## HERMES

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Landgrebe, Jeanette*

## The Rise of Virtual Influencer Marketing

## Abstract

Virtual influencer marketing is a global emerging phenomenon in social media research. Research on traditional influencer marketing and practices has been the locus of attention for years, but fairly scarce research deals with the rise and influence of virtual influencers, also known as artificial intelligence influencers (AIIs) or computer-generated influencers (CGIs). In this article, an explorative, qualitative single case analysis of the Japanese CGI influencer Imma is presented to identify how the CGI is visually constructed on Instagram in a marketing campaign. Two supplementary semiotic lenses are applied, i.e. a visual compositional analysis and a semiotic image analysis. The results indicate that the CGI influencer Imma is visually presented by and large with the same characteristics and attributes as found in similar studies of human influencers, Moreover, the findings indicate subtle yet essential differences in the visual framing of the CGI character to enhance a human-like  appearance.  Concludingly,  this  study  has  preliminary  implications  for  research,  practitioners,  prospective marketers, and future innovation leaders in the virtual marketing industry, and it is proposed to consider reconceptualizing our understanding of virtual influencers and acknowledging the rise of Virtual Influencer Marketing as a field in its own right.

## Keywords

AI  influencer;  social  media;  authenticity;  social  presence;  expertise;  semiotic  image  analysis;  compositional  analysis, virtual influencer marketing.

## 1. Introduction

A well-known phenomenon in social media research is the social media influencer (SMI). According to De Veirman et al. (2017, p. 798) SMIs can broadly be defined as:

' People who have built a sizeable social network of people following them'.

(Own emphasis).

This definition emphasises an understanding of SMIs as a) someone who is a human being by nature (People, n.d.), i.e. a person who interacts with other persons in the social world; and b) someone who communicates and builds relations in  the  digital world through their online presence and digital footprints (Thatcher, 2014); and c) someone whose online presence is enforced purposefully and strategically by interacting and engaging in social networks and gaining followers (Enke & Borchers, 2019). Though early social media influencer activities arguably originate from political weblogs and blogging in the  1900s (Borchers, 2019;  Blood,  2002),  celebrity  endorsement  is  seen  as  an  early version of what later on was established as the field of influencer marketing (e.g. Hsu & McDonald, 2002; McCormick, 2016). Today, influencer marketing is a highly professionalised and powerful industry, where influencers, agencies and brands partner up on social media for strategic marketing and branding purposes (Uzunoglu & Kip, 2014; Linqia, 2017; Khamis & Welling, 2017; Kádeková &  Holien č inová,  2018).  Core  qualities  of  successful  social  media  influencers  are  commonly acknowledged as the ability to appear authentic, trustworthy and credible (Gilmore & Pine, 2007; Uzunoglu & Kip, 2014). With the professionalisation of influencer marketing, it remains a constant focus and challenge for both brands and influencers to ensure that followers continually attribute above-mentioned qualities to the influencer. Failure to honour such attributes may cause a negative

*  Jeanette Landgrebe School of Communication and Culture Department of English, Aarhus University landgrebe@cc.au.dk eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) with possible detrimental effects for both influencer and brand (Brown & Hayes, 2008).

In the light of advances in technology and the ubiquitous risk involved with collaborating with independent influencers, a new phenomenon has emerged in influencer marketing, the concept of virtual influencers. Virtual influencers are broadly defined as 'computer-generated influencers (CGI) or artificial intelligence influencers (AII) with a social media presence' (Moustakas et al., 2020, p. 1).  Other ways of referring to these digital fictitious characters are 'CGI influencers' (also referred to as Computer-Generated Imagery), 'AI influencers',' virtual endorsers', and 'digital influencers' (Ahmed, 2020; Kumpumäki, 2019; Vogue France, 2019; Natividad, 2020). In 2020 the number of virtual influencers remained scarce, whereas by 2024 the number has risen significantly (Belanche et  al.,  2024),  and  businesses  are  increasingly  partnering  up  in  marketing  campaigns  with  virtual influencers  in  their  endeavours  to  gain  market  shares  and  followers  (Thomas  &  Fowler,  2020; Turner-Williams, 2020; Sideqick, n.d.; Linqia, 2023; Linqia, 2024).

Labelling  CGIs  as  'influencers'  entails  that  they,  just  like human SMIs,  have  the  power  to influence consumers and therefore highly applicable for marketing and branding purposes. However, with the new social media concept of CGI, the mere notion of influencer stands in opposition to the conventional perception of an SMI as a human being. And it begs the questions: How does a virtual influencer  visually  present  herself  on  social  media?  Does  she  appear  human?  Does  she  appear authentic, trustworthy and credible? And what are the possible wider implications hereof?

While scholars have conducted research on traditional influencer marketing and practices for years (e.g. Kádenová & Holiencinová, 2018, Freberg, Graham, McGaughey & Freberg 2011; Bakker, 2018; Audrezet, de Kerviler, Guidry Moulard, 2020; Enke & Borchers, 2019; Lou & Yuan, 2019; Kerviler & Moulard, 2018; Breves et al., 2019), the rising phenomenon of the virtual influencer is witnessing  increased  attention,  first  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic  as  they  'can  go  anywhere, anytime,  without  having  to  adhere  to  any  social  distancing  and  stay-at-home  policies'  (Ahmed, 2020), and more recently with the leap advances in Artificial Intelligence (Garibay et al., 2023). So far,  studies  in  CGI  have taken  a  quantitative  or  qualitative  approach,  focusing on either surveys, interviews, or textuality (Belanche et al., 2014, p. 3). To add a more nuanced perspective to existing research, this paper is specifically interested in exploring how a CGI influencer's visual appearance on a social media platform is socially constructed through semiotic lenses.

Influencer marketing is widely used in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industry (Gomes et al., 2022; Hazari et al., 2022; Fastercapital, n.d.) to target a niche or mass audience, and a massive growth in  the  use  of  CGIs  in  these  industries  is  expected  in  the  coming  years  (Famesters,  2024; Markwideresearch, 2024).  A majority of CGIs identify as females or with feminine-like traits, whilst also targeting primarily an audience interested in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle (Belanche et al., 2024; Vogue France, 2019). Hence, the Japanese virtual influencer Imma was deemed a qualified character for closer scrutiny.

To address the research question, an explorative, qualitative, single case analysis of Imma's visual presence on Instagram is carried out. Concretely, the CGI character Imma was chosen because she identifies as a female, she represents youth and is involved in activities related to prototypical young (human)  female  behaviour  such  as  showing  interest  in  make-up  and  skincare,  lifestyle,  interior design, healthy food and healthy living. Further, she showcases altruistic traits, appears knowledgeable, whilst also appearing as a role model. In sum, she is arguably the ideal of a young modern (human) female and dominant influencer type in these industries.

The Instagram posts  subjected to  analysis  stem  from  one  distinct  IKEA  marketing  campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when humans around the globe were forced to stay at home. In total, seven posts were published during the five-day campaign. This distinct campaign showcases the human factor in the context of a home and lifestyle campaign and therefore considered pertinent to this paper's research focus.

Two  supplementary  semiotic  analytical  methods  are  drawn  upon:  a)  the  visual  composition principles as presented and applied by Ramos-Serrano and Martinez-Garcia (2016) and b) semiotic image analysis as conceptualized by Roland Barthes (1980) and applied with the analysis framework presented by Vigsø (Vigsø, 2019). Such method triangulation allows for a more nuanced in-depth analysis to identify how the fictitious character of Imma is visually constructed. As the paper explores the emerging phenomenon of virtual influencers, findings are expected to broaden our understanding of virtual influencer marketing as a professional field and possible future implications hereof for the benefit of researchers, market leaders, marketing professionals, and prospective marketers / content creators.

The paper is structured as follows: to begin, selected theoretical aspects of traditional influencer marketing and virtual influencer marketing are presented. Next the case, empirical data and analytical approaches are introduced. This is followed by a two-step analysis section, which combines a visual composition analysis with a semiotic image analysis. The subsequent discussion is framed around the complementary results of the two distinct analyses as well as key elements from the literature. Concludingly, the paper suggests preliminary possible implications for virtual influencer marketing, based on key elements from social media research and this study's findings.

