Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers
Guided by the Uses and Gratification approach along with the Uncanny Valley Theory, this study sought to understand the phenomenon of virtual influencers. Based on an in-depth interview with 26 participants who are following virtual influencers, this study identified user motivations – including inf...
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Nanyang Technological University
2021
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sg-ntu-dr.10356-1471462023-03-05T16:02:17Z Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers Kiew, Josie Siu Ting Lee, Michelle Tze Yen Ong, Celine Jia En Phua, Zhaoxi Chen Lou Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information chenlou@ntu.edu.sg Social sciences::Communication Guided by the Uses and Gratification approach along with the Uncanny Valley Theory, this study sought to understand the phenomenon of virtual influencers. Based on an in-depth interview with 26 participants who are following virtual influencers, this study identified user motivations – including information motivation, entertainment motivation, surveillance, aesthetics, and social identification – for following. We also found that followers perceive virtual influencers as uncanny and eerie. However, followers expressed acceptance towards virtual influencers where authenticity, human-likeness, and self-justification were found to mitigate the effects of the uncanny valley. Finally, in terms of its role in advertising effectiveness, we found that virtual influencers are effective for building brand image and brand awareness but lack persuasive ability to incite purchase intentions. The findings advanced extant literature on user motivations for following virtual influencers in the new edge of social media influencers, provided insights on mitigating factors of the uncanny valley, as well as delineated the efficacy of virtual influencers in advertising campaigns. Bachelor of Communication Studies 2021-03-24T05:48:13Z 2021-03-24T05:48:13Z 2021 Final Year Project (FYP) Kiew, J. S. T., Lee, M. T. Y., Ong, C. J. E. & Phua, Z. (2021). Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers. Final Year Project (FYP), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147146 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147146 en application/pdf Nanyang Technological University |
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Social sciences::Communication Kiew, Josie Siu Ting Lee, Michelle Tze Yen Ong, Celine Jia En Phua, Zhaoxi Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers |
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Guided by the Uses and Gratification approach along with the Uncanny Valley Theory, this study sought to understand the phenomenon of virtual influencers. Based on an in-depth interview with 26 participants who are following virtual influencers, this study identified user motivations – including information motivation, entertainment motivation, surveillance, aesthetics, and social identification – for following. We also found that followers perceive virtual influencers as uncanny and eerie. However, followers expressed acceptance towards virtual influencers where authenticity, human-likeness, and self-justification were found to mitigate the effects of the uncanny valley. Finally, in terms of its role in advertising effectiveness, we found that virtual influencers are effective for building brand image and brand awareness but lack persuasive ability to incite purchase intentions. The findings advanced extant literature on user motivations for following virtual influencers in the new edge of social media influencers, provided insights on mitigating factors of the uncanny valley, as well as delineated the efficacy of virtual influencers in advertising campaigns. |
author2 |
Chen Lou |
author_facet |
Chen Lou Kiew, Josie Siu Ting Lee, Michelle Tze Yen Ong, Celine Jia En Phua, Zhaoxi |
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Final Year Project |
author |
Kiew, Josie Siu Ting Lee, Michelle Tze Yen Ong, Celine Jia En Phua, Zhaoxi |
author_sort |
Kiew, Josie Siu Ting |
title |
Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers |
title_short |
Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers |
title_full |
Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers |
title_fullStr |
Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers |
title_sort |
investigating the marketing effectiveness of virtual influencers |
publisher |
Nanyang Technological University |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147146 |
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1759852978569740288 |