Virtual artists and virtual influencers A new (virtual) reality

20,000 foot view:  While North America and Europe are on a path towards authenticity (due to an authenticity crisis), with such trends as #definluencing and #dupes loudly and quickly gaining traction, social media users in Asia Pacific (APAC) have a growing focus on artificial “virtual” influencers (VI’s). These virtual influencers are now appearing among Western digital ecosystems and providing additional nuance to contemporary authenticity concerns. Recognising the ways virtual influencers interact with brands and companies will be crucial to understanding the significant implications this has on how their followers engage with those brands.

Key insights 

           are the largest daily active user (DAUs) group for the top social apps used for virtual influencer output
• Only            and                       and 20-24-year-olds pay attention to            and            and            follow up on            advertisements, respectively
• Deep learning,            subset of machine learning, has            potential to develop and make            become self-sufficient ecosystems
• VI agencies            already incorporated diversity into their            including plus-size, gender non-conforming, differing            and models with down syndrome
• While macro-influencers            VIs have large platforms with            follower counts, micro-influencers tend to            more engaged with the content            their UGC is likely to            more genuine and trusted content

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Apoki, Apple, Capitol Records, Casas Bahias, ChatGPT, FN Meka, Forever            Imma, Instagram, KFC, L’Oréal, Mikayla Nogueira, Noonoouri, Oh Rozy, OpenAI, Roblox , Shinhan Life, Snapchat, Spotify, Teflon Sega, The Diigitals, TikTok, VV Entertainment, YouTube, and Wave