The Rise of Virtual Influencers
Influencers aren’t perfect. If you search "influencers fails," you'll come across thousands of articles that highlight some of the worst from over the years. They’re vulnerable to controversy and burnout. So what if there was a way to avoid these issues and control the narrative and behavior of an influencer? Introducing: virtual influencers.
Virtual influencers are quickly making space for themselves within an overly saturated realm of influencer marketing. Is this tech trend truly the future or just a fad?
What’s the Deal with Virtual Influencers?
A virtual influencer is a CGI generated character that embodies the same personality traits and features of a human. They serve the same purpose as their human counterparts, but do so in their own digital world. Developers give them an image, a story, emotions, an identity, and a daily life to share with their community. While these “people” don't exist, their creators still work cleverly behind the scenes to create graphics, direct photo shoots, write social media copy, and more. Virtual influencers are fit to play a role in a variety of different industries, all the way from high-end fashion to fast food. There are simply no physical or technical limitations.
Virtual influencers: imma, Lil Miquela, Shudu.
How Brands Are Benefiting From Going Virtual
Going back to 2016, I know the name on everyone’s lips in my friend group was Lil Miquela. We’d never seen anything like her, and were completely entranced with trying to decipher if this figure was a real person or not. Since her debut, the forever-19-year-old model has gone on to take her influence from online to IRL through campaigns with major brands like Prada and Samsung, along with making her own music. As the first social media virtual influencer, Miquela has opened doors for many others in the space to prove that this type of work is a powerful marketing tool rather than a gimmicky novelty.
Working with a virtual influencer provides many advantages for brands, both as a new avenue for innovative storytelling but also from a brand safety perspective. Virtual influencers are adaptable in the sense that they can be anyone, anywhere, anytime. Enlisting the help of these “people” means no added travel fees, the ability to work at any time, and the opportunity to publish fully controlled content. Since a virtual influencer’s entire image and online presence is carefully crafted, there is minimal chance of an unexpected scandal arising (that’s not to say it’s impossible, however). Any time a brand collaborates with a virtual influencer, it often makes headlines as it positions them as being innovative and future-forward in their industry.
Mainstream Ethical Considerations
With all this limitless creative freedom, the creation and use of virtual influencers comes with some ethical considerations and responsibilities that, if not handled properly, can cause more damage than good. Beyond potentially contributing to unrealistic beauty standards due to their highly customizable nature, virtual influencers can be easily seen as a form of manipulation and false advertising. Take, for example, a virtual influencer who advertises acne treatment cream. On the surface, this seems like a typical brand sponsorship. However, this “person” has never had acne and will never be able to recognize the benefits (or drawbacks) of the product. No matter how realistic their experience may seem, promoting this can mislead buyers. Some have proposed general ethical ground rules, but with this being such new terrain, India is the only country so far to set national advertisement guidelines.
Moving Towards a More Futuristic Reality
As consumers continue to prove their disinterest in the glitz and glam of traditional celebrity endorsements, virtual influencers could be the answer to capture their attention. Robots taking over the world was once just a fear that stemmed from sci-fi horror films. While we’re probably still far from seeing robots walk alongside us at the gym or dining out at our favorite restaurants, virtual influencers' rapid development on social media may have us soon rethink what is reality.
About Hanna
Hanna Ziesel is a senior this year pursing a degree in Advertising & Public Relations with a minor in Writing. This will be her second year with GrandPR, where she previously served as the Firm Editor and now will be taking on the role of Chief Operations Officer. She is currently the Marketing & Social Media Intern at Passage. After graduation, Hanna hopes to continue using her PR skills in the entertainment industry.