Blurring lines between fiction and reality: Perspectives of experts on marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers

Moustakas, Evangelos; Lamba, Nishtha; Mahmoud, Dina Kamal; Ranganathan, C.

doi:10.1109/cybersecurity49315.2020.9138861

Cited by 106 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Only two studies out of the 34 have non-human influencers as their main theme. Despite the strong predominance of studies on human influencers, there appears to be a recent growth trend in research on non-human influencers (notably VIs) with one paper citing the phenomenon of VIs in 2018 (Kádeková & Holienčinová, 2018) and three papers citing the theme in 2020 (Appel et al, 2020;Robinson, 2020;Moustakas et al, 2020), two of which (Robinson, 2020;Moustakas et al, 2020) dedicated entirely to VIs.…”

Section: Categories Identified In Each Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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"Humanized Robots": A Proposition of Categories to Understand Virtual Influencers

Oliveira

Chimenti

2021

AJIS

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Worldwide investments in influencer marketing are growing and could reach US$ 101 billion in 2020. But how can the brands shield themselves from scandals and other limitations of human influencers? The solution for many companies has involved robots. Virtual influencers (VI) are virtual robots that can emulate human appearance and behaviour and have become a trend in marketing. This study analyses how non-human influencers affect marketing communication by adopting two methods that are unpublished in the investigation of this phenomenon: a systematic literature review and netnography in conjunction with in-depth interviews with specialists resulting in the study identifying five categories (two of which are unpublished and unexplored in the literature) that can facilitate management decisions and also future studies around VIs: anthropomorphism/humanization, attractiveness, authenticity, scalability, and controllability. This study also identified more convergences than divergences between the virtual and the real and between humans and non-humans, generating challenges, opportunities, and guidelines for future research and for assisting management in making decisions concerning digital marketing.

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Section: Categories Identified In Each Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Attractiveness is another factor linked to influencers (Torres et al, 2019). Moustakas et al (2020) prescribes the construction of a strong and engaging personality to humanize VIs. This would include "conflicts, aspirations, and challenges" and would help to expand "affective bonds" with followers.…”

Section: Australasian Journal Of Information Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

"Humanized Robots": A Proposition of Categories to Understand Virtual Influencers

Oliveira

Chimenti

2021

AJIS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…There are, however, indications that this is changing, with recent impact evaluations uncovering encouraging effects (e.g., Dunn & Veríssimo, 2020) and major organisations such as National Geographic supporting the development of new games (Machemer, 2020). This could herald the mainstreaming of mobile games to promote biodiversity conservation, a promising trend given the mounting body of evidence in areas as diverse as healthy eating, sexual health, language training, and physical fitness, which suggests that serious games can deliver positive outcomes (Boyle et al, 2016).…”

Section: Mobile Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One aspect that, however, remains largely unexplored is the use of virtual influencers, those influencers that are based on Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) or artificial intelligence, as opposed to a real person. Some of these influencers, such as Lil Miquela, a fictional 19-year-old American female character, have already achieved notoriety, gathering millions of fans online and mixing promotional posts for luxury brands like Prada with social activism initiatives in support of causes like Black Lives Matter (Moustakas et al, 2020).…”

Section: Virtual Influencersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Virtual influencers have the distinct advantage of giving their creators full control over their messaging and actions. Yet, the potential for these messengers to be perceived as inauthentic has been highlighted as an important challenge (Kadekova & Holienčinova, 2018;Moustakas et al, 2020) and an aspect that conservationists will need to tackle if these messengers are to be used effectively. This could theoretically be even more of a concern for animal influencers, which are even further removed from humans, and so there is a critical need for audience research into this issue.…”

Section: Virtual Influencersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trends in Digital Marketing for Biodiversity Conservation

Veríssimo¹

2021

Rev. CEA

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With the digital boom that we have been experiencing for several years now and that has been significantly maximized due to the current situation caused by the pandemic, it is not a secret that the different economic, social, political, environmental initiatives, among others, have taken advantage of digital channels to convey their message to a greater number of individuals. The purpose of this editorial is, thus, to illustrate some digital marketing trends in the field of biodiversity conservation, trends that can be perceived from mechanisms such as social media advertising, virtual influencers, and mobile games. The current biodiversity crisis and what it represents for the survival of humanity has raised concerns among many people and organisations around the world. Hence, the interest in transcending barriers and engage a greater number of individuals who can contribute their solution. If digital is the future, why not continue exploring its true potential to tackle the biodiversity crisis?

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Are they humans or are they robots? The effect of virtual influencer disclosure on brand trust

Muniz,

Stewart,

Magalhães

2023

J of Consumer Behaviour

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The increased prevalence of social media has led brands to utilize influencers for product endorsements and influence consumer perceptions. Among these influencers, virtual influencers (VIs)—that is, computer‐generated influencers with a social media presence–have gained significant attention due to their substantial online following and greater engagement compared to human influencers. However, a research gap exists in understanding the impact of VIs on consumer response toward brands, particularly when consumers perceive VIs as human. To address this gap, this study draws upon anthropomorphism and expectation disconfirmation theories to investigate the effect of disclosing a VI's nonhuman nature on consumer trust in the brand. Additionally, the influence of culture on consumers' perceptions of VIs is explored. The study employs three within‐subject experimental designs, with two studies conducted in the United States (n = 75 and n = 101) and one in Brazil (n = 83). The findings reveal that the disclosure of a VI's nonhuman nature negatively affects the perceived anthropomorphism of the influencer, subsequently diminishing the credibility of the VI and impacting brand trust. This study contributes significantly to the consumer behavior literature by examining the unintended consequences of disclosing VIs' nonhuman nature on consumer perceptions. Furthermore, it highlights the potential role of culture, as the direct influence of disclosure on anthropomorphism is observed, but the indirect influence on brand trust is not supported among Brazilian consumers. Consequently, brands must reconsider the design of their own VIs or those they collaborate with, striving for a design that mitigates consumer suspicion avoiding the negative effects of disclosure.

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Blurring lines between fiction and reality: Perspectives of experts on marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers

Cited by 106 publications

References 9 publications

"Humanized Robots": A Proposition of Categories to Understand Virtual Influencers

"Humanized Robots": A Proposition of Categories to Understand Virtual Influencers

Trends in Digital Marketing for Biodiversity Conservation

Are they humans or are they robots? The effect of virtual influencer disclosure on brand trust

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