branding.' - Chet S. Ross, Director, SCORE(R) Arizona District 'Virtual Worlds and social networks are 21st Century versions of 1960s mind-expanding drugs, but they are expanding more than just the mind. They are restructuring the fundamental emotional DNA of a new generation of consumers. Alycia de Mesa's new book, Brand Avatar, is an essential primer for all marketers and agencies that need to understand the immersive virtual experiences that are society's' most important new frontier.' - Jack Myers, Author 'Virtual Worlds: Rewiring Your Emotional Future'& Media Futurist