As the creator economy grows and expands, so too does the technology within it.
Introducing virtual influencers. That's right, digital characters are used, in some cases in place of human influencers, as a means to reach new audiences and introduce new levels of innovation that companies offer.
This isn't a new concept – virtual influencers have been around since the early 2000s, but the rise of AI and the growth of the creator economy has renewed marketers' interest in these digital personas.
For example, luxury fashion brand Coach launched its “Find the Courage” campaign in March, featuring virtual influencers Ima, American rapper Lil Nas X, American actress Camila Mendes, and Korean rapper They used real celebrities such as Young Ji, Japanese model Kouki, and Chinese actress. Mr. Wu Jinyan.
Social platforms are also getting in on the action, with TikTok reportedly developing AI-powered features that could generate AI influencers to appear in videos and potentially compete with human creators for ad deals. It is being
But just as AI has been criticized (consider arguments like this) Virtual influencers are making a lot of marketers nervous. Some people in the industry have diametrically opposed views on this issue.
That's why Digiday has laid out the pros and cons of these digital non-humans so you can decide for yourself.
argument of virtual influencer
low production costs
When you think of a campaign, you think of a big budget, including hiring, travel, locations, accommodations, fashion, makeup, and production. The entire production goes on behind the scenes to create just a few minutes of video for the world to see.
But suppose you don't hire talent and instead use virtual influencers. These costs can be much lower considering all you need is this digital character on the screen and you can work in teams no matter where you are based. As a comparison, Rafael Schwartz, chief revenue officer at influencer marketing agency Territory Influencer, says that (for example) a full-fledged video production with a larger influencer would cost at least $50,000, but , said virtual influencers could cut that cost to less than $50,000. $1,000.
“Another advantage is that virtual influencers can do almost anything,” says Lebo Kamble, CEO and founder of virtual technology, media and AI talent management company The Avatar Company, who also manages virtual influencer Kimzulu. speaks. “If you want to create an explosive campaign or a visually exciting but potentially dangerous campaign, a virtual influencer can help you do it without getting hurt. No legal fees or insurance costs. You can get the results you want while avoiding all of that.”
Schedule flexibility
Virtual influencers are not limited to the same 24 hours a day as humans. Keep in mind that the average person's schedule can fill up quickly, which can lead to frustration. Mount up.
“I've been managing human influencers for years, and one of the hurdles I kept running into was availability,” Kumble says. “There's nothing wrong with having a schedule, everyone has a schedule. But with virtual influencers, you can do anything at any time.”
Lu do Magalu is a proven example of this, working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Magalu is a virtual influencer created in 2003 for the Brazilian retail company Magazine Luiza with the purpose of assisting customers with their purchases as a virtual assistant. Magal received positive reviews, and since her creation, she has not only become a famous virtual influencer, but also appeared on reality shows such as “Dancing with the Stars” and collaborated with brands such as Adidas, Red Bull, and Samsung. did. .
Another example is Brazilian-American Michela Souza, known as Lil Michela. Lil Miquela, founded by American AI media company Brud, has already signed deals with luxury fashion brands such as Prada.
Content control
No marketer likes to relinquish control of content, so handing content over to creators and influencers can be a difficult task. Virtual influencers give marketers complete control over their content.
“As a brand marketer, you have complete control, which you don't have when working with human creators,” Schwartz says. “There is [also] There are no scandals with virtual influencers. Because you won't get drunk at a party or act stupid somewhere. ”
Influencers are, by default, representatives of the brands they collaborate with in a public setting, so naturally brands want influencers to act accordingly. — That's clearly what virtual influencers are doing.
opposite opinion virtual influencer
High technology cost
Considering there is a lot of modern technology and coding behind these virtual influencers, the cost of creation is high.
“If you cite a comparison between human influencers and Kimzul, Kim's is much higher because there are so many factors involved,” Kumble said. And by Kamble he means his team of three, which includes him and two women, one to voice Kimzuru and the other to voice her. In charge of body movements. The trio digitally maps and builds virtual influencers as if they were real people.
“We have also created a DNA chart that analyzes all aspects of her personality,” Kumble added. That means there's a lot of high-tech work going on behind the scenes.
lack of authenticity or emotion
There's a lot of scrutiny on whether human influencers are real or not, but it's human experience and emotion that gives them the edge.
Consumers feel a parasocial connection to influencers and buy influencers based on how much they can relate to their personalities and experiences, said Lee Karam, consulting director at behavior consulting firm Behave. “Virtual influencers aren't human, so they can't go through the human experience. They can mimic the experience, but it's not that good,” Karam said.
Karam explained that this doesn't mean there's no place for virtual influencers, but they work better when compared to human influencers when they focus on functional use cases, such as how to apply makeup. . Because AI is self-learning, this technology can aggregate social behavior. “Virtual influencers are better used for functional rather than emotional purposes, as they need to connect with humans as consumers in order to create an emotional connection,” Karam said. added.
AI influencers could reduce the proportion of human influencers
There will be understandable concerns about how virtual influencers will impact the role of human influencers in the future. The creator economy is still unregulated when it comes to payments and fees, and the industry is still finding solutions.
Currently, the percentage of human influencers depends on multiple factors, including number of followers, social platform used, and track record of the influencer. For example, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, a mid-level influencer (50,000 to 500,000 followers) can earn between $500 and $5,000 per post on Instagram, and on TikTok he can earn between $125 and $1,250. Similarly, mega-influencers (more than 1 million followers) can earn more than $1 million per post on Instagram and more than $2,500 per post on TikTok. This is simply because brands are buying into celebrity-like status.
“For human influencers, the more followers they have, the more they charge. So as an influencer becomes more successful, the price of that partnership increases,” Schwartz said. “For virtual influencers, the biggest investment is the creation of the influencer. However, the more content that is created, the cheaper the price of each piece of content will be because there will be more assets on which to build the system. So over time, producing more content becomes cheaper and advertisers don't have to pay high prices because they only pay for content, not followers.”