## 2. Influencer marketing

## 2.1 Basics of traditional influencer marketing

Digital  marketing  in  the  21st  century  is  a  well-established  practice  for  any  type  of  organisation wishing to create brand awareness or gain market shares (Nielsen & Mols, 2007; Shuen, 2008). In essence, digital  marketing  forms  part  of  an  organisation's  omnichannel  marketing  strategies  and products  and  services  are  promoted  through  online-based  digital  technologies  (Chaffey  &  EllisChadwick,  2019).  One  element  of  digital  marketing  is  social  media,  of  which  one  influential approach is the partnership of social media influencers and commercial brands - a practice that in recent  years  has  been  labelled  influencer  marketing  (Kádeková  &  Holienčinová,  2018,  Ozuem, 2022). The motive for using influencers in digital marketing is to produce more authentic, organic and effective content compared to traditional brand-generated content (De Veirman et al, 2017; Lou & Yuan, 2019; Warren, 2020). Today,  SMIs are categorised as per follower magnitude; NanoInfluencers have less than 1000 followers, Micro-Influencers have 1000-100.000 followers, MacroInfluencers have between 100.000 and one million followers and lastly, Mega-Influencers, who  are considered the highest-ranking category of SMIs with over 1 million followers (Ismail, 2018; Block & Lovegrove, 2021, p. 5). The effect of this practice is largely dependent on eWOM, where the influencer is seen as an 'opinion leader' who is able to influence attitudes and behaviours of their audience  (Katz  &  Lazarsfeld,1955,  as  cited  in  Ramos-Serrano  &  Martínez-García,  2016).  In summary, influencer  marketing  is  a  well-established  global  practice,  effective  in  gaining  higher profits (De Veirman et al., 2017; Ki, Cuevas, Chong, & Lim, 2020; Moore et al., 2018).

Despite the advantages of influencer marketing, a partnership between SMIs and a brand carries certain  risks  for  both  parties:  'Negative  attention  brought  to  the  influencer  can  bring  negative repercussions to the brand that partners with them' (Woods, 2016, p. 17), which could in return lead to future negative repercussions for both brand and influencer. To minimise such risk, some brands choose to incorporate an approval process for their SMI partner. And such a pre-emptive action may lead to the production of inauthentic content and subsequent loss of followers for the SMI (Woods, 2016, pp. 16-18). According to an industry report from Linqia (2023, p. 15) the #2 biggest challenge for marketers (next to determining the ROI) is to find the right influencer for the job.

Regardless  of  the  risks  that  both  brands  and  social  media  influencers  face  in  a  strategic partnership, the influencer marketing industry proved to be a global $6.4 billion business in 2019, rose  to  $16.4  billion  in  2022,  and  is  expected  to  reach  $24  billion  in  2024  (Valentina,  2024). Supporting this upsurge, industry reports further disclosed that 71% of marketers planned to increase their budget for influencer marketing in 2021, a trend which 75% reported to remain unchanged or even  increasing  in  2023  (Linqia,  2021,  p,  3;  Linqia,  2023,  p.  7).  Moreover,  the  fast-growing landscape of influencer marketing has now spread across social media platforms such as Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok (Linqia, 2021, p. 7; Linqia, 2023, p. 7).    Despite  TikTok's  fast  growing  popularity  among  professional  influencers  in  recent  years, Instagram holds its leading position as the most effective and popular platform (Linqia, 2023, p. 8; Linqia, 2021; Casaló et al., 2020).

## 2.2. Characteristics and attributes of effective SMI communicators

Drawing on Kelman's social influence theory (1953, 1958, 1974), Perloff (2010) identifies three fundamental  characteristics of an effective communicator:  authority, credibility and social attractiveness. Drawing on such seminal works on effective communication and credibility, much influencer marketing research aims to determine factors that are likely to ensure the success of a social media influencer. For instance, Ki et al.'s (2020) study identifies two overarching factors that affect follower attachment to SMIs: 1) SMis persona-driven attributes and 2) their content-driven attributes. The persona-driven attributes are related to the sub-categories inspiration, enjoyability, similarity, physical attractiveness, and authenticity, while the content-driven attributes are related to informativeness, visual aesthetics, and expertise (Ki et al., 2020, p. 3). According to Moore et al. (2018),  influencer  marketing  practices  are  heavily  reliant  on  trust  theory,  making  authenticity, likeability and authority the three most influential attributes in delivering a message from SMIs to their following. In this regard, consumers base their trust on the genuine skills and knowledge that the influencer holds in their respective niche (Moore et al., 2018, p. 2). Lou and Yuan (2019) also emphasize trust and investigate which components affect followers' trust to the SMI in branded posts and  found  that  attributes  of  trustworthiness,  attractiveness  and  perceived  similarity  positively influence  the  effectiveness  of  the  endorsement  (Lou  &  Yang,  2019,  p.  67).  The  importance  of expertise for influencer marketing is highlighted by Wong (n.d.) and AlFarraj et al. (2021) identify a close fit between the credibility dimensions (i.e. attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise) and customers' online engagement associated with purchase intentions. Lastly, Jin et al.  (2019) study attributes of social presence and trustworthiness and found them to be more effective for 'Instagram celebrities' (i.e. influencers) than of traditional celebrities.

Drawing  on  the  above  studies  and  findings,  the  basic  characteristics  that  constitute  effective influencer marketing can be determined broadly through four distinct notions:  1) authenticity, 2) trustworthiness, 3) expertise and 4) social presence as they all contribute to the success of social media influencers for brand endorsements. Each of these notions can be interpreted and understood differently  depending  on  perspectives  and  scholarly  viewpoints.  In  what  follows,  this  paper's understanding of these notions are presented.

De Veirman et al. (2017, p. 801) identify authenticity in influencers as someone being 'accessible, believable, intimate and thus easy to relate to as he/she/they share the personal, usually publicly inaccessible aspects of their life with their followers and interact with them in flesh'. Ohanian, 1990, as cited in Jin et al., 2019), identify trustworthiness as 'how honest, reliable and dependable the source is perceived to be'. Further, to appear trustworthy, an audience must perceive the SMI as easy to identify with due to the similarity between the two parts - that SMIs are 'more like us' (Jin et al., 2019,  p.  570).  Moreover,  as  influencer  marketing  is  powered  by  eWOM  where  SMIs  typically acquire  knowledge  of  the  brand  and  provide  reviews  in  order  to  recommend  a  product  to  their audience, the notion of expertise is crucial (Wong, n.d.).  Lastly, social presence refers to the extent to  which  social  media  users  perceive  the  mediated  characters  as  psychologically  present  and intelligible (Rice, 1993, as cited in Jin et al., 2019), or attributed with a social identity (Park et al., Having  presented  central  elements  of  traditional  influencer  marketing,  core  characteristics  and attributes associated with the human influencer, basic aspects of virtual influencer marketing and the phenomenon of the computer-generated imagery influencer (CGI-influencer) are dealt with  in detail next.

2021, p. 6; Edwards et al., 2019). People feel closer connected with a source, if they feel that an actual human being is present at the other end (Jin et al., 2019, p. 570). Based on the above scholars' definitions and appurtenant keywords, a framework is subsequently devised that links characteristics and attributes, see table 1. Using this framework as a point of departure for identifying attributes of successful human influencers can assist us in identifying to which extent the fictitious CGI character Imma honours the same set of attributes.

Table 1. Characteristics of successful human influencers and associated attributes. (Own overview derived and collected from the writings of De Veirman et al. 2017; Ohanian, 1990; Jin et al., 2019; Wong, n.d.; Rice, 1993; and Jin et al., 2019).

| Characteristics of successful (human) influencers   | Perceived attributes                                                                                            |
|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Authenticity                                        | • Accessible, believable, intimate, easily relatable • Sharing aspects of personal life • Interact in the flesh |
| Trustworthiness                                     | • Honest • Reliable • Dependable • Easy to identify with                                                        |
| Expertise                                           | • eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) • Brand knowledge • Physical competence to test • Recommendations             |
| Social presence                                     | • Psychologically present • Intelligible • Real human being                                                     |

## 2.3 Virtual influencer marketing

With the exponential and rapid growth of influencer marketing in recent years (Linqia, 2017; 2019; 2021, 2023), marketers have looked to develop the practice in innovative ways. Consequently, Block and Lovegrove (2021, p. 6) state that companies look to blend the two disciplines of Influencer Marketing and Artificial Intelligence. The result of this blend is Virtual Influencer Marketing. A trend that is receiving increasing attention in research (Ozuem &Willis, 2022; Lim and Lee, 2023; Belanche et al., 2024) and the global marketing industry (Platter, 2023; Linqia, 2023; Influencer Marketing Factory, n.d.)

