SCOPE
With her CGI shades, rendered freckles, and digital friends, virtual influencer Lil’ Miquela , or just ‘Miquela’, has been challenging ideas of human authenticity on Instagram since 2016. But she is not the first CGI celebrity – hologram J-pop star Hatsune Miku emerged in 2007 – and she will certainly not be last or most high-profile in the future. Indeed, several non-human influencers are already making moves towards the mainstream through online communities that have their own unique cultures. There are even bands, like virtual K-pop group K/DA and heavy metal outfit Pentakill, that have arisen out of the League of Legends video game.
While Miquela’s flawless appearance is one part of her appeal, her creators at LA-based start-up Brud have formed a full narrative ecosystem to build their influence. They’ve recognised that the entertainment and influencer markets are merging as people indulge in stories that straddle the real and digital worlds. But what does this new era of inauthenticity mean for consumer-brand relationships? And how are companies adapting in the ever-changing influencer marketplace?
INAUTHENTICITY AS A CALL FOR AUTHENTICITY
“The question isn't ‘is this person genuine?’ It’s ‘can I relate?’” says Andrea Graham
Richeson, a consumer anthropologist and youth culture researcher at Youth Tribes. “[As] human beings, we have a tremendous capacity for developing emotional connections to fictional characters. We look at other objects or beings and seek a reflection of ourselves, of who we are and who we want to be.” [1] In this light, there’s an argument that Miquela may be just as influential as a living person or perhaps more so since she transcends the usual contentions with human influencers – 54% of people surveyed in Europe feel that influencer content is misrepresentative of real life. [2] Though they make take on human form, CGI characters have the advantage of easily navigating the chasm between having to sell products and having to be authentic.
“If you strip away all the hype over the technology behind the increasingly realistic or even indistinguishable CGI characters and AI personalities, what's left is the universal human desire to seek familiarity and inspiration within the other – real or unreal.”
Andrea Graham Richeson, Consumer Anthropologist
Miquela’s founders are well aware of her capacity to reveal this awkward relationship between authenticity and revenue. They used this knowledge to create drama (and hype) around the reveal of Miquela’s non-human nature, with the character successfully communicating human vulnerability and humbleness in an Instagram post: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? NO. NO I’M SORRY YOU DON’T GET TO BE HURT RIGHT NOW. My managers at @brud.fyi lied to me and now they’re lying to you. If Brud loved me so much, why didn’t they tell me the truth?!?” By attacking her ‘managers’, Miquela and Brud effectively mocked the countless inauthentic human influencers, with the publicity from this digital soap opera netting the start-up millions in investment. Brud’s use of an AI-style character within the influencer industry is disruptive, ensuring that the human opposition appears gauche. In many ways, such a rivalry is no different from the Mac vs PC commercials of the early 2000s. The difference, however, is that the party involved isn’t making direct statements, preferring to speak in code for those of us who can catch the wink. And consumers are glued, with many Miquela fans posting videos on YouTube to dissect the relationship between Brud and their money trail – ironically or sincerely. “It doesn't surprise me that young people are responding relatively positively to CGI celebrities like Lil Miquela,” says Richeson. “If you strip away all the hype over the technology behind the increasingly realistic or even indistinguishable CGI characters and AI personalities, what's left is the universal human desire to seek familiarity and inspiration within the other – real or unreal.” [1]
BRANDS RE-EMERGE AS THE STORY-TELLERS
Social media platforms are riddled with ‘inauthentic’ content and bots that make it difficult for people to know whether who they are following is real. Because of this, the influencer industry may be in trouble. Some brands are attempting to grapple with issues of fake followers, off-message or rebellious influencers, and horribly crafted content (in some cases stock photography) resulting in a subpar ROI. [4][5] Others, meanwhile, are proactively trying a new strategy with influencers, embracing narrative-driven campaigns (sometimes led by CGI characters) to rebuild consumer relationships.
