Digital transformation of marketing

Virtual influencers as new brand storytelling characters

Abstract

Dynamic market and technological transformations affect many areas of human life. As a result, the number of brands competing to gain customer attention is growing. The consumer of the 21st century wants the purchasing process to be interactive generating emotions and experiences, and the product itself to be personalized. The desire to provide a valid response to those needs leads to the sales strategies based on the creation of experiences, including storytelling, which growing in popularity and has been heavily implemented in online sales. Rapidly developing AI systems are changing the approach of the salesman, resulting in a combination of storytelling and virtual influencer marketing as vital part of the modern marketing strategies. Thus, more and more companies choose to invite to their campaigns virtual characters known as virtual influencers, whose lives resemble the real life as much as possible. Using authenticity, social engagement and mutual trust as core qualities, virtual influencers have the unique potential to tell engaging, consistent stories, which align perfectly with the storytelling technique. Thus, in the wake of technological developments, the methods in which brands can build customer relationships and craft narratives to promote their products are being significantly expanded.