I think Stagecoach Island has about as much chance connecting with Millenials as I do winning American Idol. It very well may the minority opinion...I hope I'm wrong. I simply don't see the potential.

@CU Warrior

You are probably right when it comes to Stagecoach Island on its own. But I think that if you look at all the stuff Wells Fargo is doing to appeal to youth: blogs, contests, concert sponsorships, and so on, that they at least get an A for effort...which I think elevates them a notch above other financial institutions that have steered clear of the "social media stuff."

Granted the bar isn't too high here, given teenagers' general apathy about financial brands. So there's still a question of ROI here. Assuming Wells is testing and measuring, they'll figure that piece out.

And good luck on your American Idol appearance!

"Wells Fargo launched Stagecoach Island in 2006, originally within Second Life, and then spun it off on its own."

Stagecoach Island was *tested* in Second Life; never launched and did not spin off. Instead, it was moved to the Active Worlds platform, and was very recently relaunched.

For some details: http://blog.rebang.com/?p=531

True or not, csven's blog doesn't paint a pretty picture of Wells Fargo's development of the Stagecoach Island project.

I think William is right about the entertainment aspect of the site. If interesting and/or engaging games are available, then users can compete against each other -- presumably for credits within SI. This basically means there would be five ways to make money in SI:
1. Financial education to get you started, or if you go broke. This can't be the core purpose of the experience though; it's just too boring. It's a means to a (more fun) end.
2. Buying/selling merchandise, as provided by WF.
3. Getting a job within SI.
4. Competitions against others in games that could include financial knowledge, but video games and other regular games are more interesting. It looks like they are doing this already to some extent.
5. "Building" a space within SI (TBD).

People with the most SI bucks (what are they called? Wells Shells?) at the end of each week/month/year get X. If you make X cool enough, people will come. The concept doesn't seem supersticky except to the supergeeky, but it's possible that many new users would be engaged for at least a few weeks.

It gets a little stickier if the Wells Shells can actually be translated into real money. But then, alas, the U.S. government will probably subject SI to the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act because there's bingo available.

(Please note: I haven't personally explored SI. All my comments are based on my second-hand understanding of the project.)

@CU Warrior - I think there's a way to create an immersive and fun environment that can be branded by a bank and informs and educates about financial issues without being preachy or stuffy. I do believe that there is potential here, it's just a tough tough nut to crack.

@Jeffry - Thanks for those suggestions, some really good ideas and insights.

I just do not get this... As someone who works with College students in a banking environment I just couldn’t imagine trying to justify the economics behind this.

I would be interested to see what return if any Wells has received from this. How many users are signed up? More importantly how many unique logins does SI receive each week/month? Are you tracking conversion from SI to real customers? If so, what return are you seeing on these customers? Are they using more services, more responsibly than other customers of the same age? Are they using their education from SI and using more services that their peers generally don’t?

In short, Banks are lame. They will never be cool, not even a knock off of second life can change that. Impress who you are, people respect that more.

Anyone from Wells willing to follow up on the questions listed above?

@C. Neef - You raise some really good questions. I asked Ed how many people have signed up for SI since launch, and could not get that info.

Knowing the answers to your questions is essential for Wells to effectively gauge success and know how they want to evolve their experiential strategies.

If all banks are lame in the eyes of a Millenial, is there anything that a bank can do to differentiate themselves? Your answer, which I think is critical, is for them to be authentic.

My question is: Could SI be authentic to a large enough segement of the population to be a worthwhile marketing tactic?

@William Azaroff – Thanks for the quick response, nice to get some dialog going on this. In regards to your question: I have to say no. Is SI authentic? It's virtual, the currency is fake, and I haven’t seen anything that shows how the knowledge they gain in SI will truly help them in real life. If you want to make a game make a game, if you want to educate the younger generation on banking then give them those tools in a specialized banking experience. Spend those tech resources on development time that gives you the ability to track the young customer web experience and customize it to them or market education information to them.

Banks have to present themselves as a few things to capture this demo: Ethical, honest, and compassionate. Ethical in the form of not trying to push them into situations and services which they don’t truly need and that they have will a high chance of failing to use correctly (High APR CC…). Honest, by being upfront with your fee schedule and not burying it in your site where it is difficult to easily find (Higher One does a great job at this, one click away at www.higheroneaccount.com). Compassionate in the fact that you give back the first overdraft fee, or when it’s only $0.21. Understand it’s their first experience, studies show that a customer who leaves you after a negative experience they have with a new product and service and be LOYAL to the next company who treats them favorably.

I just don’t feel that an online video game accomplishes any of this…

@C. Neef - Thanks for your comments. I agree entirely that having a financial institution (or any company) that wants to attract a certain segment of society had better do more than just marketing programs.

If a bank's marketing campaign geared at youth was successful, would a young person's experience with that company's banking products, services and channels also resonate with them? If not, then the campaign will surely backfire, and they might be worse off than if they had never engaged that segment to begin with.

So, for me, the promise of SI is that it engages youth (I believe it can) and then once a young person was willing to add Wells to their consideration list, Wells could be a relevant financial services company to that same young person. If not, game over.

@Will - Good insight and I can see how that could work if SI offered an entertaining experience.

SI graphics are horribly dated. The younger generation uses PS3, Xbox 360, cutting edge computer games, HD-DVD, and HDTV. They cant compete on graphics. So the only thing that SI can offer is an immersive and entertaining gaming experience... Do they accomplish this? I would have to say that most will just go with Second Life if they want to play something immersive that’s also free.

I think that Wells would be better off sponsoring something with World of Warcraft if that was their goal. They could even sponsor the "bank" in Warcraft and bring in some interesting dynamics that might educate users.

If you are looking to be a purchase consideration that you have to BRAND yourself with partners that are popular with your demo. Making a second rate duplicate wont get you anywhere, if anything it may hurt you more than it helps.

@C. Neef - Thanks for your point of view. Hard to argue with that. Any examples out there of banks being authentic in ways that appeal to you, or have you given up on the entire industry (or perhaps I should say, do you feel they've given up on you)?

@Will - It's such a delicate balance for banks. How do you appeal to the younger demo while at the same time convey an image which we spoke about before...

I can't think of any institution which has accomplished this with a great deal of success. I am a fan of Washington Mutual commercials which portray themselves as a "different" kind of bank by mocking traditional banking practices / charges. This helped set them apart and makes them more appealing to a younger audience who generally see banks from a negative point of view.

Have you seen this done well?

I think a lot of credit union marketers would say credit unions, because we tend to be more community focused and therefore authentic.

I think it's a difficult cycle: Because banks are irrelevant to most young people, they seem interchangeable, so those trying to differentiate themselves fall on deaf ears.

That's why I like your pointing out that it's about service and respect for every customer, regardless of their wallet size.

Do I see anyone doing that well? ING to some extent. It's a good question - I'll keep thinking about it... What do others think?

Any luck finding out abuot those login and usage conversion numbers?

I think that data is proprietary. Wish I could see it.