Virtual Avatars, Virtual Influencers & Authenticity

Abstract: Virtual avatars and the subgenre virtual influencers are growing in the contemporary digital society. With this growing phenomenon of virtual avatars and virtual influencers, the questions arise what is real, what feels real, and what do we as consumers perceive as authentic? This is a qualitative study that examines virtual avatars and virtual influencers’ authenticity from a consumer’s perspective, through exploratory focus groups and in-depth individual interviews. What was found in the analysis was that realism can both enhance and decrease the authenticity of an avatar, previous gaming/virtual experience affects the way consumers perceive virtual avatar authenticity, and virtual avatars have difficulties reaching the same level of perceived authenticity as humans by consumers. We further suggest a model for assessing virtual influencers’ authenticity from a consumer’s perspective. The model contains four interrelated factors Purpose, Personality, Continuity, and Transparency. This study contributes to existing authenticity research by adding virtual influencers to understand authenticity. Future research could use our model to explore other types of virtual influencers or virtual influencers in other contexts. Lastly, our contributions to the knowledge of virtual avatars and virtual influencers including the model, could be of practical help when using virtual avatars in marketing and be of guidance when creating virtual influencers.