How are virtual idols born? What kind of development process has it gone through? Is it really the future of the brand?
A brief history of the development of virtual idols
Different from real idols, virtual idols often use technological means to anthropomorphize an image created artificially. For example, virtual images, cartoon characters, virtual singers, etc. can be classified into the category of virtual idols.
The birth of this idol form has its cultural background, that is, the rise of the animation industry and the prevalence of the two-dimensional culture.
The rise of the animation industry
In 1907, "A Humorous Posture of a Funny Face" was filmed by the American Blaketon, announcing the birth of the world's first cartoon.
In 1917, enlightened by the American cartoon "The Deformed Pacifier" and the French cartoon "Tufang New Picture Book", Japan began to produce its own animation, and created a new term "comic movie" as a synonym for cartoons.
Subsequently, with the United States and Japan as its birthplaces, animation was sent to the world as a cultural consumer product. In this process, a large number of well-known masterpieces were born, such as "Batman", "Spiderman", "Slam Dunk", "Dragon Ball", "One Piece" and so on.
The second element of the prevailing culture of
the second element concept originated in Japan, there is an "elevated", "hypothetical" mean, from the vision of the dream of life on the basis of real life, but also the humanity of the other beautiful fantasy world.
With the vigorous development of the animation industry, the two-dimensional culture has gradually produced a radiant influence in the economic, aesthetic, spiritual and other fields of the society. Anime characters such as Ikebana and Luffy are regarded as idols.
Advanced virtual idol
if fans of anime character worship, prompted the budding virtual idol. Then, the advancement of science and technology has allowed the continuous development of virtual idols, breaking through the shackles of the two-dimensional, and deeply affecting the three-dimensional.
In 2007, the Japanese virtual singer Hatsune Miku, produced by CRYPTON FUTURE MEDIA based on Yamaha’s VOCALOID speech synthesis engine, was born; on March 9, 2010, Hatsune Miku held its first 3D holographic projection concert in Japan with more than 5000 boys and girls The scene screamed crazy for her.
Since then, Hatsune Miku has quickly become popular, not only has held dozens of concert tours around the world such as Japan, the United States, Singapore, etc., and has captured hundreds of millions of fans; it has also obtained a custom suit from the designer of Louis Vuitton, and the goddess Scarlett. Johnson co-produces big-name advertising.
In addition to the VOCALOID speech synthesis engine, Unreal engine technology also promotes the development of virtual idols.
On July 5, 2021, based on Unreal engine technology, Hangzhou Ranmai Technology Co., Ltd. produced the first ultra-realistic digital person AYAYI in China. After more than a month of debut, AYAYI's Xiaohongshu account fans rose to 101,000, and the number of likes and collections exceeded 214,000. At the same time, AYAYI has also reached cooperation with Guerlain, Louis Vuitton, etc., and was invited to check in offline activities such as Disney and Kongshanji.
Are virtual idol endorsements more "fragrant"?
The influence of virtual idols has become increasingly majestic, and its commercial value has gradually become prominent.
According to iiMedia Consulting, the core market for virtual idols in China will be 3.46 billion yuan in 2020 and is expected to reach 6.22 billion yuan in 2021; virtual idols will drive the peripheral market to 64.56 billion yuan in 2020, and it is expected to be 107.49 billion yuan in 2021.
Corresponding to the data is the increasing demand of brands for virtual idols. Take Huaxizi commissioned by Next World Culture to create the virtual IP "Huaxizi" as an example. "Hua Xizi" has a perfect and exquisite face shape, a lightly dotted beauty mole between the eyebrows, the lotus leaf decoration on the ears, and a strand of daisy highlighting on the hair, highlighting the color of the Huaxizi brand, but also showing the temperament of an oriental beauty. And Shen Yun gives people a strong memory point.
Through this move, "Hua Xizi" is expected to replace the real-life idols that Hua Xizi once used, such as the queen model Zhang Xujia and the image spokesperson Dujuan. For another example, major brands in various fields such as Hushubao, L'Occitane, Ford, Gillette, Xiaomi, Pizza Hut, etc. have cooperated with Luo Tianyi, a subsidiary of Shanghai He Nian, and some brands directly use the virtual idol as endorsements. .
So, can virtual idols really replace real idols and become the future of the brand? The author believes that for now, virtual idols still need to overcome the following pain points.
Associate with the product
recently, Ling Ling virtual idol Guofeng who GUCCI301 lipstick release a dynamic, "moisture quit, gentle shades of coral, a little strawberry feeling."
However, under this dynamic, the one that has received the most attention and praise is "The endorsement clothes are okay, and the cosmetics and skin care products are fine."
For consumers, virtual idols are exquisite and perfect, pinning their yearning for an ideal image. It is precisely because of this that when virtual idols endorse fashion-looking products such as clothing and footwear, consumers tend to let it go. When a virtual idol endorsement requires a functional product with a real experience, consumers will inevitably question how a virtual idol without a real body sense can distinguish the physiological perception of "nourishing and not dry"?
Although virtual idols are loved by consumers, their weak relevance to products determines that brands are far less convincing than real idols when they choose to describe the product experience.
In response to this, the author believes that virtual idols can strengthen the relationship with the product in terms of professionalism. Taking cosmetics as an example, before virtual idols are endorsements for cosmetics, some professional knowledge of cosmetics, such as production technology, ingredient interpretation, and use skills, can be interspersed in the daily creation of human settings. Through the accumulation of human settings, the virtual idol is not only a perfect image in the conventional sense, but also an expert in the field of cosmetics.
In this way, brands have the endorsement of idol experts and consumers have psychological presuppositions. The advertising slogan "Nourish Nothing" will not appear abrupt, but the authoritative interpretation of the virtual idol after comprehensive analysis.
Associate with events
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, athletes such as weightlifting champion Chen Lijun and "Captain Diving" Quan Hongchan were welcomed by audiences all over the country for their fighting spirit and brilliant performance, and they also won many brands.
Before the Olympics, these players may not be famous, or they may only have influence in their respective fields. However, after the Olympics, they have been recognized and respected by everyone with perseverance and tenacity.
Because of this, the Olympic athletes are regarded as idols by countless people and won the competition for brands. On the other hand, virtual idols, in major events and communication nodes such as the Olympics, are not well-known and even forgotten by everyone.
In response to this, the author believes that virtual idols should join hands with brands to participate in events in the form of activities. Take the Olympic Games as an example. On the one hand, virtual idols can live broadcast the Olympics from another perspective as a "host" and applaud the victory; on the other hand, virtual idols can also cooperate with brands to plan "National Olympics" and "National Fitness". Activity.
In this way, virtual idols can not only enrich their personal settings with the help of major events in the real world, but also gain greater attention and a broader business development path through major events.
Summarize
The rise of the two-dimensional culture and the development of technology have enabled virtual idols to grow stronger and enter reality. Being always young and never "collapsed" has made virtual idols accepted by more and more brands.
At present, virtual idols still have pain points in product relevance and "event" relevance. However, with the maturity of the virtual idol industry chain and the development of technologies such as AI and 3D simulation, the prospect of virtual idols is worth looking forward to.
I believe that virtual idols in the future will bring more choices to brands and more colorful colors to the market!
