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Streamly has the answers you need today, for the questions you'll have tomorrow. 

Ideas and conversations that matter, from industry voices you can trust

Andrew Davis_v6-.vtt

ENGLISH

{{00:00:14}}
Virtual Influencer is a new
phenomenon that's going to happen

{{00:00:17}}
over the next 6 to 18 months.

{{00:00:19}}
We're going to see it quite a lot.

{{00:00:21}}
And essentially it's an
influencer in a digital format.

{{00:00:25}}
So imagine a digital character that's
created via AI or some form of technology.

{{00:00:31}}
And it does the same thing that a
lot of human influencers do in the

{{00:00:34}}
sense that it will have a social media
profile, it can engage, it will get

{{00:00:38}}
followers, it can create content.

{{00:00:42}}
But when I say it can create content,
the person behind it can create content

{{00:00:46}}
for this particular digital character.

{{00:00:53}}
So the main appeal for brands when
it comes to working with virtual

{{00:00:57}}
influencers right now is one, it's new.

{{00:01:01}}
So because it's so new, if you're
a brand, let's say, and you worked

{{00:01:05}}
with an influencer, that's not
really a story, because that's

{{00:01:09}}
quite a common practice now.

{{00:01:11}}
But if you're a brand and you work
with a virtual influencer, and

{{00:01:14}}
you've got decent results, that's
an additional story to the results.

{{00:01:18}}
Second thing is that you
have slightly more control.

{{00:01:21}}
So, if you're a brand and you're working
with an influencer, you're going to

{{00:01:24}}
have, you're going to be very worried
about what the end result will look

{{00:01:28}}
like when it posts because brands lose
some form of control when it comes to

{{00:01:33}}
influencers, especially if you want to get
them to be themselves and be authentic.

{{00:01:38}}
When you're working with virtual
influencers, you're not obviously

{{00:01:41}}
working with the digital character.

{{00:01:43}}
You're working with the creative
who's created the digital character.

{{00:01:48}}
So you'll have more control.

{{00:01:50}}
You'll probably have more
say on the final product.

{{00:01:53}}
The final post, the final campaign.

{{00:01:56}}
The third thing I would say that why
brands are liking it is you don't

{{00:02:00}}
necessarily have to deal with some
of the challenges you have working

{{00:02:03}}
with traditional influencers.

{{00:02:05}}
So for example, an influencer
might post something and a brand,

{{00:02:12}}
they might've said we've agreed
this and something else goes out.

{{00:02:15}}
The cost might also be cheaper.

{{00:02:18}}
So there's, I would say these are the
main things from a brand's point of

{{00:02:20}}
view from a human's point of view.

{{00:02:23}}
I think the uniqueness
against seeing the uniqueness.

{{00:02:28}}
Also, one of the biggest challenges
that a lot of traditional influences

{{00:02:32}}
are having right now is authenticity.

{{00:02:37}}
10 years ago, it was slightly different,
but now the public are looking at a

{{00:02:41}}
lot of the influences and thinking.

{{00:02:43}}
The only reason you're saying that about
this brand is because you're getting paid.

{{00:02:47}}
So that there is something that a
lot of influencers or traditional

{{00:02:52}}
influencers are kind of losing some
of that influence where virtual

{{00:02:56}}
influencer is slightly different.

{{00:02:57}}
It's new.

{{00:02:58}}
Now, what virtual influencers
and traditional influencers need

{{00:03:03}}
to be aware of and what usually
hurts both of them is ego.

{{00:03:09}}
Traditional influencers a lot of the
reason why brands don't necessarily

{{00:03:12}}
like working with them is because
of ego, whether it be from them or

{{00:03:16}}
whether it be from their managers.

{{00:03:18}}
That's another area that I see why
brands prefer working or will start

{{00:03:23}}
going towards virtual influencers.

{{00:03:25}}
However, the more popular virtual
influencers become and the more popular

{{00:03:31}}
individual virtual influencers become.

{{00:03:33}}
You'll probably start seeing
the ego kicking with the content

{{00:03:36}}
creators or the agencies as well.

{{00:03:43}}
Right now, there are a couple
of influencers that are

{{00:03:45}}
doing really, really well.

{{00:03:47}}
There's one called Little
Michaela or Lil Michaela.

{{00:03:50}}
Good few million followers
across Instagram and TikTok.

{{00:03:54}}
Now she's worked with brands like
Calvin Klein and  Prada brands

{{00:03:59}}
like that getting their message out
there to her particular followers.

{{00:04:03}}
A popular one in Spain actually comes
out of Barcelona is called Aitana.

{{00:04:09}}
Again, she's got a good few million
followers across different social

{{00:04:12}}
media platforms and she's worked
with many different brands as well.

