Findings:
Virtual influencers are gaining traction among brands like Dior, Calvin Klein, and BMW. Lil Miquela, a top CGI influencer, has amassed nearly 3 million Instagram followers, and her developer, Brud, was valued at $144.5 million before its acquisition by Dapper Labs.
Virtual influencers are becoming more advanced due to Generative AI (GenAI), improving in cost efficiency, speed, and quality. They can be tailored to specific audiences and aren’t limited by physical and legal constraints like human influencers.
Brands are experimenting with bringing virtual personalities to physical stores to drive traffic and boost digital engagement.
Despite this, consumers still highly value human influencers’ recommendations, with nearly 60% of Generation Z aspiring to become influencers, and many making purchases based on influencer advice.
Key Takeaway: Virtual influencers, powered by advancing GenAI technology, offer brands a cost-effective alternative to human influencers. However, consumer trust in human influencers remains strong, creating a mixed landscape where both virtual and human influencers coexist.
Trend: The growing use of virtual influencers in brand marketing, supported by AI-driven advancements, is changing the influencer marketing landscape, but consumers' trust in human influencers remains significant.
Consumer Motivation:
Consumers, particularly Gen Z, are motivated by the desire for authenticity in influencer recommendations and personalized experiences.
Some are intrigued by the novelty and innovation of AI-driven influencers, while others remain skeptical, valuing human connection.
What is Driving the Trend:
The rapid evolution of GenAI, which allows brands to create cost-efficient, high-quality, and customizable virtual personas.
The cost and operational efficiencies of virtual influencers, who are not subject to traditional constraints like human influencers.
Who Are the People the Article Refers To:
Brands and retailers such as Dior, Calvin Klein, BMW, J.C. Penney, and Coach, using both virtual and human influencers for marketing campaigns.
Consumers, especially Generation Z, who value influencer recommendations and make purchasing decisions based on those interactions.
Venture capitalists who invest in both human and virtual influencer-driven brands.
Description of Consumers' Product or Service: The article focuses on virtual influencers—CGI-generated personas used by brands for marketing. These digital influencers are used to promote products and create tailored interactions with consumers.
Age of Consumers:
Generation Z: 18-24 years old, who are both the creators and the primary target audience for influencer content.
Millennials and Gen Alpha: Younger demographics also engaging with influencer-driven content and campaigns.
Conclusions:
Virtual influencers represent a new frontier in marketing, offering brands a cost-effective and flexible solution. However, the authenticity and trust that consumers place in human influencers still make them essential. This suggests that virtual influencers will complement rather than replace human influencers in the future.
Implications for Brands:
Brands should explore virtual influencers as a cost-cutting and scalable marketing tool while maintaining human influencers for authentic engagement.
Customization and personalization of virtual personas will allow for more targeted marketing strategies.
Virtual influencers, while useful, may still face limitations when promoting more complex products.
Implications for Society:
The rise of virtual influencers may lead to the displacement of human influencers, reducing opportunities for individuals to earn income through social media partnerships.
As AI-driven personas become more mainstream, society may need to address ethical concerns like bias, deepfakes, and the manipulation of consumers.
Implications for Consumers:
Consumers will have a wider range of personalized interactions with virtual influencers, but may face difficulties distinguishing between real and virtual personas.
Trust in human influencers remains strong, particularly for authentic product recommendations.
Implications for the Future:
As GenAI continues to improve, virtual influencers will become more prominent and integrated into both digital and physical retail spaces.
Brands that effectively balance human authenticity with AI efficiency will have the competitive edge.
Consumer Trend:
The trend is the rise of virtual influencers powered by GenAI, offering brands an efficient way to engage with consumers in a highly personalized manner.
Consumer Sub-Trend:
Hybrid marketing: Brands combining virtual and human influencers to maximize their marketing reach while maintaining consumer trust in authenticity.
Big Social Trend:
The broader societal trend is the increasing digitalization of experiences, with AI playing a major role in shaping interactions between consumers and brands.
Worldwide Social Trend:
The global growth of influencer marketing is now encompassing both human and virtual influencers, with advances in AI leading the charge in creating more efficient and cost-effective marketing strategies across industries.
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