Influenced by Influencers: The Rise of Avatar Influencers

Influencer marketing has grown tremendously over the last decade, but has never been as popular as it is at present. Amidst this, a new era of virtual influencers has emerged and is taking the consumer industry by storm.

For those wondering who virtual influencers are, they are fictional personas designed to resemble real people using computer graphics programs.

As more virtual influencers make their appearance on social media, an increasing number of businesses are hopping on to the trend to align themselves with modernity via this novel promotional form.

Redefining Influencers?

The big question is whether virtual influencers are trusted by audiences. It goes without saying that any influencer, whether virtual or not, needs to build an ongoing rapport with their audience which relies on trust and authenticity.?

Interestingly, we are increasingly seeing that the audience is ready to trust virtual influencers. Virtual influencers today have managed to build commendable followings and are now partnering with major brands and labels.?

As of now, the audience has an innate understanding that the virtual influencer is “virtual” but has real humans behind the scenes pulling the strings. But, as AI grows more powerful and capable, how long will it be before these lines start to blur??

I believe that it is inevitable that, eventually, it will be the AI that will give life and personality to the avatar.

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Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0 vs. Web 3.0

In the Web 1.0 era, the entire internet was just text and images with no ability for users to interact with them. Think of a newspaper, and that’s what it was like. In this era, we had completely nameless models who were used to promote products and brands.?

For instance, a clothing brand website would have various models wearing their clothes. Customers would choose products based on whether they liked the clothes and the brand, not the model.?

Then came Web 2.0 which significantly changed the game. We are still experiencing the Web 2.0 era. Now, it is open to anyone to try and become an influencer and monetize their influence.?

We have numerous examples of big-name influencers that are commanding huge fees for promoting brands and products. We see many of them every day on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and so on. For example, Cristiano Ronaldo as an influencer is paid nearly $2.3 million for a single Instagram post. (2023), while Kim Kardashian is paid around $1.7million per post!

That said, I don’t think the Web 3.0 era is far around the corner at this point. We’re already seeing virtual influencers, but Web 3.0 capabilities will allow them to reach much father. It’s likely virtual avatars will take over without the need for actual humans to show their faces.?

We’re already seeing avatars making their names as influencers such as Miquela and Kyra. (March 31, 2023)

Source: Creative Tim?

The Rise of Avatar Influencers?

Avatars originated in gaming decades ago (remember, Second Life and Sims?) and have now found their way into social media over the last few years.?

Ami Yamato is known to be the first “virtual influencer” that stepped onto the stage more than 10 years ago on YouTube. (Jan 27, 2022) The area has grown by leaps and bounds since then. Several brands including luxury ones have started creating their own in-house virtual influencers to promote their offerings. For instance, Louise Vuitton created its own in-house virtual ambassador to host their annual innovation award ceremony in 2022. (Apr 7, 2022). This way, LVMH cleverly tested the waters of the metaverse and represented the company’s vision, values, and presence in a tech-enabled future.

I’m also impressed by how quickly virtual influencers are being accepted by the public. Virtual Influencer Ayayi has more than 817,000 followers on Weibo (Mar 6, 2023) and has been promoting products of the likes of Prada, Dior, and Ferregamo. Ling is another famous virtual influencer with more than 1 million followers who is being sought after by brands such as Bulgari and Tesla and has also been featured in Vogue.?

The Sustainability of it All?

I won’t be surprised if we see more of virtual influencers in the future. In fact, I’m betting on it. After all, brands, especially luxury labels need to stay in sync with an increasingly “virtual” culture, thanks to growing Web 3.0 capabilities.?

The virtual influencer space is already heating up with avatars like (Dec 15, 2022) Lil Miquela (with more than 3 million followers and deals with brands like Dior, Prada, and Calvin Klein), Any Malu (with more than 1 million fans and her own TV show), and Imma (with brand mentions such as Burberry, TikTok, Adidas, and IKEA).?

What’s more? These virtual influencers will be lower maintenance than real ones. Just look at how influencers are sent so much excess clothing by brands and how returns become a logistical issue. Also, let’s be real, a virtual influencer can’t get into a scandal!

Another benefit of avatars and the use of digital wear (now accessible in the metaverse) is that it can help lower carbon emissions and environmentally harmful consequences of the textile industry. To put it in numbers, when Helinski Fashion Week went purely digital in 2021 (Nov 26, 2021), the carbon footprint per visitor fell dramatically from 137 kg to just 0.66kg. Further, digital fashion can significantly reduce the overproduction of clothes, consuming fewer materials. The result? Saving 3,300 liters of water per garment and emitting 97% less carbon emission!?

Over time, the boundaries between real-world and virtual influencers are starting to blur. As we advance into Web 3.0 and the metaverse, it is still early to tell how it will transform the way we see and consume fashion. Nevertheless, the era of virtual influencers is here for brands to widen their creative horizons while being sustainable.