In recent years, influencers have become essential to the marketing success of most major companies. Today, a brand-new trend is gaining ground: virtual influence. Brand collaborations with virtual and 3D influencers are emerging and bearing fruit. We take stock.

Understanding collaboration with virtual and 3D influencers

Virtual influencers are brand new, and offer many exciting perspectives.

The principle

Collaboration with virtual influencers involves using fictional characters or avatars to influence the public's opinions or buying behavior. To do this, brands buy the services of avirtual influencer designer, who creates a character that is both realistic and made-to-measure. In fact, physically, this character perfectly resembles a human being. This is particularly true of3D influencers created by "facerig" (capturing or photographing the human face) and animated by powerful software. From a personality point of view, a virtual influencer is created from a precise storytelling, being the basis of his or her character, tastes, preferences and opinions.

The beginnings of virtual influence

The first 3D influencer Lil Miquela was created in 2016, by the company Brud, using 3D imaging software. A well-known figure among Internet users, Miquela is a young woman of Brazilian, Spanish and American origin, who is both a model and a singer. This 3D influencer currently has over 3 million followers on instagram.

This influencer, with her endearing personality and "woke" side, has collaborated with several major brands such as Prada, Dior, Calvin Klein and Samsung. Following the marketing success of these collaborations, several other major virtual influencers, such as Shudugram and Bermuda, appeared on social networks and aroused public interest.

The challenges and impact of working with virtual influencers

Brand collaboration with virtual influencers and 3D influencers is emerging as an unavoidable phenomenon for the marketing landscape of the future. These digital avatars have become major players in the promotion of brands and products. They take on an even greater dimension with the advent of the metaverse, a virtual world designed byartificial intelligence, in which consumers can interact with them in an immersive way.

According to a study by Influencer Marketing Factory, 58% of users follow at least one virtual influencer, with content as their primary interest. Similarly, a study conducted by Influencer Marketing Agency in 2022 confirmed that over a third of consumers have already purchased a product promoted by these fictional characters.

Thevirtual influencer market is now valued at $4.6 million, with an engagement rate 3 times higher than that of real influencers.

Successful collaboration with virtual influencers

Collaborating with virtual influencers can be costly, so brands are adopting several strategies to maximize their return. Here are a few reflexes for effective collaboration with these fictional characters.

Creating a genuine partnership

To gain notoriety, you need to partner with a virtual influencer whose values match those of your brand. This could be an animated character with a charismatic personality, who will interact with subscribers in a fun and engaging way. Whether your brand stands for innovation, sustainability, adventure or any other specific value, your virtual influencer should reflect these same beliefs. This consistency will reinforce the authenticity of your message and establish deeper ties with your target audience.

Innovative and creative content generation

Encourage your virtual influencer to generate valuable content that appeals to subscribers. For example, in a series of animations for social networks, he could test your product in places that are emblematic of your brand.

This creative content will capture the attention of their own followers and encourage them to take an interest in your product. To create a unique immersion for your consumers, you can explore partnerships with 3D influencers and integrate virtual and augmented reality experiences.

Optimizing engagement on social networks

Social networks like TikTok and Instagram are the playground of virtual and 3D influencers, and for good reason. Indeed, the visual and interactive nature of these networks makes them ideal places for customer conversion. Publications shared by these virtual influencers on social networks generate a high level of engagement. Whether through humorous demonstrations, creative challenges or captivating narrative scenarios, this approach enables your audience to actively engage with your brand, going beyond traditional advertising.

The advantages of working with 3D virtual influencers

It's often tempting to compare the effectiveness of real and virtual influencers. Here are the advantages of this second option.

Creativity, flexibility and control

Compared with real influencers, virtual influencers have the advantage of being able to be integrated into unique virtual environments and scenarios, offering opportunities for inventive and innovative marketing campaigns. They offer you a greater level of control, allowing you to shape their personalities and actions precisely. Virtual influencers can be deployed anywhere in the world without any particular constraints, and can reach the hearts of subscribers of any origin.

Customer experience success

Virtual and3D influencers can attract the attention of a younger or more technologically oriented audience, such as Generation Z, who grew up at a time when the Internet, smartphones and social networks were already ubiquitous. This broadens the scope of marketing campaigns, and opens the door to the creation of immersive and engaging experiences, such as augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR). These possibilities are innovative ways of engaging subscribers and target audiences.

Practical

Working with virtual influencers can reduce the costs and logistical constraints associated with working with real influencers (travel, event planning, etc.). Indeed, organizing events with real influencers can be inflexible and costly, requiring coordination of schedules, booking of spaces, management of logistics, and so on.

In contrast, collaborations with virtual influencers are usually done remotely, which greatly simplifies the planning and execution process. Instead of coordinating exhausting photo shoots or filming with real influencers, you can provide guidelines and let virtual influencers create their own content at their convenience. This offers greater flexibility and can also speed up the content publication process.

Today's most popular 3D virtual influencers

Currently, many influencers have collaborated with major brands. Among the most popular of the moment are :

• Lil Mequila: In addition to her marketing collaborations with major brands, Mequila is highly committed to noble causes such as " black lives matter ", the fight for refugee rights and support for the LGBTQ+ community. With 3 million followers on Instagram, she is considered the biggest virtual influencer on this network, not to mention 282,000 subscribers on Youtube and another 31,000 on Twitter.
• Bermuda: Well-known for her scandals and controversial opinions, Bermuda or "The Bermudas" is a pro-Trump 3D influencer who has already collaborated with several brands such as Balenciaga, Chanel, Tesla and others. A musician, her songs have over 400,000 views on Youtube and each of her photos on Instagram gets up to 40,000 likes.
• Shudu Gram: Designed by artist and photographer Cameron James Wilson, model Shudu Gram is the virtual face of many brands, including Fenty Beauty. The publications shared by Shudu are always very popular, thanks to her 230,000 highly engaged followers on Instagram.

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