We are in the digital generation. In 2021, there were nearly 4 billion social media users worldwide, and this number is only increasing. Accordingly, there has been a shift in influence. Now, celebrities and key figures on social media platforms are spearheading advertisements and marketing campaigns. Yet, with the metaverse’s growing relevancy, a new kind of influencer is stepping onto the platform, one explicitly born for this digital world: virtual influencers.
In this week’s video, Christopher Travers, Chief Creative Officer of Offbeat and founder of VirtualHumans.Org, examines virtual influencers: what they are, why they are necessary, and where they are headed. Metaverse worlds such as Decentraland and Roblox centre around personified avatars. Virtual influencers, characters created in computer graphics software and given a personality defined by a first-person view of the world, are perfect for brands and companies to take on personas and connect with these audiences.
Currently, virtual influencers are not sentient and coded to follow scripts written by their creators. Advancements in artificial intelligence are going to change that. In the future, CGI influencers will listen and learn from their audience, and speak with their own words. Are marketers ready for this change?