With its emergence as a digital marketing discipline in its own right follows an uncertainty as to the actual creation date of virtual influencers within the digital marketing landscape. However, most recognise the AI transmedia company Brud as one of the early initiators as they in 2016 created the - to date - perhaps most famous CGI influencer, Lil Miquela, who is considered one of the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet (Sideqick, n.d.; Staff, 2018). Lil Miquela earned over $11 million in 2023 (Platter, 2023), indicating the fruitful opportunities virtual influencer marketing may bring

(Donelson, 2021). Miquela is not a lone fictitious 'cyber wolf'. According to the newest ranking in 2023 on Influencer Marketing Hub (Influencermarketinghub, n.d.), she comes second on the list of the top 12 virtual influencers in the world.  She has a digital social network of other CGI friends, like Bermuda and Blawko, also fictional characters created by Brud (Raphael, 2018). Another example of a virtual influencer is Shudu Gram, the world's first digital supermodel created in 2017 by fashion photographer Cameron-James Wilson. Shudu's Instagram account was only online for nine months before she appeared in a beauty ad for the make-up brand Fenty, powered by singer Rihanna (Vogue France,  2019).  However,  mimicking  human-looking  features  do  not  necessarily  determine  the success of the CGIs; as exemplified by the bunny Guggimon, created by Superplastic - the world's leading creator of animated synthetic celebrities (influencermarketinghub, n.d.), or the German CGI model  Noonoouri  whose  appearance  looks  more  like  a  doll.  Her  unique  appearance  has  landed collaborations with Kim Kardashian's KKW Beauty line as well as luxury brands such as Valentino, Versace and Dior (Vogue France, 2019).

All virtual influencers have online relationships with real humans, yet the distinction as to whether a CGI influencer is either fully or partly computer-generated (CG) is blurred as 'the decision to keep it ambiguous lies with the creator' (Dodgson, 2019). For instance, as Lil Miquela is governed by her creator Brud, all her online actions and images are created by a team of 'professionals-content marketers,  data  analysts,  music  managers,  animators,  publicists,  and  more'  (Drenten  &  Brooks, 2020, p. 1320). The international success of Miquela and other more animated or cartoon-like CGI influencers invariably challenges the meaning and understanding of authenticity and social presence in influencer marketing practices (Drenten & Brooks, 2020).

With the recent rise and spread of virtual influencer marketing, CGI influencers are defined and referred to in diverse ways. As mentioned, Moustakas et al. (2020, p. 1) define them as 'computergenerated influencers (CGI) or artificial intelligence influencers (AII) with a social media presence', while Drenten and Brooks (2020, p. 1319) hint to them as being 'crafted through computer-generated imagery  (CGI)-a  realistically  animated  simulacre  of  the  'authentic  microcelebrity  archetype'. Similar views are found in Park et al.'s (2021) explorative study of users' perceptions and interactions with virtual influencer content where they define virtual influencers as 'the modern-day version of fictional brand characters or mannequins in shop windows that are suddenly more lifelike and real' (Powers, as cited in Park et al. 2021, p.1). Lastly, in a comparative study with celebrities, Thomas and Fowler (2020, p. 12) define a virtual influencer as a 'digitally created artificial human who is associated with Internet fame and uses software and algorithms to perform tasks like humans'. One recent example of brands partnering up with a CGI influencer was the World Health Organisation collaboration with the 20-year-old 'male' CGI influencer Knox Frost to increase awareness during COVID-19 (Forrester, 2020). With the encouraging message to #stayhome, the potential to engage with CGI influencers increased tremendously (Turner-Williams, 2020). And in a post-corona era and with the recent upsurge of artificial intelligence, the number of CGIs in 2024 are estimated to be 150+ (Influencer MarketingHub, 2024).

## 3 Case, data & methods

## 3.1 Presenting Imma and the IKEA campaign

The virtual influencer or computer-generated imagery influencer Imma is also known as imma.gram from  Japan.  She  is  a  fictional  character  and  fashion  icon  with  over  391  thousand  followers  on Instagram  (Imma,  2024),  indicating  that  influencers  do  not  have  to  be  actual  human  beings  to 'influence'.  Imma  is  named  after  ima/ 今 ,  which  translates  to  now  in  Japanese,  and  she  is representative of the modern technology boom. Despite her realistic appearance, only Imma's head is CG as all images are rendered by transposing her 3D animated head onto a live-action human body and a real background (Taggart, 2019).

imma.gram Follow

533 posts

342k followers

imma

I'm a virtual girl. I'm interested in Japanese culture, film and art

Figure 1. Imma's Instagram profile showcasing her 3D animated head and flawless pink hair. Imma identifies as a virtual girl, interested in Japanese culture, film and art.

<!-- image -->

Created in 2018 by the Tokyo-based CGI company ModelingCafe, she represents luxury brands like Burberry and Dior. Her Instagram account showcases photoshoots and magazine covers (Begum, 2020;  Imma,  2020,  Imma  2023).  Further,  her  Instagram  bio  states  that  she  is  'a  virtual  girl', acknowledging that she is indeed a virtual character, yet simultaneously also a 'girl'. Despite her virtual presence and huge number of followers with whom she interacts, some occasionally pose the question 'Are you real?', illustrating how the distinction between what is perceived to be real or fictional is becoming increasingly narrow (Begum, 2020; Block and Lovegrove, 2021). In August 2020, Imma appeared in a marketing campaign called 'Happy Home with Imma' as a collaboration between  IKEA  Japan  and  Imma  promoting  IKEA's  new  Harajuku  district  shop  in  Japan.  Imma 'lived' inside a small IKEA-furnished apartment during the five-day campaign and posted seven Instagram posts for the campaign (Designboom, 2020; PetaPixel, 2020). These seven Instagram posts constitute the empirical data for the subsequent analysis.

## 3.2 Data collection and analysis methods

The seven Instagram posts were published during the campaign between 25 August 2020 and 30 August 2020 and collected from Imma's Instagram page @imma.gram. A full visual overview of the seven posts is presented below.

...

271 following ê with inma IKEAR al IKEA

L.com EA

KEA

IKEA BIE

www./kEA.com IKEA

imma.gram · Følger

IKEA ST

imma.gram · Følger

...

IKEA RE

imma.gram Are you guys cooking for

yourselves at home? I started cooking

more when I was social distancing.

They say you'll be happier during the

ЭрИД

day if you eat breakfast - Chef imma

Moving in and you're all invited!

After we've had to spend so much time imma.gram · Følger imma.gram Today's nails are celebrating the rainbow fE

LGBTQ+ issues aren't just for pride

month, Japan still has a long way to

go.

Though here in Shibuya civil

partnerships are accepted, that's rare

in Japan, and same-sex marriage is not imma.gram · Følger imma.gram · Følger IKEA IRE

<!-- image -->

imma.gram How I spend my weekends

at home lad

imma.gram Yoga at homel.

I had a lesson with my yoga teacher

and we focused on breathing. Now I'm

@yoshirotten 's art books always

stimulate my brains

What a luxury to be able to relax on

taking that refreshed feeling into my

days& For both mind and body, health

your favorite sofa and read your

favorite book What's your preferred

is number one

book genre?

imma.gram · Følger

imma.gram · Følger

IKEA 19T

IKEA 191

imma.gram After all is said and done, a

imma.gram I love that time just before

bit of daily care is important.

bed. Looking up at the ceiling in a quiet

I never skip wearing a facepack at night

room makes me excited about what

tomorrow might bring. Even if I had a

bad day, tucking myself up in bed helps

me forget all about it But it's only

possible thanks to creating a happy

Table 2. The seven Instagram posts from Imma's IKEA Japan campaign, collected in the time span from 25 August 25 to 30 August, 2020.

<!-- image -->

The data is first analysed through a visual compositional approach to obtain an in-depth analysis of the  relationship  between  the  compositional  elements  that  constitute  each  image  in  its  entirety (Ramos-Serrano & Martínez-García, 2016, p. 95). For this purpose, the visual composition principles presented in the content analysis grid model by Ramos-Serrano & Martínez-García's (2016, p. 97) are applied. Following the composition analysis, the same images are analysed from the perspective of Roland Barthes's approach to image analysis, applying concretely the guidelines of Vigsø (2019). Combining these two distinct semiotic methods for analysing images, the aim is to identify how the fictitious  CGI  character  of  Imma  is  visually  constructed  on  Instagram  for  a  specified  marketing campaign. Through such qualitative method triangulation, the findings from each analysis contribute to strengthening the overall reliability of this explorative case study.

