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Celebrity culture is under fire like never before in China. Online lists that rank celebrities by popularity have been banned. Fanclub culture is being targeted by a government that perceives it as harmful to the mental health of China’s young people. Individuals are being targeted: Zhao Wei, a billionaire actress, is only the latest of a string of names to be scrutinised — her entire internet presence disappeared last week for reasons that remain unclear.
In this environment, there is growing interest in the potential of virtual idols and influencers as vehicles for the marketing of brands. Put simply, virtual celebrities won’t misbehave.
The first generation of virtual idols from the West, including Noonoouri and Lil Miquela, are still going strong, but a new batch of virtual idols are emerging in China. These virtual figures compete as marketing vehicles with real KOLs (key opinion leaders) on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Weibo.
A booming sector?
Virtual idols aren’t as new a concept as we might think. Brand mascots, such as KFC’s Colonel Sanders, Ronald McDonald and the Michelin Man, play a similar kind of role. China has long had a pair of iconic grandparents who show up in medicine commercials. However, new technology has driven a new kind of virtual idol, who takes things to an elevated level and is turning into big business. According to data from iiMedia Research, China’s virtual idol industry was worth RMB 3.46 billion ($487 million) in 2020, an increase of 70 per cent year-on-year, and is forecast to top RMB 6 billion ($875.9 million) in 2021.
And it’s not just the idols — the industries they represent, including AR and VR technologies, are expected to rise in value from RMB 64.5 billion ($9 billion) in 2020 to RMB 107.5 billion ($15 billion) this year. According to ARK’s Big Ideas 2021 report, total revenues from the virtual world will exceed $400 billion worldwide by 2025
Virtual idol Noonoouri is the current darling of the fashion industry, produced by Munich creative agency Opium Effect and designed to look unrealistically doll-like. Another well-established virtual idol is Lil Miquela, who is designed to imitate real life, created as a young woman of mixed Brazilian and Spanish ancestry who lives in Los Angeles. Both Noonoouri and Lil Miquela have worked with multiple luxury fashion brands.
China’s own virtual idols include Luo Tianyi, a Vocaloid singer who hit the national stage with a performance at the 2021 Spring Festival Gala. She has worked with a wide variety of companies including Chang’an Automobile, Pechoin, Three Squirrels, KFC, Whisper, Huawei and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Also of note is Mota Shikong’s Jyanme, with 3 million followers online and video views exceeding 100 million. Jyanme has worked with Mengniu Dairy, PUBG Mobile, Hey Tea and more. A newcomer, introduced in May by Ranmai Technology is “meta-human” Ayayi, who has already worked in the luxury sector with Guerlain, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy.
Virtual idols vs KOLs
Are virtual idols really all that different from real-life KOLs? Both have their own MCNs (multi-channel networks). And there are questions over the authenticity of traffic in both cases – falsification of viewing figures for livestreams, for example, is commonplace.
A former employee of an MCN agency for real idols now working for an agency for virtual idols told Vogue Business that the usual issues with agencies faking numbers are “fully applicable” in the virtual idol field as well, whether with regard to followers, livestreams or other digital metrics.
Some degree of backlash against the unreality of virtual idols may also be on the way. One Chinese virtual idol, named Ling, has 150,000 followers on Weibo and has worked with brands including Keep, Tesla and Tissot. But a post by Ling on Tesla’s Xiaohongshu account received just 23 likes; a post on the Tissot account received just 20.
Ayayi has received similarly negative comments about goods and advertisements and criticism about her unnatural facial expressions and that the technology simply isn’t good enough to pass for real.
The unsatisfactory data and backlash may outline the limits of virtual idols’ ability to actually sell goods.
Perhaps the solution is for the creators of virtual idols to focus on appealing to audiences who appreciate the imaginative, romantic possibilities of virtual worlds rather than merely trying to mimic the real world. Ultimately, many consumers are unlikely to be persuaded by virtual characters, while ACG (anime, comics, games) hobbyists don’t expect their virtual characters to appear more “real”.
Collaborations with virtual characters can work successfully. In 2019, Louis Vuitton partnered directly with the League of Legends franchise, creating designs modelled after in-game characters’ exact colour schemes and developing watches with a technological design adapted to players’ steampunk-style preferences.
Luo Tianyi’s collaboration with Bausch + Lomb was another promising venture — the coloured contact lenses they sold together appealed to fans, who would use the lenses in cosplay outfits. Home appliances brand Midea sold a hotplate co-branded with the Pokémon franchise — the playful advertising highlighted the idea of “staying at home” and “meals for one” in humorous references to stereotypical views about ACG fans’ lifestyles.
The best virtual idol concepts
Virtual idols with apparent real idol skill sets, such as the release of regular music, have particular potential — for example, Hatsune Miku and Luo Tianyi. However, companies creating these idols should proceed with care. The management agency behind real-life idol group SNH48, which has more than 9 million followers on Weibo, launched virtual idol group FAF in recent weeks — only to receive criticism from fans saying that the company started a virtual group because they weren’t managing their real one well enough.
Other winners include virtual characters from pre-existing IP, many of which are sourced from well-known games. For example, virtual groups K/DA and True Damage are composed of characters from League of Legends. True Damage has shown significant commercial potential — members Qiyana (voiced by US singer and actor Becky G) and Senna (voiced by American actor Keke Palmer) have collaborated promisingly with Louis Vuitton. These kind of virtual idols can break the mould: mobile game Honor of Kings released co-branded items with KFC, as well as lipsticks with Mac; while the character Shishio, from mobile game Onmyoji, has worked with Head & Shoulders, Watsons, Oreo, Jinlongyu and even Jingdong Finance.
Noonoouri and Lil Miquela are highly rated examples of the category of virtual KOLs strong on personality but with no other delivery. Their success wouldn’t be easy to replicate in China, with a KOL market already highly saturated. Newer figures on the scene have to face the fact that consumers are more cynical about virtual idols and KOLs, seeing through their roles as tools to make sales. Younger Chinese value sincerity above all and are wary of virtual idols being created for them by older people in the business world.
Luxury brands are advised to weigh up the options for collaboration with care and closely analyse the views of their Chinese customers. What kind of virtual idols would really appeal to them? The potential, marketing experts insist, is real enough, but — as with everything in one of the most competitive markets on earth — it’s no easy win.
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