Last night I also learned why WeeWorld might actually blow up in the U.S. Full disclosure: I have had lunch with their PR company who pitched me for coverage on Ypulse. I went and made a WeeMe (yes, that's me on the beach) and sent their GM some interview questions, but I wasn't completely sold on what the appeal would be. They're kind of like the South Park characters that people are making into unofficial avatars, and right now, there aren't a ton of options for stuff like clothing, hats, etc. But I was told last night (yes, the same last night meeting I just posted about) that WeeMes, when animated in IM sessions, are not only hilarious, but really viral. When you type certain things in your IM, they respond. And while WeeWorld doesn't tell you which words bring about which actions...the word is out on Wikipedia. Of course being lazy/busy (you choose) I had only made my avatar and didn't plug it in to my AIM so I evidently missed what is unique about the WeeMe experience.

Here's my email interview with Lauren Bigelow, General Manager of North America, about WeeWorld's U.S. launch.

Ypulse: Who is the target for Wee World? What age range?

Lauren Bigelow: The target for WeeWorld is 16-30. Of the most recent 1,000,000 WeeMees built, 33% were users 13-17 and 30% were 18-24. Nearly two-thirds created and owned by users age 18 and over.

YP: How popular has Wee World been in the UK?

LB: Over 10 million WeeMees have been built in the UK and beyond. For example, we have launched in 10 countries with MSN, and we have logged WeeMees being created in 39 different countries.

Read the rest of the interview in the extended entry: Ypulse newsletter readers, visit Ypulse.com for the rest.

YP: What is the business model for Wee World? How will you make money? From users and marketers…

LB: User Pays for:

1) Digital content purchases This varies by partner and implementation – e.g. in MSN UK users pay 3 pounds to download their WeeMee into their IM client. With AIM in the US the WeeMee is free, but we will offer additional content on WeeWorld for purchase like special limited edition clothes, backgrounds or decorations.

2) Mobile Content Mobile downloads, wallpaper, etc. For example: "Build and customize WeeMee caller IDs and wallpapers for you and your friends on your mobile phone." WeeWorld just launched in US with Jamba.

3) Real-World Gifts Offered now in other countries, and launching soon in US: The WeeStore offering personal cards, mugs, T-shirts, etc featuring your WeeMee...

Marketers also pay…

Advertising from banner ads to special promotional packages and product placement. An example of a package would be an interactive background with animations and special assets for the WeeMee tailored specifically for an advertiser or promotion that is accessible in AIM or in WeeWorld. For example, we just released a special Gold Rush background for a new game offered by AOL featuring a personalized Mark Steines WeeMee (host of the game) and the Gold Rush vault with new animations to coincide with the GoldRush promotion (goldrush.aol.com). You can also dress your WeeMee up in a gold outfit, put on gold necklace, etc. We already have a lot of interest from a variety of advertisers to have WeeWorld create customized backgrounds and special assets.

YP: How have you marketed yourself to your target demo?

LB: The primary way users discover WeeMees and WeeWorld is through our partners -- AOL, MSN, Skype, Motorola, Vodaphone, Jamba, etc. -- which has been the fuel for our rapid growth.

YP: Can users design their own clothes and accessories and submit them to you?

LB: Stay tuned…

YP: How would you compare yourself with Meez.com?

LB: WeeMees are different because there is humor involved – they are irreverent and "cheeky." We try not to take ourselves too seriously and make personalization fun.

Our approach is also different since we have proactively gone to where our target users spend the most time already -- instant messaging and mobile -- and formed key partnerships to integrate the WeeMee directly into the experience which has led to widespread, rapid adoption.

Users can create a WeeMee on aim.weeworld.com and use it in the IM when they’re talking to friends, they can select different animations and interactive backgrounds in the IM, then with one click bring it over to WeeWorld where they can play games, make cards and and export their WeeMee to other popular community, blog and websites.

YP: Anything else you think Ypulse readers should know?

LB: Try out the AIM experience and have fun -- when you laugh your WeeMee laughs, when you cry your WeeMee cries, and and there’s all kinds of hidden triggers to make the background and the WeeMee react. For example, if you type "bling" your WeeMee will have a grill on its teeth. When you choose the Hollywood background and type in ‘ttyl’ (for talk to you later) a HumVee comes and picks up your WeeMee. Try out the games and cards on WeeWorld as well -- we dare you to do it without laughing out loud at some point.

But of any message ‘STAY TUNED’ is probably the most important message – we have some exciting plans to expand WeeWorld as a visual, immersive environment. Visualization is key to us, because a picture really can be worth a thousand words. We’ll be showing more of what we mean by that as we roll out new releases in the coming months.

Posted by anastasia