Categories
Virtual Reality

Will virtual KOLs one day replace real ones?

While the number of actual influencers is increasing and driving significant conversions, the number of virtual influencers is also growing. As the metaverse becomes more widely used, more and more firms are include it in their influencer marketing plans. Are people ready to vanish from TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms? Views diverge.

It would appear that being influential doesn’t require being made of flesh and blood. A increasing number of accounts are now using virtual influencers, frequently from Asia, as their muse, which benefits marketers and their followers.

On the numbers side, mixed results

According to a study conducted by Hype Auditor, in collaboration with Virtual Humans, on the 129 most followed virtual influencers on Instagram:

– Virtual influencers have engagement rates almost three times higher than real influencers.

– However, 57% of virtual influencers are slowly losing followers.

The cost, performance, and targeting quality of this group of influencers are the major factors driving marketers’ interest in them. The two American creators of Lil Miquela, a virtual influencer founded in 2016, Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou, do not hesitate to charge almost $7,000 to advertise goods, services, or even events to its 3 million followers. A significantly lesser fee than true influencers, who can charge up to $250,000 even for those with only one million followers.

Influencers with multiple advantages

Virtual influencers, created with 3D software, provide marketers more control over their tactics and enable them to change their campaigns in a much more flexible way.

In Asia, the virtual influencer industry is expanding quickly and bringing in substantial sums of money. The amount of revenue produced by virtual influencers is anticipated to more than treble in China by 2023, hitting €2.8 billion, according to projections by iiMedia Research.

Virtual KOLs

On the right Mr OU by L’Oréal

and Livi by LVMH

Brands are aiming to reach Generation Z in particular using virtual influencers. Young people who were born between 1997 and 2010 have a strong thirst for virtual worlds that are based on technology and video games.

Are virtual influencers on the verge of completely replacing human influencers because they are adaptable, stylish, and multipliable?

These imaginary individuals provide identity and credibility issues, according to Nicolas de Dianous, associate director of the company We Enjoy Travel, who was recently interviewed by the media outlet tom.travel. “We require empathy and imperfection even more in light of the health issue.

An ethical risk exists as a result of this societal easing “He clarifies. He views the appearance of these characters, who are unaware of jet lag, migraines, or mood swings, as an invention rather than a step forward. A human will have experiences that a virtual influencer will never have.

So, it is the responsibility of brands to disclose when they are working with virtual influencers and to be open about it.

Find out more about chinese influence. 

Sources :

https://www.blogdumoderateur.com/influenceurs-virtuels-instagram-2022/

https://theconversation.com/les-influenceurs-virtuels-sont-ils-plus-puissants-que-les-influenceurs-humains-178056

https://mbamci.com/influenceurs-virtuels-quelles-opportunites/

 

Categories
Luxury

Luxury and digital a mismatched couple ?

Luxury and digital a mismatched couple ?

The distribution of luxury brands is evolving day by day. The development of e-commerce and digital by the biggest brands in the sector has modified the buying process of customers. Indeed, they are no longer required to go to a boutique to buy a Dior bag or a Tiffany necklace costing more than $100,000. This shows the evolution of luxury that we all know, before the Covid crisis. A luxury that no longer exists totally. 

LUXURY AND DIGITAL

1 word, luxury. What does it mean to you? Luxury is something expensive that is pleasant to have but is not necessary. The interesting thing about luxury is that it remembers something different in each person. Luxury is defined by Geert and Veg-Sala as “a way of being, a way of living, but also a way of buying, consuming and using”.

            2nd word is digital. Yes, in 2023, everyone knows what digital is. We use it in our daily life, with smartphones and social media.

When we put them together, the luxury and digital, it is not working, like a mismatched couple. Luxury is rarity and refinement, digital is profusion, free and standardization. It is avant-gardist by essence. Indeed, they were never supposed to meet. But it happened. Beyond the intrinsic utility that emerges from a luxury good or service, today’s consumers are indeed looking for experiences that are meaningful to them and that could give them pleasure. This is where digital comes in.

