Virtual Personas: How Avatars Touch Millions of Hearts
Avatars are conquering social media and creating emotional connections between consumers and brands
Zurich (ptp023/05.02.2021/14:40) The search for meaning and acting sustainably shape the lifestyle and purchasing behavior of Generation Z. The digital entrepreneurs, Annika Kessel and Bruno Stettler, recognized this trend early on. With their transmedia company, Cosmiq Universe, they meet the growing consumer need for access to spiritual and world awareness content in new formats and new media. To do so, they bring virtual characters to life. Avatars inspire people on social media and can also interact with the real world. The values-laden messages of such avatars go straight to the heart of Instagram communities and reach millions of like-minded people. More and more brands are relying on this new form of values and emotion-laden campaigns. Interestingly, avatars enjoy a high level of acceptance not only among young consumers.
Cosmiq Universe is a pioneer when it comes to avatars with a heart. With their company, these Swiss transmedia artists are the first to create modern "virtual beings" that spread messages of love, closeness to nature, and self-awareness on social media. Leya Love (https://www.instagram.com/leyalovenature/ ), the first avatar created by Cosmiq Universe, is already a successful ambassador representing the Awareness Zeitgeist with 260,000 followers on Instagram. She symbolizes consciousness and love, inspiration, courage to follow one's own path, self-awareness and compassion and leads the Love Revolution and the "World Awareness Movement", #WAM. In short, the avatar directs our sense of awareness to the essence of life.
Built on the latest Avatar 3D technologies and a game engine including the first augmented reality applications on Instagram, Leya Love is the epitome of a new technology-based virtual character generation that embodies the social value shift in a creative and imaginative way. Leya Love interacts with the real world as a speaker at global conferences for "Oneness" and nature, advocates to be one with the environment and the universe through her stories and images - thereby reaching up to 130 million Instagram users monthly. She dances, has her own music stream on Spotify, travels the world, performs as a fantasy artist and inspires to find one's self and create the life and world we dream of.
Metatrend Modern Consumer Spirituality
"In the past, only companies like Pixar or Disney could create virtual characters that touched people deeply," relates Annika Kessel, founder of Cosmiq Universe. Today, the young transmedia company Cosmiq Universe is a first mover when it comes to shaping modern spirituality in social media. The reason why? Leya Love connects the narrative of the values-oriented generation with its external needs.
"As digital ambassadors, our avatars bring brands closer to communities with the same values," explains Annika Kessel. "More and more brands are recognizing the growing consumer need for awareness and are focusing on emotional branding. We partner with these brands to launch values-based awareness campaigns." Content subscription, digital products and avatar licensing, as well as digital art are also part of the business model.
Avatars - Virtual Personas with a Future
Virtual influencers were already successful as fashion models, artists, environmental and political activists before Corona. With the lockdown, their advantages over "real" influencers became particularly relevant. "Avatars can dissolve boundaries, connect real worlds with fantasy and dreams. As virtual personas, they are hindered neither by quarantine regulations nor travel bans. They can be in several places at once without impacting the ecological footprint. Their content builds on text and visuals and channels that go viral like a Netflix series. For Generation Z, Instagram and Tiktok are the new television," as Bruno Stettler, co-founder of Cosmiq Universe, explains.
The success of an avatar is measured by its community interaction rate as well as the growth of its followers, its reach, and virality. The engagement rate of virtual influencers is almost three times that of real influencers in flesh and blood (HypeAuditors Report 2020, Key Findings https://hypeauditor.com/blog/the-top-instagram-virtual-influencers-in-2020/ ). Such key figures are of interest to potential brands when evaluating marketing partnerships designed to spread their values. Influencer marketing is the fastest growing form of digital marketing (cf. https://dievolkswirtschaft.ch/de/2020/10/influencer-marketing-ein-wachsender-markt/ ).
Values-laden campaigns centered on "we care" themes were already very popular with brands with purpose before Corona. This trend is further strengthened with the digitization boost currently taking place. "We are being forced to deal with the essence of our life as well as with our private and professional set-ups. This gives rise to a consumer movement that not only wants to consume, but that also wants to achieve something meaningful and fulfilling. Particularly Millennials, as well as Gen Z, are looking for meaning and values when making purchasing decisions," explains Annika Kessel.
Avatars are Mapping the Future of the Low Touch Economy
Avatars inspire digital natives with modern content in modern channels such as Instagram and Tik Tok, Youtube and Spotify. These channels claim the preferred meeting spaces in our Low Touch Economy. "In the future we will continue to spend more time in front of the screen at home, arrange to meet via video conference, and do online shopping. Our life is becoming more digital. In this way, virtual and physical reality are increasingly merging," says Annika Kessel. In these new experiential spaces, avatars embody emotional door openers and are a platform for entertainment.
New Avatar in Landing Approach
The youngest Cosmiq Universe Avatar will soon follow: Aya Stellar (https://www.instagram.com/aya.stellar/ ). This fantasy creature flies to earth in her science fiction spaceship Merkaba and lands on 2/22/22 to bring the secret of life back to earth. "Aya Stellar manifests the spiritual awakening of the planet and humanity, a new world and new lifestyles. Within four weeks of her launch, her followers already numbered 3,400 - and hundreds more from all over the world join every day," adds Annika Kessel, delighted with the youngest virtual family member.
About Cosmiq Universe
As pioneers in 3D production, the transmedia company Cosmiq Universe specializes in creating virtual avatars, ambassadors with a purpose, and community swarm intelligence. Their media platform, with a reach of millions of followers, is the basis of their business model. More and more companies are relying on the power of avatars in brand partnerships and for themed campaigns. Cosmiq Universe avatars are committed to Planet Earth, awareness, and to spreading inspiration, love and compassion with their messages. They inspire people to connect with nature and their true human potential.
Annika Kessel and Bruno Stettler, the two co-founders of Cosmiq Universe, create together with their international teams for visual CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) technology, motion capture and 3D gaming, creative and imaginative virtual themed worlds and characters. Their 3D content, tailored to the needs of young consumers, is so popular with the target audience that it goes viral on Instagram and TikTok. This is turn contributes to the daily growth of the worldwide awareness community.
Follow the avatars on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/leyalovenature
https://www.instagram.com/aya.stellar
| Aussender: | Cosmiq Universe |
| Ansprechpartner: | Annika Kessel |
| Tel.: | +41 79 220 08 06 |
| E-Mail: | annika@cosmiquniverse.com |
| Website: | www.instagram.com/leyalovenature/ |