Male energy

## 3.2.1 The visual composition principles: the content analysis grid template

Ramos-Serrano  and  Martínez-García  (2016)  present  the  most  common  principles  of  visual composition found among the world's ten most influential bloggers. Their study highlights that we live in a visual world where one 'can conceive that an image is not a reality in itself but is rather a representation created through visual language' (Ramos-Serrano & Martínez-García, 2016, p. 92). From a quantitative content analysis of 503 Instagram posts, the authors develop an analysis grid labelled  'The  Visual  Composition Principles'. Through semiotic interpretation, they identify the distinct elements to assess the meanings in the pictures. The variables utilized by Ramos-Serrano and Martínez-García (2016, pp. 95-97) are presented in the analysis grid template in figure 2 below. Further below, an explanation sheet accompanies the grid template overview.

Figure 2. The Content Analysis Grid template. The grid is comprised of five overall image codes; Elements of scale, Constitutive elements, Visual composition, Theme, and Brand presence (Source: Ramos-Serrano and García, 2016, p. 97) . Template layout slightly modulated from the original to accentuate the division between the constitutive elements.

<!-- image -->

| [IMAGE CODE]          | [BLOGGER NAMEANDIMAGE]   | [BLOGGER NAMEANDIMAGE]   | [BLOGGER NAMEANDIMAGE]   | [BLOGGER NAMEANDIMAGE]   |
|-----------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| Elements of scale     | Types of shots (A)       | Types of shots (A)       | Types of shots (A)       | Close shot (CS)          |
| Elements of scale     |                          |                          |                          | Medium shot (MS)         |
| Elements of scale     |                          |                          |                          | Wide shot (WS)           |
| Elements of scale     |                          |                          |                          | Cut-in shot (CIS)        |
| Elements of scale     | Camera Angle (B)         | Camera Angle (B)         | Camera Angle (B)         | High Angle (HA)          |
| Elements of scale     |                          |                          |                          | Low Angle (LA)           |
| Elements of scale     |                          |                          |                          | Eye-level Angle (ELA)    |
| Constitutive elements | Colours                  | Colours                  | Colours                  | Warm                     |
| Constitutive elements |                          |                          |                          | Cool                     |
| Constitutive elements |                          |                          |                          | White                    |
| Constitutive elements |                          |                          |                          | Black                    |
| Visual composition    | Rule of thirds (A)       | Rule of thirds (A)       | Rule of thirds (A)       | Human Centre             |
| Visual composition    |                          |                          |                          | Strong point             |
| Visual composition    |                          |                          |                          | Product Centre           |
| Visual composition    |                          |                          |                          | Strong point             |
| Visual composition    |                          |                          |                          | Human                    |
| Visual composition    | Highlighted (B)          | Highlighted (B)          | Highlighted (B)          | Product                  |
| Theme                 | Land-                    | Still-life               | Flowers                  | Model Alone              |
| Theme                 | Scape (A)                | (B)                      | Object                   | (C) Accompani ed         |
| Theme                 |                          |                          | Food                     | Selfie                   |
| Brand presence        | Visible                  | Visible                  | Not visible              | Not visible              |

## Explanation sheet to the Content Analysis Grid template

## ELEMENTS OF SCALE

The Elements of scale category is divided into Types of Shots (A) and Camera Angle (B).

The element Types of Shots (A) is divided into close, medium, wide and cut-in shot:

- Close Shot (CS) shows the person from the neck up (at an intimate distance)
- Medium Shot (MS) shows the person from the knee and above (at a social distance)
- Wide Shot (WS) shows the entire body (at a public distance)
- Cut-In-Shot (CIS) shows an object or part of the human body and no face.

The element Camera Angle shows the height of the point of view in relation to the subject. It has three values:

- High Angle (HA), subject is photographed from above
- Low Angle (LA), subject is photographed from below
- Eye Level Angle (ELA), subject is photographed at the same level as the observer.

## CONSTITUTIVE ELEMENTS

The Constitutive elements category consists of a colour coding with four different variables, depending on the predominant colours in the image:

- Cool for green, blue or purple
- Warm for colours of tones of red, yellow or orange
- White
- Black

## VISUAL COMPOSITION

The Visual composition category 'refers to the composition rules that organise the relationships between the different elements in the image and, as a consequence, regulates the construction of the visual space to achieve a given aesthetic, informative or narrative effect' (Ramos-Serrano & Martínez-García, 2016, p. 96).

The above elements are divided into the variables The Rule of Thirds (A) and Highlighted(B):

- The Rule of Thirds (A) divides an image in three equal parts, vertically and horizontally. With this division, it is possible to locate an image's so-called four touching points. Visual elements around the four touching points are seen as the most important elements, i.e. the Strong Points. However, if an element is centred it is perceived to be the most important element of the image. In addition to identifying any strong points, the rule of thirds also distinguishes between a Human and Product element, and if they each are placed in the Strong Points or at the Centre.
- Highlighted (B) identifies whether focus is mostly on the Human or Product.

## THEME

## The Theme category has the variables Landscape (A), Still-life (B) and Model (C):

- Landscape (A) refers to 'an image depicting broad surroundings in which the human figure is not especially distinguishable' (Ramos-Serrano & Martínez-García, 2016, p. 96).
- Still-life (B) is divided into Object , Food and Flowers , depending on what predominates and Model to indicate the blogger is the protagonist of the photo.
- The Model (C) can either be Alone , Accompanied or appear as a Selfie . The latter is identified in instances where it is obvious that the blogger takes her own picture and explicitly shows her face.

## BRAND PRESENCE

The Brand presence category identifies whether the endorsed Brand is Visible with a distinguishable logo, or Not Visible.

## 3.2.2 Semiotic Image Analysis

The  semiotic  image  analysis  model  derives  from  Roland  Barthes'  theory  of  semiotics  (Barthes, 1980).  Barthes  operates  with  a  three-step  image  analysis:  1)  denotative  analysis;  2)  connotative analysis and 3) the communicative situation. For our purpose the conceptual analysis framework proposed by Vigsø (2019: 370-371) is applied. This framework incorporates both the denotative and connotative analysis through six overall analytical steps, with appurtenant sub questions. See figure 3 below.

1.Describe the context of the image

Who is the sender?

In what media is the picture found?

## 1.Describe the context of the image

Who is the sender? In what media is the picture found? Where and when was the picture communicated? Is the picture individual, or is it connected to a written text?

## 2. Describe the elements in the image at the denotative level

What is in the foreground?

What is in the background, are there more than two layers?

What is possible to identify in an objective manner, what is unclear?

What connections are between the picture's different elements and backgrounds? Does the picture show a situation that one could expect the reader to recognize from her/his own life or from media?

What is the connection between the picture and (if any) appurtenant text? Does the text appear in the picture or are the two separated? Does the text explain what is on the picture, or do the picture and text act as a whole?

research?

## 3. Describe the elements in the image at the connotative level

What values are the elements connected to?

Where do you know this from? Can you find any backing in the literature or empirical research?

## 4. Assess how the elements (2+3) correlate with each other

On the denotative level, do they belong to the same frame (paradigm)? On the connotative level, do the connotations, which they form, belong to the same

area? Is it positive or negative?

## 5. Do the elements create some kind of story?

(e.g. what has happened before or what is about to happen)

## 6. Consider how you findings are connected at the different levels

and summarise the analysis.

Figure 3. A step-by-step framework for a semiotic image analysis, presented by Vigsø (2019: 370-371). (Translated from Danish to English).

Having presented the empirical data and the two frameworks for analysis, the next section presents the results from the analyses.  First, the results from the visual composition analysis of the images are presented and summarised. Next, the results from the semiotic image analysis of the same seven Instagram posts are presented and summarised.

## 4 Analysis

## 4.1 Part one: An analysis of the composition principles in Imma's instagram posts

The Content Analysis Grid was applied to identify the  visual  composition  principles  underlying IMMA's seven Instagram posts for the IKEA Japan campaign. The result is presented in table 3 below.

