IT'S TIME FOR VIRTUAL INFLUENCERS TO TAKE OVER

I was in Tokyo earlier this year, and while scrolling through Instagram, I landed on a very interesting page titled Imma.gram, a creator with over 380,000 followers. At first, she looked just like a regular influencer. But she was actually a virtual influencer.

- SANDEEP DAS

A virtual influencer or a digital avatar creates content primarily around beauty, fashion, food, lifestyle and collaborates with brands too, just like a human one would. For instance, Brazil’s Lu is a pioneer in the business of virtual influencers, created way back in 2003 by Magazine Luiza, one of Brazil's biggest retail companies. Today, she is a nearly-real person managed by ad agency Oglivy and has over 8.2 million followers on Instagram alone.

This virtual influencer trend is not new, but it seems close to hitting a critical threshold.

There are several reasons why a virtual influencer is appealing to brands. First, human beings are stupid, and they do stupid things. As comedian Samay Raina will probably agree, a few obscene comments can lead to the destruction of your brand. Adidas ended its collaboration with Kanye West after his antisemitic comments went viral. Virtual influencers are virtually guaranteed not to make such human errors. Second, digital influencers can engage with their followers 24/7, which human influencers cannot. Third, Generation Z, being a digital generation, is used to AI-led avatars and is confident with their presence. An app like Replika, where you can custom-build a digital friend or romantic partner, has over 30 million users globally.