A Response to: 'Virtual Influencers Make Real Money While Covid Locks Down Human Stars'<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tby Vu Doan, Design Enterprise Studio Member, March 2021<\/p>
In this post I offer my thoughts on emotional and business aspects that are being impacted by virtual influencers, and create a field for discussion and voice questions, all in response to a previous Bloomberg Business\u00a0post by Thuy Ong<\/a> in Nov 2020.<\/strong><\/p>One of the hottest trends in the influencer marketing industry nowadays is the appearance of virtual influencers. What even more surprising is the fact that they earn a seven-figure income per year, which is 252 times more than average workers in the UK in 2020<\/a>. They also target social media platforms such as Instagram, Youtube, … which were previously pre-dominant by human stars only, and they are getting a lot of support from the audience. So, will this phenomenon do more good than bad to the industry in the far future? Is it okay that virtual influencers make money whilst humans are furloughed due to Covid-19?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/designenterprisestudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Screen-Shot-2021-03-19-at-10.18.28-1024x480.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThe Emotional Aspect: what people need is a believable story<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tDespite virtual humans being computer-generated, they are given names, hobbies, even jobs. They experience human-related troubles of waking up early in the morning. They sing, dance, make music albums… they swim, do sports, play board games and video games… it\u2019s all human relatable. Like a drama series whose visual effects throw viewers off, people still stay hooked to see what will happen next; basically it’s all thanks to good storytelling.<\/p>
From the perspective of a 3D artist, virtual influencers don\u2019t look real, at least it is the faces that are not human-like and sometimes fall into what is called \u201cuncanny valley<\/a>\u201d (the consequences of attempting to replicate a human face unsuccessfully). Obviously, if it is an image of them covering their eyes with sunglasses, or a faraway photoshoot, virtual influencers look no less than a human being.<\/p>But, regardless the technical realism achieved in terms of a character\u2019s look, virtual influencers are not physically living things, and with\u00a0Lilmiquela<\/a>\u00a0we even have a confession straight from her virtual mouth: \u201cI\u2019m not a human being\u201d. So I wonder why\u00a0people still ask questions like \u201cIs she actually a robot? Does that mean she\u2019s real?\u201d<\/a>. Well, it must be \u201cbecause we\u2019re suckers for a good story<\/a>\u201d.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/designenterprisestudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Screen-Shot-2021-03-19-at-10.21.41-962x1024.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/designenterprisestudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Screen-Shot-2021-03-19-at-10.21.47-1024x755.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lilmiquela\/?hl=en<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEscapism and Idolisation<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tEscapism is a concept of self-distraction or self-relief from unpleasant reality via immersing oneself into a fantasy world in their minds. <\/em>Idolisation is a concept of showing one\u2019s admiration and adoration towards another superior being.<\/em><\/p>Concerning the Covid-19 situation, human socialisation is now very much like a taboo. Nonetheless, virtual influencers may be offering an path for those who are deep in the darkness of desperation. Exactly like human stars they bring joy and stories to their followers lives via social media, and here virtual stars are no less capable. They even (seem to) interact with real-world famous figures such as Shugga, Bella Hadid or The Chainsmokers, blurring the line between virtual and physical world. Whilst real-world entertainers are waiting for opportunities in hopelessness, the unreal ones seem to bringing hope back to the audience, preventing them from escaping reality altogether.<\/p>
Virtual influencers even revive quite controversial conversation topics. People have been arguing with one another about the authenticity, manners, beauty or talents of these virtual humans; which replicates the same pattern human celebrities tend to create. To me it signals an opportunity for increased engagement of the audience, it creates discussions focusing on like and dislike which connects and disconnects groups of people, and brings back the liveliness of the human community.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThe Business Aspect: it all starts with behavioral addiction<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\u201cVirtual influencers, while fake, have real business potential\u201d Christopher Travers<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tHaving mastered the knowledge of how to keep users hooked, any crazy idea could have real business potential. According to Adam Alter from the book \u201cIrresistible\u201d<\/a>, there are six ingredients to approaching user\u2019s behavioral addiction: goals, progress, feedback, escalation, cliffhangers, and social interaction. Based on different situations, different ingredients will be in use.<\/p>Sometimes, behavioral addiction can be like a playground for social interaction with others. At other times, it can be an occurrence of a dramatic event. Unfortunately, \u201cKnowing the interests and browsing habits of our young and tech-savvy player base\u201d, means that manipulating their behaviours for profits has never been easier.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>
![\"Imma](\"https:\/\/designenterprisestudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Screen-Shot-2021-03-19-at-10.25.31-300x249.png\")
<\/a>The fact that the virtual influencers “are cheaper to work with than humans in the long term, are 100% controllable, can appear in many places at once, and, most importantly, they never age or die\u201d, is undeniably true. They give \u201cbrands greater control over messaging\u201d, and \u201cthe risk of their brand ambassador misbehaving or causing a scandal by doing something that doesn\u2019t match their values is pretty low\u201d (Fernandes K., 2019<\/a>).<\/p>To me, this raises a question: will these virtual influencers one day, replace humans? Well, that is a tough one to answer, but one thing for sure, they won\u2019t disappear. In my view, the two entities should continue to co-exist and benefit one another mutually. This will eventually make a huge breakthrough in terms of monetisation within the industry. Another wave of already hot trends, such as implementations of AI techniques on the computer-generated influencers or collaboration between the virtual and real-world artists, could potentially happen. And in my opinion, that will be very interesting to see.\u00a0<\/p>