The stories told by brands through these avatars must deliver on multiple levels as 47% of people are fed up with repetitive influencer content online and 23% feel that the quality of content is taking a dip. [6] Rather than putting up with ‘uninteresting’ content made by individuals who do not have the skills to capture their attention, people are showing more interest in larger narratives played out by brands – 56% of ‘forward-thinking consumers’ claim to gain more inspiration from brands than influencers. [7] A study conducted by Bazaarvoice found that the most popular category of influencer is entertainers – comedians, e-sports personalities, and gamers – for whom production values are important but sometimes difficult to maintain to a high standard. [6] “We actually don’t care much for the influencers as individuals,” says Gil Eyal, the CEO and co-founder of Hypr, a dynamic influencer search directory. “We think influencers are a commodity in that they’re all replaceable... You realise that one influencer has another 1,000 influencers that can achieve the same results.” [8]
Brands are more successful in maintaining a cohesive message to their consumers as there are fewer variables between them and their story. And with larger budgets, brands are able to sustain consumer interest through more intricate and strategic campaigns. These campaigns are backed by talent pools of trained professionals who can pump out content at a pace unmatched by individual influencers – a problem for the latter group since 49% of Britons and 68% of French consumers expect new content to be generated on a daily basis from the influencers they follow. [6] So, how can influencers provide the level of suspended disbelief that people are demanding? Miquela offers an example of how to bridge this divide. “Ultimately, all marketing and brand messaging is about creating a highly controlled narrative that seeks to use emotional engagement to boost the desire for something tangible or intangible,” says Richeson. “CGI influencers are the perfect avatars for these tasks. They have no individual agency, they're always on brand, their messaging can be changed at will, and unlike real celebrities, they never tire, get cranky or age, or forget to use the right hashtags.” [1]
INSIGHTS & OPPORTUNITIES
Despite the growth of influencer marketing – global ad spend on this segment is forecast to reach $5-10 billion by 2020 – the process of finding a human influencer that matches a brand persona is difficult. [9] According to a Rakuten survey of 200 UK marketers who work on influencer campaigns, many said they relied heavily on word-of-mouth to ‘discover’ these personalities. What’s more,
86% weren’t sure on what basis influencers charge their fees and 38% were not able to tell
whether the activities of their influencers drove sales or not. [10] An AI influencer reduces the uncertainty by culling unnecessary moving parts within the marketing process and may allow a brand’s message to reach its destination with little impediment upon the original vision. “There’s
no fear that Miquela is going to get a DUI, no fear that she isn’t going to show up on the day she is needed. There is no issue with her time because she is potentially infinite in number,” says Eyal. [8]
Gen Zers care about authenticity online. In a survey of American females aged 13-24, 67% agreed that being true to their values and beliefs makes a person cool, and CGI creations such as Miquela – free from the pretence of having to be real – can speak more directly to this cohort. In the aforementioned study, one of the participants said: “My numero uno message to brands that try too hard with the things that a 40-year-old thinks we would like is: when designing a product or creating an ad, if you think 'oh, that's perfect for Gen Z', that means it's probably a Millennial idea and a straight path to failure. We are different.” [11] By revealing the laziness and insincerity of content online (mainly crafted by Gen Yers), and the apparent decrease in meaningful engagement with web users, Miquela is consolidating the narrative once again into the hands of larger brands who are able to sustain the realities people now crave.
“Miquela furthers the commodification of the influencer space,”
Gil Eyal, CEO of HYPR
“Miquela furthers the commodification of the influencer space,” says Eyal, “because any talented graphic designer can quickly create a Lil’ Miquela. There isn’t any real technology here, everyone keeps talking about AI in this context. But, in reality, it’s just the people behind it that are looking at trends and posting something.” [8] Again, this speaks to the reality that Miquela is merely an optimisation of narratives in line with the needs of an emerging generation. It’s important to notethat only 19% of Gen Zers admire something or someone because they have a mass following, underscoring the importance of authenticity. [11] Miquela could provide a blueprint for brands looking to harness the power of avatars, demonstrating how a strong and complex story in the right hands can engage audiences even if the storyteller isn’t a real person.
Sources
1. Interview with Andrea Graham Richeson conducted by author
2. 'How brands can improve influencer marketing to remain in touch with consumers', Forbes (October 2018)
3. 'LilMiquela’s hack taps into multichannel storytelling' , Canvas8 (April 2018)
4. 'Are Instagram stars facing a brand backlash?', BBC News (June 2018)
5. 'Instagram influencer apologizes for using stock and Pinterest images', Digital Photography Review (June 2018) 6. 'Content called out; 47% of consumers fatigued by repetitive influencers', Bazaarvoice (August 2018)
7. 'Three trends shaping the future of influencer marketing', Chief Marketer (January 2018)
8. Interview with Gil Eyal conducted by author
9. 'The influencer marketing industry global ad spend: A $5-$10 billion market by 2020', Mediakix (March 2018) 10. 'Celebrity influencers command huge sums from brands', Warc (August 2017)
11. 'There’s a generation below millennials and here’s what they want from brands' , CNBC (April 2018)
