When Fake Becomes Real: The Innovative Case of Artificial Influencers

Influencer marketing in the traditional sense is changing and taking on a new and creative form. Previously, classic influencers were real, human people, now there is a rise in fake, artificial influencers who are opening up innovative means for brand–influencer collaborations over a variety of platforms. Computer-generated imagery influencers (CGIIs) are blurring the lines between the concept of real and fake people and with that numerous brands have begun creatively integrating them into both their marketing strategies and campaigns. This chapter contributes to the largely unexplored phenomena of CGIIs with a focus on the social media platform Instagram. Following a qualitative approach, the research provides a first detailed classification of CGIIs according to the categories demographics, positioning, behaviour and brand collaborations, and followers. As a frame of analysis, the current top 20 CGIIs (those with the most followers on Instagram) were investigated according to the top rankings outlined by HypeAuditor in 2019. The research resulted in the findings that CGIIs from their profile tend to be mostly female, of Asian origin, aged between 18 and 25 years old, and their content is most predominantly related to lifestyle and fashion. Also discussed in this chapter are six case studies evaluating creative brand collaborations with CGIIs in order to gain insights, as well as a first guideline to best practices. These collaborations can be seen across a spectrum of multiple different industries, such as luxury, home and interior, service, people, technology, and fashion.