Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior

From Second Life to MTV's Virtual Pimp My Ride, millions of consumers live parallel lives in a digital reality, an online representation of real-world people, products, and brands in a computer-mediate environment (CME). However, marketing experts know very little about the best way to talk to consumers in these online environments. Do established research findings from the offline world transfer to CMEs? How should advertisers employ avatars as spokespersons? How does virtual group identity influence group dynamics? This work compiles selected papers from the first academic conference held to address these questions, the 2008 Advertising and Consumer Psychology Conference, sponsored by the Society for Consumer Psychology. Paying special attention to the largest and fastest growing group of users, children and teens, the papers focus on the ability that CMEs offer their visitors to create one or many social identities, explore consumer behavior in virtual worlds, and discuss implications for marketers interested in working in these environments. Wood and Solomon teach marketing and direct the Center for Consumer Research in the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph's University. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)