{{00:04:16}}
What you've got also is some ones
that not necessarily look like a

{{00:04:23}}
particular person, but they're kind of
going more into the cartoonish world.

{{00:04:28}}
So the couple of influencers just
mentioned there, they're kind of

{{00:04:31}}
designed to look like a person,
but as a digital character.

{{00:04:37}}
The flip side is you've got influencers
or virtual influencers that are

{{00:04:42}}
designed more to look like a cartoon.

{{00:04:44}}
So there's one called Janky, who's kind
of designed to be a mischievous cat.

{{00:04:48}}
That's the personality.

{{00:04:49}}
And with that, Janky is working
with brands like Fortnite.

{{00:04:54}}
Or Sevenelevan so what they're doing
there is not trying to be a person.

{{00:05:00}}
It's saying that there's a cat.

{{00:05:01}}
This is a cartoon character,
and we're building content

{{00:05:04}}
and a personality around that.

{{00:05:06}}
Now that is something
that we've seen before.

{{00:05:10}}
The gorillas, the group, the gorillas,
you know that again, very popular group.

{{00:05:14}}
They were animated technically,
it's the same thing.

{{00:05:16}}
You know, it's just that at the time
when the gorilla gorillas first came

{{00:05:20}}
out, the only profiles that were
around was like my space and Bebo.

{{00:05:24}}
Now you can still take that and
put them on Instagram, put them on

{{00:05:28}}
Tiktok, create moving content and
you've got virtual influences there.

{{00:05:38}}
What you're seeing right now when
it comes to virtual influences, a

{{00:05:41}}
lot of it is aimed at the younger
generation, but that will change

{{00:05:46}}
because essentially what makes someone
influential is getting people to act.

{{00:05:53}}
Now, a Influencer like a Aitana
might be aimed at the 16 to 24 year

{{00:05:59}}
olds, but there will be virtual
influencers that will want an older

{{00:06:03}}
generation to act or buy something
or do whatever they're kind of after.

{{00:06:07}}
So you will see some in
that particular mold.

{{00:06:11}}
Now, the question is why, if I
am this particular age, why would

{{00:06:16}}
I do something like why would
I believe a virtual influencer?

{{00:06:21}}
We've been doing it for years.

{{00:06:22}}
You know, look at cartoons.

{{00:06:24}}
A lot of cartoons, a lot of cartoons,
like for example, Family Guy, South Park,

{{00:06:28}}
that's aimed at an older generation.

{{00:06:29}}
It's not really aimed at kids.

{{00:06:31}}
But if somebody in South Park
said, do this or buy this or

{{00:06:35}}
etcetera, people would do it.

{{00:06:38}}
Again, you're going to have some that's
very sports generated, some that's very

{{00:06:40}}
music generated, some that's very finance
generated, but ultimately it's going to

{{00:06:45}}
be something that has something to say
and ultimately will want someone to act.

{{00:06:55}}
When you really think about
authenticity, it's When you look

{{00:07:00}}
at it fundamentally, it's creating
from a social media point of view.

{{00:07:04}}
It's creating content that
resonates with the end user.

{{00:07:08}}
Be it a dog, be it a virtual influencer,
be a traditional influencer, be a brand.

{{00:07:14}}
It's ultimately goes down to the story
that you're telling and do people

{{00:07:18}}
believe that that's what you're about.

{{00:07:21}}
What you're gonna see
is virtual influences.

{{00:07:25}}
For example, you see this right now.

{{00:07:26}}
There's an actual live one.

{{00:07:28}}
There's a singer called Twiggy.

{{00:07:30}}
Now she's got a virtual influencer,
or they might call it a virtual

{{00:07:33}}
avatar, or some people might say a
deep fake where of herself and that

{{00:07:40}}
person will answer questions because
she can't be there all of the time.

{{00:07:44}}
You're going to see that,
and that might be a form of

{{00:07:46}}
virtual influencers, influencer.

{{00:07:48}}
Now, that doesn't necessarily mean,
just because, for example, Samuel L.

{{00:07:53}}
Jackson or, or Kevin Hart or whoever
it may be, is that actual human

{{00:07:59}}
person is answering questions.

{{00:08:01}}
But what you're going to get is
somebody that's very, very much based

{{00:08:05}}
on them, because it's going to be
trained on their data personality,

{{00:08:09}}
and it's going to look like them.

{{00:08:10}}
It's essentially their virtual.

{{00:08:13}}
You're seeing a lot of celebrities.

{{00:08:17}}
I wouldn't necessarily say selling
their digital rights, but you're

{{00:08:20}}
going to see a lot over the next
year of them trying to negotiate what

{{00:08:24}}
people do in their digital profiles.