Table 3. Analysis result of the visual composition principles used in the seven Instagram posts.

|   No | Ty- pes of shots   | Camera Angle   | Colour   | Rule of thirds: Human   | Rule of thirds: Product   | High- lighted   | Model l   | Model ll    | 'Brand Presence   |
|------|--------------------|----------------|----------|-------------------------|---------------------------|-----------------|-----------|-------------|-------------------|
|    1 | WS                 | LA             | Warm     | Centre                  | Strong Point              | Human           | Model     | Accompanied | Visible           |
|    2 | MS                 | ELA            | White    | Centre                  |                           | Human           | Model     | Alone       | Not visible       |
|    3 | MS                 | ELA            | Warm     | Centre                  |                           | Human           | Model     | Alone       | Not visible       |
|    4 | MS                 | HA             | Warm     | Strong points           | Strong Point              | Human           | Model     | Alone       | Not visible       |
|    5 | CS                 | ELA            | Warm     | Strong points           |                           | Human           | Model     | Selfie      | Not visible       |
|    6 | WS                 | ELA            | Warm     | Centre                  | Strong Point              | Human           | Model     | Alone       | Not visible       |
|    7 | MS                 | HA             | Warm     | Centre                  | Strong Point              | Human           | Model     | Alone       | Not visible       |

## Types of shots and camera angles

Looking at the overview in table 3, a number of findings are identified. First and foremost, three types of shots are identified, out of which MS is the predominant camera shot type (4 out of 7).  No cut-in shot was identified. The function of the MS is that the spectator sees the image from a social distance, in these examples the spectator views IMMA showcasing which object she interacts with (be it a sofa, kitchen utensils, or bed) as a visual depiction of her endorsement of IKEA's products. The second type of camera shot identified is WS (2 out of 7). At WS the spectator perceives the protagonist at a public distance and gets a full view of the location and Imma's clothing. The last camera shot used is CS, which is applied once (image 5). This shot is essential as it is taken at an intimate distance, i.e. at eye-level angle, allowing the spectator to be 'up close and personal, noticing all the subtle details, colours, and textures' (Suler, n.d.). Suler further argues that an intimate distance is likely to portray the character - in our case Imma - as more personal and trustworthy, compared to an image taken at a public distance. Further, the CS is identified as a selfie shot, thereby emphasising a 'human touch'.

The  three  types  of Camera  Angles identified  in  the  images  are  ELA,  HA  and  LA.  The predominant camera angle used is ELA (4 out of 7). The ELA angle is considered to be neutral, as Imma is not perceived as carrying a higher status than the spectator which would be the case if the shot had been from a high angle (HA). Because of the eye-level angle (ELA), the spectator is likely to identify with Imma and place themselves in her 'shoes', which again mirrors the probability of a closer connection and evoking a sense of empathy (Lim and Lee, 2023). In addition, the ELA also depicts how Imma imitates a real-life scenario, i.e. the way the spectator would see her in real life (Suler, n.d.). The second camera angle used is HA (2 out of 7), which positions the spectator in a powerful  position  overlooking  Imma  from  above,  and  thereby  portraying  Imma  as  someone vulnerable (Suler, n.d.). In these two examples (image 4 and 7), Imma is presented sleeping/wearing her pyjamas in bed and sitting on her couch reading a book. The last angle, LA is used once in image

1 which introduces the campaign. It is likely to convey Imma's role in this campaign, i.e. that she is powerful, in charge and in focus (Suler, n.d.).

The predominant colours used in the images are primarily Warm and White colours. The most frequently used colours in the images are warm colours (6 out of 7), specifically vibrant colours of red, pink, orange and yellow. These colours symbolise each of their own meanings, but also work together in harmony. Most notably is the colour pink, which is depicted through her vibrant pink hair, shirt or the pink police tape. As the colour pink can be interpreted as 'sweet, nice, romantic, playful, and delicate' (Bear, 2020), we can ascribe these elements to the way Imma is portrayed. In addition, most images are further covered with a yellow or orange hue, due to the lighting in her apartment, which correlates with the pink colour, as yellow resembles 'happy, joyful, cheerful, and for remembrance' (Bear, 2020). Given the symbolic meaning attached to these colours, the images are likely to invoke feelings of happiness, positivity, sweetness and playfulness. They might even reflect Imma's identity or brand identity, given that she is a well-known CGI influencer collaborating with other brands aside from IKEA. Moreover, in one of her images she is cooking in the kitchen. In this  depiction  the  dominant  colour  is  White,  which  symbolises  'purity,  innocence  and  softness' (Bear,  2020).  Together  with  the  warm  colours  used  in  the  other  images,  it  enhances  the  overall positive and pure way she is portrayed in all seven Instagram posts.

## The highlighted elements and the rule of thirds

The Highlighted element shown in all seven images is Human. Imma is portrayed as a real person, as a human being (showing both her CGI face and human body). Previously, it was mentioned that Imma's role is powerful and that she is the focus of the campaign. In continuance, as Imma is the only highlighted element in the images, it conveys the role of IMMA as being in charge of IKEA's campaign. she is the protagonist, and it is the portrayal as a 'person', her personality traits and her personal life that attracts the spectator.

Rule of Thirds is divided into Human and Product . Here, the human element was both found in the centre (5 out of 7) and strong points (2 out of 7) of the images, whereas the products were less distinguishable, but when clearly identified, they were placed in the strong points (4 out of 7). The results  of  Rule  of  Thirds  correlate  with  the  Highlighted  variable  as  the  human  figure  is  also  the predominant element according to the Rule of Thirds. More than half of the images place IKEA's products in the strong points of the image, which also correlates with the highlighted variable, as Imma is an influencer and hence likely to be placed in the centre.

For the variable Theme , the only element is Model . The element Model is, however, further seen in three different scenarios; Alone , Accompanied and taking a Selfie . The fact that Model appears as the only element reflects the nature of the campaign which is driven by Imma's influencer character and the context of a fictional world that she brings to the campaign. This further highlights that images  with  the  elements  of  being  'Accompanied'  and  taking  a  'Selfie'  are  only  present  once, respectively. As a result, 5 out of 7 images show her alone, emphasising that Imma is displayed as the lead role in the campaign.

' Brand Presence' . Except for post no 1 that launches the campaign, the endorsed brand IKEA is not visible in the other six images. This correlates with the findings of Ramos-Serrano & MartínezGarcía (2016, p. 105), who in their study of visual composition principles among 150 blogger posts found that it was uncommon for brands to show their logo explicitly in the influencer's Instagram posts. Rather, the influencer uses his/her status as an influencer and opinion leader to spark an interest in a given product or brand.

Summarising the results of the visual composition principles of IMMA's seven Instagram posts in IKEA Japan's marketing campaign, it can be concluded that Imma is presented as a protagonist; she is portrayed as a human in a real-life environment, one engaged in human actions and activities typical of what ordinary human beings would be expected to go through and experience in their ordinary lives: cooking, reading, sleeping, moving, doing physical exercise and taking care of one's personal hygiene or wellbeing. Further, she engages in an activity that most digital users are familiar with, namely posting a selfie on social media. Imma is presented alone in most images, except in the first post where she is accompanied by a dog (many humans have pets). Further, she is predominantly placed  in  the  centre  of  the  image,  and  when  not,  it  is  because  of  the  situational  circumstances surrounding the image which emphasise the activity, e.g. wearing a facemask or reading. Images where the products are in the strong points are used to emphasise that this is an IKEA campaign. The predominant camera shot is the medium shot, accentuating with what or who Imma interacts, making clear this is an endorsement. Interestingly, she is also shown at close and intimate distance, inviting the spectator to see a more vulnerable and authentic side of herself. The images are mostly shot with an eye-level camera angle placing Imma in a neutral and relatable position. Other angles are used to either place Imma in a vulnerable position with a high angle e.g. when she is sleeping or reading a book, or to place her in a powerful position with a low angle e.g. in the introductory image of the campaign displaying Imma surrounded by IKEA boxes. Moreover, warm colours saturate all of the images, inducing feelings of positivity, warmth and excitement to minimise the distance between the readers and Imma. With these findings, along with an overall lack of brand presence, Imma remains the most significant constitutive element in the images, and she appears human. Comparing with the quantitative study of Ramos-Serrano and Martinez-Garcia, IMMA is portrayed by and large akin to human  influencers  in  the  fashion  and  life-style  industry,  with  subtle  yet  striking  variations  in compositional strategies that enhance the visual construction of a 'real human being'.