Why?<\/p>
Because it is interesting,<\/p>
Because it is different,<\/p>
Because it is mind-blowing,<\/p>
Because it is controversial,<\/p>
And people like it that way.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
by Vu Doan, Design Enterprise Studio Member, March 2021<\/p>
In this post I offer my thoughts on emotional and business aspects that are being impacted by virtual influencers, and create a field for discussion and voice questions, all in response to a previous Bloomberg Business\u00a0post by Thuy Ong<\/a> in Nov 2020.<\/strong><\/p> One of the hottest trends in the influencer marketing industry nowadays is the appearance of virtual influencers. What even more surprising is the fact that they earn a seven-figure income per year, which is 252 times more than average workers in the UK in 2020<\/a>. They also target social media platforms such as Instagram, Youtube, … which were previously pre-dominant by human stars only, and they are getting a lot of support from the audience. So, will this phenomenon do more good than bad to the industry in the far future? Is it okay that virtual influencers make money whilst humans are furloughed due to Covid-19?<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Despite virtual humans being computer-generated, they are given names, hobbies, even jobs. They experience human-related troubles of waking up early in the morning. They sing, dance, make music albums… they swim, do sports, play board games and video games… it\u2019s all human relatable. Like a drama series whose visual effects throw viewers off, people still stay hooked to see what will happen next; basically it’s all thanks to good storytelling.<\/p> From the perspective of a 3D artist, virtual influencers don\u2019t look real, at least it is the faces that are not human-like and sometimes fall into what is called \u201cuncanny valley<\/a>\u201d (the consequences of attempting to replicate a human face unsuccessfully). Obviously, if it is an image of them covering their eyes with sunglasses, or a faraway photoshoot, virtual influencers look no less than a human being.<\/p> But, regardless the technical realism achieved in terms of a character\u2019s look, virtual influencers are not physically living things, and with\u00a0Lilmiquela<\/a>\u00a0we even have a confession straight from her virtual mouth: \u201cI\u2019m not a human being\u201d. So I wonder why\u00a0people still ask questions like \u201cIs she actually a robot? Does that mean she\u2019s real?\u201d<\/a>. Well, it must be \u201cbecause we\u2019re suckers for a good story<\/a>\u201d.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Escapism is a concept of self-distraction or self-relief from unpleasant reality via immersing oneself into a fantasy world in their minds. <\/em>Idolisation is a concept of showing one\u2019s admiration and adoration towards another superior being.<\/em><\/p> Concerning the Covid-19 situation, human socialisation is now very much like a taboo. Nonetheless, virtual influencers may be offering an path for those who are deep in the darkness of desperation. Exactly like human stars they bring joy and stories to their followers lives via social media, and here virtual stars are no less capable. They even (seem to) interact with real-world famous figures such as Shugga, Bella Hadid or The Chainsmokers, blurring the line between virtual and physical world. Whilst real-world entertainers are waiting for opportunities in hopelessness, the unreal ones seem to bringing hope back to the audience, preventing them from escaping reality altogether.<\/p> Virtual influencers even revive quite controversial conversation topics. People have been arguing with one another about the authenticity, manners, beauty or talents of these virtual humans; which replicates the same pattern human celebrities tend to create. To me it signals an opportunity for increased engagement of the audience, it creates discussions focusing on like and dislike which connects and disconnects groups of people, and brings back the liveliness of the human community.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t \u201cVirtual influencers, while fake, have real business potential\u201d Christopher Travers<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t Having mastered the knowledge of how to keep users hooked, any crazy idea could have real business potential. According to Adam Alter from the book \u201cIrresistible\u201d<\/a>, there are six ingredients to approaching user\u2019s behavioral addiction: goals, progress, feedback, escalation, cliffhangers, and social interaction. Based on different situations, different ingredients will be in use.<\/p> Sometimes, behavioral addiction can be like a playground for social interaction with others. At other times, it can be an occurrence of a dramatic event. Unfortunately, \u201cKnowing the interests and browsing habits of our young and tech-savvy player base\u201d, means that manipulating their behaviours for profits has never been easier.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div> To me, this raises a question: will these virtual influencers one day, replace humans? Well, that is a tough one to answer, but one thing for sure, they won\u2019t disappear. In my view, the two entities should continue to co-exist and benefit one another mutually. This will eventually make a huge breakthrough in terms of monetisation within the industry. Another wave of already hot trends, such as implementations of AI techniques on the computer-generated influencers or collaboration between the virtual and real-world artists, could potentially happen. And in my opinion, that will be very interesting to see.\u00a0<\/p> Why?<\/p> Because it is interesting,<\/p> Because it is different,<\/p> Because it is mind-blowing,<\/p> Because it is controversial,<\/p> And people like it that way.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\tThe Emotional Aspect: what people need is a believable story<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEscapism and Idolisation<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
The Business Aspect: it all starts with behavioral addiction<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>The fact that the virtual influencers “are cheaper to work with than humans in the long term, are 100% controllable, can appear in many places at once, and, most importantly, they never age or die\u201d, is undeniably true. They give \u201cbrands greater control over messaging\u201d, and \u201cthe risk of their brand ambassador misbehaving or causing a scandal by doing something that doesn\u2019t match their values is pretty low\u201d (Fernandes K., 2019<\/a>).<\/p>