{{00:08:33}}
Yes, but not necessarily in
the format as we see it today.

{{00:08:38}}
I think the days of me going
to mid journey creating an

{{00:08:42}}
image and it's just static.

{{00:08:43}}
I think that has a short shelf life.

{{00:08:47}}
I think once it gets the moving
videos, once people can do AI avatars

{{00:08:51}}
of themselves, once brands could do
mascots and ultimately tell a really

{{00:08:56}}
good story, create content that
entertains or educates people, gets

{{00:08:59}}
people to know, like and trust them.

{{00:09:02}}
I think that's the way it's going
to go, and I can see that lasting.

Virtual Influencer is a new
phenomenon that's going to happen

And essentially it's an
influencer in a digital format.

So imagine a digital character that's
created via AI or some form of technology.

And it does the same thing that a
lot of human influencers do in the

sense that it will have a social media
profile, it can engage, it will get

But when I say it can create content,
the person behind it can create content

So the main appeal for brands when
it comes to working with virtual

So because it's so new, if you're
a brand, let's say, and you worked

with an influencer, that's not
really a story, because that's

But if you're a brand and you work
with a virtual influencer, and

you've got decent results, that's
an additional story to the results.

Second thing is that you
have slightly more control.

So, if you're a brand and you're working
with an influencer, you're going to

have, you're going to be very worried
about what the end result will look

like when it posts because brands lose
some form of control when it comes to

influencers, especially if you want to get
them to be themselves and be authentic.

When you're working with virtual
influencers, you're not obviously

You're working with the creative
who's created the digital character.

You'll probably have more
say on the final product.

The third thing I would say that why
brands are liking it is you don't

necessarily have to deal with some
of the challenges you have working

So for example, an influencer
might post something and a brand,

they might've said we've agreed
this and something else goes out.

So there's, I would say these are the
main things from a brand's point of

I think the uniqueness
against seeing the uniqueness.

Also, one of the biggest challenges
that a lot of traditional influences

10 years ago, it was slightly different,
but now the public are looking at a

The only reason you're saying that about
this brand is because you're getting paid.

So that there is something that a
lot of influencers or traditional

influencers are kind of losing some
of that influence where virtual

Now, what virtual influencers
and traditional influencers need

to be aware of and what usually
hurts both of them is ego.

Traditional influencers a lot of the
reason why brands don't necessarily

like working with them is because
of ego, whether it be from them or

That's another area that I see why
brands prefer working or will start

However, the more popular virtual
influencers become and the more popular

You'll probably start seeing
the ego kicking with the content

Right now, there are a couple
of influencers that are

There's one called Little
Michaela or Lil Michaela.

Good few million followers
across Instagram and TikTok.

Now she's worked with brands like
Calvin Klein and  Prada brands

like that getting their message out
there to her particular followers.

A popular one in Spain actually comes
out of Barcelona is called Aitana.

Again, she's got a good few million
followers across different social

media platforms and she's worked
with many different brands as well.

What you've got also is some ones
that not necessarily look like a

particular person, but they're kind of
going more into the cartoonish world.

So the couple of influencers just
mentioned there, they're kind of

designed to look like a person,
but as a digital character.

The flip side is you've got influencers
or virtual influencers that are

So there's one called Janky, who's kind
of designed to be a mischievous cat.

And with that, Janky is working
with brands like Fortnite.

Or Sevenelevan so what they're doing
there is not trying to be a person.

This is a cartoon character,
and we're building content

Now that is something
that we've seen before.

The gorillas, the group, the gorillas,
you know that again, very popular group.

They were animated technically,
it's the same thing.

You know, it's just that at the time
when the gorilla gorillas first came

out, the only profiles that were
around was like my space and Bebo.

Now you can still take that and
put them on Instagram, put them on

Tiktok, create moving content and
you've got virtual influences there.

What you're seeing right now when
it comes to virtual influences, a

lot of it is aimed at the younger
generation, but that will change

because essentially what makes someone
influential is getting people to act.

Now, a Influencer like a Aitana
might be aimed at the 16 to 24 year

olds, but there will be virtual
influencers that will want an older

generation to act or buy something
or do whatever they're kind of after.

So you will see some in
that particular mold.

Now, the question is why, if I
am this particular age, why would

I do something like why would
I believe a virtual influencer?

A lot of cartoons, a lot of cartoons,
like for example, Family Guy, South Park,

We're all used to influencers across social media telling us what clothes to where, what places to visit and what food to eat. But what about virtual influencers? These AI-driven characters blend advanced technology with creative storytelling, engaging audiences in new and dynamic ways.
Andrew Davis, Digital Marketing Consultant, explores how this innovation is reshaping content, engagement and authenticity in the digital space.