## 4.2 Part 2: A semiotic image analysis of Imma's Instagram posts

The semiotic image analysis was carried out using the semiotic image analysis framework, presented by Vigsø (2019: 370-371) to identify denotations, connotations and overall intended communicative message. Each image was analysed in a step-by-step process and similar analysis elements were subsequently categorised together. Following the completion of the semiotic image analysis of the seven images, five overall themes were identified: 1) Image, 2) Idealised Framing, 3) Fiction, 4) SelfIdentification,  and  5)  The  Humanity  in  Imma.  Table  4  presents  the  five  identified  themes  incl. appurtenant observational notes derived from the analysis of the seven images. In the following, each theme is briefly presented and argued for. When relevant, aspects of the visual composition analysis are also drawn upon to further substantiate analytical points.

| IMAGE                                                                                                  | IDEALISED FRAMING                                                                                               | FICTION                                                                                                                        | SELF- IDENTIFICATION                                                                                                                                                   | THE HUMANITY INIMMA                                                                                                          |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Guiding keywords for theme established: role model lively positive harmony picture-perfect             | Guiding keywords for theme established: female ideals role model opinion leader independence picture-perfect    | Guiding keywords for theme established: role model extraordinary flawlessness paradoxical performance storytelling AI as human | Guiding keywords for theme established: realistic situations relatable authentic familiarity everyday 'Stay home'                                                      | Guiding keywords for theme established: sense of realness authenticity human appearance activist informed                    |
| Observational notes derived from the analysis of all images                                            | Observational notes derived from the analysis of all images                                                     | Observational notes derived from the analysis of all images                                                                    | Observational notes derived from the analysis of all images                                                                                                            | Observational notes derived from the analysis of all images                                                                  |
| Image 1: self- empowerment responsible, care- taker, positive, 'fresh/new' IKEA, positive, 'fresh/new' | Image 1: strong independent young woman, dog owner                                                              | Image 1: the story of moving, performance, an AI can be a dog owner                                                            | Images 2, 5, 6, 7: healthy sleeping habits, selfcare, healthy eating habits                                                                                            | Images 2+3+7: LGBTQ+, gay pride, global warming, activism, seeking change, opinion leader, tilted head as a sign of sympathy |
| Image 2: smiling, happiness, happy with cooking, fresh fruits, clean room, clean colours               | Image 2: flawless hair and make-up, making a perfect healthy meal, wearing an apron, traditional ideal of women | Image 5: wearing makeup while wearing a facemask, selfie                                                                       | Image 5: selfi-shot at CS - intimate distance: signals 'realness', 'authenticity', 'realistic'                                                                         | Image 4: reading a book, intellectual, knowledgeable                                                                         |
| Image 3: head tilting, colourful clothing, vibrant flawless pink hair, colourful nails,                | Image 3: political active, activist/minority rights, opinion leader                                             | Images 5, 6, 7: unusualness, extraordinariness, extravagance                                                                   | Images 1-7: daily routines of a young girl, sense of familiarity, mirroring real life situations, e.g. moving, cooking, reading , sleeping, passion, exercise, hygiene | Image 5: self- care/pampering at night /appearance /beauty                                                                   |
| Image 4: intellectual, knowledgeable                                                                   | Image 4: reflective and well-read, intellectual, knowledgeable                                                  | Image 7: unrealistic, wearing makeup while sleeping                                                                            | Images 2-7: COVID-19, she is 'isolating' herself in her apartment, showing daily routines of a young girl                                                              | Image 5: selfie-shot at CS, intimate distance, personal, intimate, relational, here- and-now, real                           |

Table 4. The five overall themes identified : 1) Image, 2) Idealised framing, 3) Fiction, 4) Self-identification, 5) The humanity in Imma. The overview comprises an overview of guiding keywords leading to the themes identified.  In  addition,  it  includes  brief  analytical  notes  derived  across  the  seven  Instagram  posts  to  show transparency in the analysis process.

| Image 5: beauty conscious, appearance, perfect skin                                                                   | Image 5: female ideals, appearance, skin care, beauty                   | Images 1-7: the story of a fictitious character during Covid-19 / stay home                                                                                  | Images 1-7: relatable, the images all reflect everyday situations that an audience can relate to   | Image 6: practicing yoga flexible, strong body, in control, mentally sound, role model                                                                |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Image 6: fresh, smiley and fun, yoga, harmony, flawless hair                                                          | Image 6: modern, yoga, spiritual healthy, fit                           | Images 1-7: CGI influencer not human, fake, artificial, creates the illusion that an AI can engage in human-like activities and use real-life products, etc. | Images 1-7: depicts the younger generation - in particular young females                           | Image 7: sleeping, night- time                                                                                                                        |
| Images 1-7: vibrant flawless pink hair, perfect skin, warm colours and vibrant colours like red, pink, orange, yellow | Image 7: healthy lifestyle, activism, routine, beauty sleep, calm, cosy | Images 1-7: flawless hair, flawless skin, facial and bodily appearance seem artificial, artistic- like, fictitious                                           | Images 1-7: represents moving away from home, being independent, adult                             | Images 1-7: role model depiction of a human 'influencer' and 'opinion leader', real apartment, real dog, real IKEA furniture, stay-at-home / COVID-19 |

## 4.2.1 Image

The first theme identified is Image, which deals with how Imma's image is visually presented through bodily  posture,  activity,  colours,  skin,  hair  and  facial  expression.  As  identified  in  the  visual composition analysis, the predominant colours used for the images at the denotative level are red, pink, orange and yellow. At the connotative level, these colours are ascribed as warm, vibrant colours that strengthen Imma's image as a CGI influencer; an image that is fun, playful and positive. This playfulness and positivity is further reflected partly in Imma's name that means 'new' in Japanese, indicating that her image consists of being innovative and out of the ordinary, but also through the colour of her hair, which is likely to attract attention in the eyes of the beholder. Further, the facial expressions and bodily postures radiate harmony and contentment. Skincare activities, cooking, yoga exercise, reading and activism all add to the construal of an image of harmony / picture-perfect.

## 4.2.2 Idealised Framing

The second theme identified is Idealised Framing where the images of Imma appear stylized and framed  in  an  'idealised'  manner,  a  phenomenon  known  from  traditional  influencer  marketing

(Ramos-Serrano & Martínez-García, 2016). As mentioned in the composition analysis, the images place Imma as the centre and highlighted element, connoting that the images are framed to highlight Imma as a person. Image 2 (see table 2) is used to exemplify how Idealised Framing is identified. In this image, Imma is presented in her kitchen, slicing a banana. She has flawless pink hair, wears an oversized purple jumper with an apron on top. Three glass bowls are placed on the kitchen counter. One bowl is filled with strawberries, the second one with blueberries and the last one seems to have some granola in it. These denotative elements connote an idealised reality; the scenario looks almost picture-perfect; the kitchen looks very minimalistic and clean, and the fruits are neatly organised in each of their own glass bowl. In social media jargon, we would describe the image as 'Insta worthy', or 'Instagrammable', which are terms related to the early 21st century to evaluate the visual appeal of an image and its suitability for social media use ("Instagrammable," n.d.).  The construction of her being independent,  political  active,  well,-read,  modern,  healthy  and  composed  across  all  images further evidences an ideal framing.

## 4.2.3. Fiction

The third theme that the images connote is Fiction which depicts how the images are rather out of the ordinary, going beyond a normally perceived reality. The Fiction theme is observable across all images, but two images stand out in particular: the first  one is the selfie (image no 5) of Imma presumably lying down wearing a sheet mask, her front bangs clipped away to the side. Her right hand is formed in a peace sign close to her face and she is wearing makeup. The other example is image no 7,  which displays Imma in black-white nightwear lying on her right side. She appears to be sleeping judging by her closed eyes and the white sleeping mask on her forehead. Further, she wears makeup. These two images might seem realistic, but during sleep and for personal hygienic self-care, it is unusual to be wearing makeup. In fact, one of the first and crucial steps to a night cleansing routine is to remove one's makeup, dirt and bacteria that the face has collected throughout the day (Rouleau, 2018). Finally, Imma's signature vibrant pink bob hair cut also contributes to the extraordinariness of the images. As such, the presence of makeup and the vibrant pink hair both function as cues that Imma is not a real ordinary human going about her daily routines in routine ways. Rather, she is a fictitious character in a fictional setting created for a strategic storytelling purpose (Shen, 2024).

## 4.2.4 Self-Identification

The fourth theme is Self-Identification, which describes how the spectator may feel connected and can relate to Imma. The selfie image (image no 5) at Close Shot, identified with an intimate distance is useful as an example. The distance might connote a sense of realness and authenticity; just like any other human exercising his / her right to publish selfie shots on social media (Tiidenberg, 2018), Imma does the same. She is not afraid of getting close to the spectator, and she has nothing to hide. The intimate distance may connote a close relationship or even friendship to the spectator, as if he / she is right beside Imma, making the experience even more intimate and personal. In addition, a selfie is proven to generate more attention compared to other social media posts (Tiidenberg, 2018). Summarily, all images from this category display Imma engaging in some kind of activity in her home, reading a book, practising yoga, cooking lunch, self-care, reading and sleeping. The spectators are likely to familiarise themselves with these activities. Therefore, these home-activities may invoke feelings of familiarity among the viewers, thereby strengthening their identification with Imma.  One of the known effects of successful influencer marketing is that the spectators see the influencers as a role model (e.g. Ozuem, 2022), and in this case they may feel motivated to practice yoga themselves, put on a face mask, read a book, make a plea for minorities, or make healthy meals.

