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The increasing competition in the business world has also been reflected in marketing activities. Virtual influencers, which have recently gained popularity as a type of influencer marketing, have become the focus of attention of brands. While the market for realistic 3D digital characters is known to grow by a CAGR of 26% to reach $4.6 billion by 2025, a recent study showed that 3 out of 5 people follow at least one virtual influencer.

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TURKEY - Increasing competition in the business world has also reflected on the marketing strategies of the brands. The fact that brands, which have long considered influencer marketing a part of their strategy, turned to new trends, brought the popularity of virtual influencers with it. These virtual characters, which are produced on the computer through artificial intelligence and graphics software and act like real people on social media, have already created an economy. While the virtual influencer market is estimated to grow by 26% to reach a size of $ 4.6 billion by 2025, a study conducted by the Influencer Marketing Factory found that 3 out of 5 participants follow at least one virtual influencer. ALARA X, the virtual influencer developed by the technology company IAMX.Live, which has started to provide brand-specific new generation production services, has also recently become the focus of attention of global users.

Sharing his evaluations on the subject, Ercan Barış, one of the founding partners of IAMX.Live, said, “These digital stars, the last gift of the creative industry and technology to the marketing world, hold strong opportunities for brands in the days when we step into the metaverse era. World-famous fashion brands started to give their messages on social media platforms with their own virtual characters. ALARA X, which we brought to life as IAMX.Live, draws attention in the international arena with its close to 300 thousand followers.

35% of consumers purchased a product promoted by virtual influencers

According to the results of the research, content took the first place among the reasons for users to follow virtual influencers. It has been seen that users, who count titles such as storytelling, music and inspiration among the reasons for following virtual influencers, use channels such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to follow virtual celebrities of the digital world. Emphasizing that 35% of consumers purchased a product or service promoted by virtual influencers in 2022, Ercan Barış said, “Especially Gen Z shows great interest in virtual influencers. Virtual characters, produced entirely in digital environment, give brands the chance to complete their influencer marketing strategies in an innovative way and step into the metaverse. ALARA X, which we developed as a Dubai-based production company operating in the global market, is positioned as one of the most successful examples of the new approach. Global motion capture and animation studios for Hollywood productions have been working on ALARA's animation videos for a long time. Based on data, we believe that experiences created with virtual reality will become a new and powerful communication channel as we enter an era where they will play an important role in marketing and consumer interaction.”

Develops virtual characters for brands

Ercan Barış, one of the founding partners of IAMX.Live, who said that they are working on new virtual influencers apart from ALARA X as a new generation production company, concluded: “We are working on a virtual human colony of characters. We will not limit the realistic virtual influencers we have developed to social media platforms, but as a technology company, we will establish organic ties between these characters and concepts such as NFT, blockchain and crypto. In addition, we started to design special, turnkey virtual influencers for global brands. By 2025, our goal is to create an ecosystem of virtual influencers licensed by IAMX.Live, owned by global brands and investors.”