DIGITALIZATION OF LUXURY

Due to the Covid crisis in 2019, luxury industries have accelerated their digitalization. Even during a hard time between 2019 and 2020 luxury industries gain on their digital maturity. Online shopping represents more than 37% of luxury sales in 2021 because they were able to change and review their business model. Antonio Carriero from Breiling said: “Before Covid, e-Commerce was considered the icing on the cake, since then it has become the cake.” This clearly shows the impact of digital on luxury houses, it changed their mindset about digital.

Indeed, luxury houses previously felt a sense of incompatibility between their values and those related to the digital age. They have to find a good balance between the scarcity of their houses and the universality of digital.

RSISING OF WEB 3

With Web 3.0, data is no longer centralized on servers belonging to companies. It is decentralized and held by a community to which the user belongs. It is the principle of the blockchain that makes this possible. Indeed, blockchain reinforces the notion of digital trust. Pioneers in this field, crypto-currencies rely on this new technology, allowing financial transactions to be carried out outside the conventional banking circuit. But the potential applications of blockchain go far beyond virtual currencies.

This “new” internet has as master words, ownership, community, emotion, and immersion. It is also the new playground for luxury companies.

Web3 questions the nature of luxury, are we seeing the birth of a new luxury? The expressions of the luxury/digital couple have evolved according to the trends. First, luxury and digital are two different elements that everything opposes. The digital luxury, symbiosis and interdependence are established to arrive at Luxury 3.0 no difference between the two. Luxury 3.0 enriches traditional luxury with its new technologies.

Shared values of luxury and the Web3 Eric Briones, Luxury and Digital p.24)

Web 3 is a new digital war; the war for attention beyond the product. Identity of luxury origin: go to meet customers in stores that are all different “one boutique, one story” present its products, touch, feel and make the customer live an extraordinary experience that they will remember for life. To keep a product for generations and generations.

 

If you wish to learn more about Luxury and Digital, click here. 

Categories
Luxury

Luxury & Digital, the new luxury territories

The new book of Eric Briones : Luxe & Digital

Les nouveaux territoires du luxe

 

Who is Éric Briones ?  

Éric Briones is a recognized specialist in the luxury industry, and more specifically in the consequences of digitalization on this sector. In 2017, he founded “Darkplanning“, a strategic planning firm dedicated to the luxury, fashion, and beauty sectors.

He has worked for nearly 20 years in the luxury, fashion, and beauty industry alongside the biggest brands (Hermès, Le Printemps, L’Oréal Luxe, Vuitton, LVMH, Chanel, Boucheron, etc.).

Also known as an author, he co-wrote the books Luxe & Resilience (January 2021), Le Choc Z (January 2020), Luxe et Digital (March 2016), GenY et le Luxe (January 2014), published by Dunod.

As a speaker and innovation expert in the luxury and premium sectors, his presentations are appreciated for their spectacular and avant-garde dimensions.

He notably addresses the following topics:

– the digitalization of the luxury, fashion and beauty industries and its challenges

– learning to decode Generations Y and Z

– how to reach the male target in the luxury, fashion, and beauty sectors

Luxury and Digital, the new territories of luxury 

Towards luxury 3.0 and beyond! The book puts us back in the context of the covid crisis.

March 2020, not a shadow of a customer in store. With their foot on the gas pedal, luxury brands are rushing to pursue their online exiled customers and take the digital turn. They are heading for a new territory full of hope, the web3.

This book deals with the main topics related to the web. On the program NFT, metaverses and blockchain. Eric Briones makes us understand that nowadays, imagination is the only limit.

Digital transformation is everywhere, affecting all sectors, including luxury. This book looks at digital luxury and proposes a vision so that everyone can find the right path to thrive in this great chaos called digitalization.

The first part proposes a shock therapy to eliminate digital complexes, and then looks forward to a near future, that of Postdigital luxury. The second part of the book is a collaborative effort involving 14 experts (influence, big data, China, social commerce, retail, e-advertising, product content, experience, transformation, and customer journey), each of whom takes stock of the current state of their profession and proposes concrete solutions for transformation.