## 4.2.5 The Humanity in Imma

The last theme is labelled The Humanity in Imma. The point of departure of this theme is to identify concretely how the images frame Imma as a human and as someone who engages in daily activities, we are all familiar with, e.g. eating, exercising, sleeping etc. The connotations that a viewer could get by seeing these images are that Imma is 'just like me'. In that sense it has similarities to the theme Self-identification, yet it  deserves  a category in  its  own  right.  If  we  perceive  of  Imma  as human, then - like any other humans - she will also need food, sleep, a healthy mind and body and so forth. Another observation which highlights the human element is that Imma is portrayed as an activist, who cares about a number of societal crises and issues, such as global warming, LGBTQ+ and the COVID-19 pandemic. An important denotative element is e.g. presented in image 2 where Imma is cooking in her kitchen. On her apron is a depiction of the earth with the textual label 'SAVE OUR HOME', which may connote activism; that she wants to increase awareness of global warming and is seeking change. The fact that she brings such issues forth indicates that she utilises her role as an 'influencer' and 'opinion leader'. Another example of humanity is visible in image 3, showing Imma in her signature short pink bob with her head slightly tilted. Her hands are strategically placed next to each other, showcasing her painted nail polish. Rainbows of all colours are painted onto her nails, matching her colourful cardigan in red, blue, green, yellow and orange stripes. Hence, this image can be understood as a message on the issue of LGBTQ+ rights, which she also explains in the caption. The range of warm colours add to a positive feeling of the image and Imma's tilted head with a slight smile can be interpreted as a 'sign of sympathy' for LGBTQ+ rights (IBS, 2020). These elements  combined  invite  for  an  awareness  of  a  pressing  global  societal  issue,  depicts  that  she behaves  as  humans  do  with  altruistic  and  other  human  ' conduite' ,  ultimately  strengthening  the construction of the humanity portrayal (Shen, 2024).

## 5. Discussion

The visual composition analysis showed how the visual construction of the CGI influencer Imma in the IKEA Japan campaign was predominantly focused on Imma as a person, whereas the products or brand were either in the background or absent. This bears a striking resemblance to the findings by Ramos-Serrano and Martínez-García (2016), who carried out a quantitative analysis of the world's most popular human fashion bloggers. According to Ramos-Serrano & Martínez-García, this focus is logical because '… for Instagram followers the important thing is not what the blogger is wearing but who she is - her personality and identity are created ad hoc by what she is wearing.' (RamosSerrano & Martínez-García, 2016, p. 101). In other words, Imma's power to influence, persuade and serve as an opinion leader is vital for this distinct campaign; what she endorses, does, wears or the issues she brings forth e.g. global warming or LGBTQ+ are likely to catch the followers' interests. This finding adds salience to the argument that an influencer's ability to influence does not differ whether  we  are  following  a  CGI  influencer  or  a  traditional  human  influencer.  This  is  further evidenced in  a  recent  study  by  Park  et  al.  (2021),  who  found  that  users  perceive  and  treat  CGI influencers as authentic social actors. Similar studies on human-robot interaction seem to validate that humans (consciously) tend to treat computers or robots as like-minded social actors (Nass et al., 1995; Lee et al., 2003; Lee et al., 2005; Belanche et al, 2024; Shen, 2024).

Although  the  main  findings  from  this  qualitative  study  seem  to  resemble  Ramos-Serrano  & Martínez-García's (2016) quantitative study, there are also findings that differ. In their study, the predominant camera shot was wide shot (WS). This contrasts with this study which identified a relative majority of medium shots (MS). Arguably the two studies are not directly comparable, yet from this explorative study's findings, we get a first tentative indication that there could potentially be a difference in how the spectator is placed in relation to the influencer: at a public distance or a social distance. This difference may indicate that the spectator is invited to have a more distant and formal relationship to human influencers, as opposed to a virtual influencer.  In the case of Imma, the medium shot invites for a relationship which is much more intimate and social so as to simulate or create the feeling of a closer connection, as she literally draws the spectator into the fictional world she inhabits.  It  could  be  argued  that  she  lures  the  spectator  into  believing  she  is  in  fact  human. Regardless that this observation is found but in one instance, it is nonetheless a significant finding for a qualitative study. As the qualitative scholar Emanuel Schegloff once stated in his defence for acknowledging qualitative research on its own terms (1993, p. 101) 'one is also a number'. Finding one example of a phenomenon means it exists in the social world, and it is therefore highly plausible that the same phenomenon can be found elsewhere.

The semiotic image analysis identified five themes: 1) Image, 2) Idealised Framing, 3) Fiction, 4) Self-Identification, and 5) The Humanity in Imma. These themes depict ways that Imma is visually portrayed in the IKEA campaign. On the one hand, the images attempt to replicate and represent selections of perceived reality in order to affect the spectator on a personal and emotional level. Themes 2) [Self-identification], 4) [Humanity] and 5) [Image] are examples of this. This correlates with  Ramos-Serrano  and  Martínez-García  (2016,  p.  92)  who  claim  that  bloggers'  images  are  a 'selection of reality' and acknowledge that an image is not a reality itself, but rather a construction of it. Accordingly, the images also replicate reality in the way Imma brings up issues like COVID19, global warming and LGBTQ+ in an attempt to frame herself in an idealised context and gain the attention, sympathy and support of her followers. On the other hand, they also connote a fictional world,  which  deviates  from  Ramos-Serrano  &  Martínez-García's  (2016)  findings,  entailing  a difference between CGI influencers and traditional influencers. Themes 3) [Fiction] and 1) [Idealised Framing] contain visual cues like wearing makeup during self-care and while sleeping and having vibrant flawless pink hair, which signal to the spectator that the images are, in fact, fictional and that they derive from Imma's fictional world which the spectators are drawn into. Summarily, the images seem to portray Imma in two distinct ways: 1) by visually presenting a real-life living scenario, they portray her as a human influencer, one that the spectators can relate and listen to and 2) through artificial  cues  like  vibrant  colours,  pink  hair,  clean,  sterilized  kitchen  and  flawless  makeup,  all connoting extraordinariness, they portray her as a fictional character, living in a fictional world.

Although this study has found visual similarities between the CGI influencer Imma and traditional influencers,  the  findings  also  tentatively  indicate  implications  for  the  characteristics  normally associated with successful traditional influencer marketing, i.e. 1) authenticity, 2) trustworthiness, 3) expertise and 4) social presence.

Firstly, as described earlier, authenticity relates to how influencers are believable, intimate, share personal aspects of their life and interact with followers in the flesh (De Veirman et al., 2017, p. 801). This study poses an implication for this understanding, as CGI characters usually do not exist in the physical  world;  they  are  created  on  computers  by  high  tech  companies  and  their  actions  are performed 'in a controlled setting by real people who are managing that account' (Sideqick, n.d.). Although the followers are unable to interact with Imma in real life and 'in the flesh', she still appears authentic, intensifying the spectator's experiences of the fictional world in which Imma lives. And the followers can interact digitally with her too.

Secondly, this study shows how Imma can appear trustworthy without actually being a human being.  Rather,  she  is  'like  us',  albeit  in  a  different  way.  It  is  especially  through  her  actions  and opinions that she invites for a genuine interest and feeling of relatability among the audience; her hobbies such as yoga, reading books, selfcare, cooking, and her interests to save the environment and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights are all attributes that ultimately strengthen her trustworthiness. The notion of trustworthiness was earlier in this  paper associated  with similarity between the human influencer and the followers and how SMIs are 'more like us'. The virtual trust aspect, however, seems to have a bearing on 'easy to identify with', regardless of other human qualities (honest, reliable and dependable in real life).

Thirdly, this study implicates the understanding of expertise where an SMI typically acquires knowledge of the brand and provides reviews of products, often based on a physical test or embodied experience in the real world. Following this view, Imma is - literally speaking - not able to acquire any knowledge of the brand or try out the product. This imagined process is arguably done by her creators to create a simulation of a real experience (Moustakas et al., 2020). Concludingly, one may (re)consider the importance of an SMI's expertise in influencer marketing, as Imma's case proves how an influencer is able to endorse certain products, without a real ability to actually test or feel the product (Belanche et al., 2024). In continuance, this lends an argument that a CGI influencer like Imma, living in a fictional online world, is still able to reach and influence her human followers, regardless of the fact that she is by no means able to engage in the physical world with physical products  nor  knowledgeable  of  using  them.  Summarily,  followers  (knowingly?)  treat  a  CGI influencer as they would a human influencer, attributing him/her human characteristics and qualities (Park et al., 2021; Nass et al. 1995; Lee et al. 2003; Lee et al. 2005, Belanche et al., 2024).

Lastly, the final element that this study expresses a first tentative implication for is the notion of social presence, a necessity for a human SMI. As mentioned in the introduction, research posits that an audience feels closer connected with an influencer, if it is felt that an actual human being is present at the other end (Jin et al., 2019, p. 570). However, findings from this study tentatively challenge the prevalent  understanding  of  social  presence;  camera  angles  like  ELA  make  the  readers  reflect themselves in Imma, strengthening self-identification, while LA puts the readers in the position of her guardian. In the same vein, MS and CS angles contribute to the feeling of being close to the influencer. Additionally, the warm colours arguably induce feelings of happiness and positivity to the followers, inviting them to interact and engage. These findings combined suggest that although no 'real  human' is present at the other end with a real intelligibility and psychological presence, Imma is still perceived of and treated as socially present and is more than capable of attracting, reaching, engaging and interacting with a huge number of followers.

Although the above findings are labelled 'implications', this study does not associate them with negative attributes. On the contrary, the findings induce a new preliminary understanding of virtual influencer marketing and how marketers could potentially strategize on virtual influencer presence on social media. And the findings point in the same direction: the visual representation format or performance  of  the  CGI  influencer  matters  in  terms  of  inducing  authenticity,  trustworthiness, expertise and social presence. In a Goffmanian sense, it lends salience to the claim 'appearance is key' (Goffman, 1959).

The characteristics attributed to human influencers, i.e. authenticity, trustworthiness, expertise and social presence are also attributed the virtual influencer through the way the CGI is visually presented, i.e. the underlying compositional techniques and connotations that the images convey. Apparently, the human mind seems to disregard if it engages with one or the other as long as it can relate somehow to the influencer. As a result, CGI creators could strategize on how to stage or present the CGI through the five governing semiotic principles: 1) Image, 2) Idealised framing,      3) Fiction, 4) Self-identification, and 5) Humanity. As long as we as spectators can look up to some kind of ideal or role model, delve into a fictional world, and mirror or entertain ourselves by the fictitious life of a CGI character, it becomes insignificant whether the influencer is human or computer-generated. In fact, some researchers even go as far as suggesting that virtual influencers or AI will win the race in the longer run (Davenport et al, 2020; Appel et al., 2020). With the new possibilities that AI offers for  content  creators  and  the  marketing  industry  at  large,  AI  marketing  as  a  discipline  with  new strategies, new initiatives and new predominant tactics and understandings is already here. Next, awaits a process where we all will learn to differentiate more consciously between human influencers and CGIs in the digital world.

Summarily, the emerging field of virtual influencer marketing as a discipline in its own right with clear-cut definitions, concepts and strategies for brands to engage with yields a number of promises in a not-too-distant future. The notions of authenticity, trustworthiness, expertise and social presence hold  offerings  that  could  be  strategized  in  new  ways  in  CGI-influencer  marketing.  Rather  than building upon existing views and understandings of influencer marketing, it could be strategically fruitful to take a leap of faith and let CGI influencer marketing lead the way. For researchers, industry leaders,  professional  and  upcoming  marketers  it  is  of  significance  how  we  approach,  define, understand and employ the concept of virtual influencers. Whether we prefer to view VIM as an extension of traditional influencer marketing or we prefer to view VIM as a new emerging digital marketing discipline in its own right will eventually be determined by opinion leaders and their innovation initiatives in the digital marketing industry. Yet, looking into the crystal ball we see signs that the AI future has set in full motion. Looking back, we know that humans have always had an overreliance on new technology ( e.g. Grissinger, 2019; Landgrebe, 2024) and tend to treat artefacts and objects as if they have human traits (Spatola et al., 2021).The way we engage with and understand AI-created content matters to humanity.  Should we be afraid of the virtual social media marketing industry?

## 6. Future perspectives

## 6.1 From a research perspective

In an ever increasing visual social media world, the application of semiotic analysis methods can bring new insights to  social  media  strategists,    content  creators,  and  brands.  Prevalent  scholarly understandings of credibility and appurtenant notions such as authenticity, trustworthiness, expertise, and social presence may be developed further in an AI era to revise and refine our understandings. As  part  of  this  process,  the  notions  of  aesthetics  and  visual  attractiveness  may  be  examples  of phenomena to be further explored to qualify specifically our present knowledge and perception of the strategic use of images. Compositional patterns and techniques may be further developed in a similar vein, especially in the light of creating or simulating a human-like appearance.

## 6.2 From a professional marketing perspective

In  the  light  of  recent  advances  in  AI  technology  in  social  media  in  particular,  the  emerging phenomena  of  virtual  influencers  and  virtual  influencer  marketing  (VIM)  are  expected  to  rise significantly in the coming years (Belanche et al., 2024). Whilst the field has many affinities to traditional  social  media  influencer  marketing  (SMIM),  it  is  anticipated  that  virtual  influencer marketing will continue to spread at fast speed and develop its own practices, norms and distinct methodologies, with distinct underlying marketing and branding strategies. To stay ahead of new innovative practices in digital marketing, and to set it apart from its ancestral heritage of social media influencer marketing, it may be strategically wise to make such a differentiation explicit. Maybe it is time to part ways with tradition?

Despite the recent upsurge in virtual influencer marketing, defining this concept seems to be more or less taken-for-granted and is often presented as a natural continuance of traditional influencer marketing. However, recent studies suggest a number of core problematics moving from traditional to virtual influencer marketing (Lim and Lee, 2023; Sands et al., 2022; Ciechanowski et al. 2029; Block and Lovegrove, 2021; Dodgson (2019). This fact has implications for how we define the field. Concludingly, a first attempt of defining virtual influencer marketing as a discipline in its own right could read as follows:

'Virtual  influencer  marketing  is  the  strategic  and  deliberate  use  of  interactive  artificial intelligence,  presented  on  social  media  in  the  form  of  one  or  more  computer-generated fictional  characters  (human-like  or  non-human  like)  that  exist  digitally  to  create  brand awareness,  attract  followers,  increase  product  acquisition  and/or  act  as  societal  opinion leaders.'

Moving on, looking at how a social media influencer is traditionally defined, a reformulation for virtual influencers could likewise be formulated:

' Synthetically  produced sources,  characters  or  actors that  have  built  a  sizable  social network of followers, whom they are able to create a close connection with and influence'.

Not  only  does  this  definition  go  beyond  the  understanding  of  SMIs  as  humans  by  objectively identifying  virtual  influencers  as  synthetically  produced  sources,  characters  or  actors,  but  it  also implies  that  their  digital  persona  creation  is  fully  capable  of  influencing  and  facilitating  a  close connection with followers to create brand awareness and impact decisions. And such knowledge has an ethical implication for AI content creators as well as consumers of such content, especially the younger generation.

## 7 Conclusion

This paper set out to do an explorative, qualitative semiotic in-depth analysis through the case study of the CGI influencer Imma to identify how she was visually constructed on Instagram for a specified marketing campaign. We posed the questions: how does a virtual influencer present herself on social media? Does she appear human? Does she appear authentic, trustworthy and credible? And what are the wider implications hereof? Two distinct yet complementary semiotic methods were applied. The findings  showed  that  the  CGI  influencer  Imma  in  one  distinct  IKEA  campaign  was  visually constructed  by  and  large  in  similar  veins  as  human  influencers,  with  human-like  traits  such  as authenticity, trustworthiness, expertise and social presence. It did not seem to matter that she was a CGI , it was rather the compositional techniques and visual presentation in distinct scenarios that portrayed her to mimic a 'real' influencer on the one hand, and a fictitious character on the other hand. These results indicate that the way a digital actor is visually displayed matters, and it has preliminary implications for humanity as a whole, regardless if we are researchers, brand strategists, AI content creators, or followers. Concludingly, this paper's explorative, qualitative semiotic case study  and  its  findings  is  a  first  step  feeding  into  the  knowledge  pool  of  traditional  influencer marketing - and beyond it! Grounds for re-conceptualisations, understandings, and new paths to be taken in an emerging virtual influencer marketing industry should ideally be taken to heart and further explored in a close future.

' The mindless human mind will probably never cease to be dazzled by new innovative AI marketing initiatives .'

## Acknowledgement

I am grateful to my former student Kieu Nguyen for the exchanges of ideas, thougths and earlier work-in-progress on the topic of virtual influencers. I am particular grateful for the kind gesture of handing over data collected on Imma for use in this article. My present understanding of virtual influencer marketing would not have been the same without her.

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