The sector’s spectacular rebound. New practices and concepts are emerging every day and touch points are multiplying, creating a wealth of opportunities for the meta luxury ambition to become a reality. The demands of personalized, intuitive customer experience but also engaged, sustainable and transparent. Are the new performance indicators of this luxury 3.0

My opinion

I found this book very inspiring and innovative. We understand how luxury, which was running late in terms of digital has become in a short time in advance. Which constantly proposes new ways to capture its audience.

What I also appreciate is the variety of contributors, no less than 34 big names in digital and luxury are present. They give us their experience with web3.0 and their aspirations for the future.

To conclude, I would like to share a quote from Antonio CARRIERO Breiling, “Before Covid, e-Commerce was considered the icing on the cake, since it has become the cake”. We understand that luxury is constantly evolving. The limit is the imagination.

If you missed the first volume of Luxury & Digital published 2021 click on this link to discovre more. 

You can find lives with Eric Briones and luxury experts on the Journal du Luxe’s LinkedIn!

The last one on December 14, special report and outlook for 2023.

Sources

https://journalduluxe.fr/fr/business/journal-du-luxe-linkedin-bilan-futur-perspectives-2023

https://londonspeakerbureau.fr/conferenciers/eric-briones/

https://www.dunod.com/livres-eric-briones-dit-darkplanneur

https://www.babelio.com/auteur/ric-Briones/69735

 

Categories
Gaming Luxury

Fortnite x Ralph Lauren : The new phygital partnership

FORTNITE X RALPH LAUREN

– This is the first collection you can wear both on Fortnite in the metaverse, but also in real life!

Discover Fortnite X Ralph Lauren

After Balenciaga, Aramani or Burburry, it’s the turn of the New York luxury house to make its grand entrance into the metaverse. The brand is boosting its presence in web3 by the collection Fortnite x Ralph Lauren and is getting closer to the ultra-popular video game Fortnite. 

The emblematic and preppy brand has launched a collection of clothing and accessories, available both on the video game Fortnite with new skins and in a physical version on the Ralph Lauren’s website from November 5.

Called “Polo Stadium“, the collection will consist of two skins inspired by the “Stadium” and “Polo Sport” range from the 90s.

The partnership builds on the company’s “belief in the power of the metaverse,” a new way for the brand to engage with a more connected audience.

Reinvented for the metaverse, this sports line is the result of working around Ralph Lauren polo shirts based on the uniforms worn by American athletes in the 1920s and 1930s. “Ralph Lauren’s iconic ‘Polo’ design history, combined […] with Fortnite’s unmistakable style, has resulted in an inspired campaign and timeless looks that Fortnite players around the world are sure to love,” said Adam Sussman, president of Epic Games, the company behind the free-to-play role-playing game.

Visuals of the collection :

Caps, polo shirts, hoodies … The physical capsule Ralph Lauren x Fortnite, is the result of the new colorful version of its logo, the “Polo Pony“, especially designed for the occasion by Ralph Lauren.

To celebrate the launch, Ralph Lauren is organizing a series of events, including a live stream on Twitch on November 3, from New York. And on November 4, a global tournament on Fortnite, the “Polo Stadium” cup, where participants will have the opportunity to win rewards, including Ralph Lauren x Fortnite outfits and accessories.

The Ralph Lauren x Fortnite physical apparel capsule is available since November 2, exclusively on RalphLauren.com.

The digital collection, which initially includes two outfits, will be available for purchase in the Fortnite Item Store starting November 5.

Sources :

https://journalduluxe.fr/fr/mode/ralph-lauren-epic-games-collection-mode-numerique-fortnite

https://www.gqmagazine.fr/style/article/vous-pourrez-porter-cette-collection-ralph-lauren-sur-fortnite-et-dans-la-vraie-vie

https://fashionunited.fr/actualite/business/fortnite-et-ralph-lauren-s-associent-pour-un-partenariat-en-jeu-et-en-physique/2022110230738

 

Find out about luxury and NFT with this article