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가상 인플루언서에 대한 소비자 반응 연구

Research on Consumer Responses to Virtual Influencers

전성희|한혜주
한국소비문화학회|2023.06|소비문화연구 (Journal of Consumption Culture)|제26권 제2호|pp. 49-66|DOI 10.17053/jcc.2023.26.2.003

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광고advertisingVirtual influencer가상 인플루언서virtual agent가상 인플루언서 간 유사성 인식비친근함 인식소비자의 새로움 추구 경향perceived similarity of a virtual influencerperceived friendlinessconsumer novelty seeking

초록

기술의 발달과 더불어, 마케팅 커뮤니케이션의 도구와 과정이 더욱 다각화되고 있다. 소비자에게 마케팅 정보를 전달하는 정보원(endorser) 또한 예외가 아니다. 과거에는 TV 스타와 같은 전통적인 유명인만이 브랜드와 소비자 간의 의사소통에서 메신저로 활약하였으나, 소셜미디어가 급부상하면서 일반인 인플루언서가 중요한 마케팅 정보원으로서 자리매김해 왔다. 이에 더하여, 최근 인간과 흡사한 모습을 지녔으나 인공지능(AI) 기술에 의해 인공적으로 탄생된 가상 인플루언서(virtual influencer)가 마케팅 정보 전달원으로 새로이 등장함으로써 관련 산업의 패러다임을 다시 한번 변화시키고 있다. 실제로 삼성전자, 유니클로, 구찌 등 다수의 글로벌 기업들이 가상 인플루언서들을 활용하여 자사의 제품과 서비스에 대한 정보를 전달하고 있고, 이에 대한 소비자들의 관심 역시 높아지고 있는 추세이다. 이에 본 연구는 가상 인플루언서라는 상대적으로 새로운 유형의 인플루언서의 효과에 대해 탐구하고, 소비자 특성과 가상 인플루언서 간의 상호작용에 주목하여 어떤 소비자들이 이러한 가상 인플루언서가 제공하는 마케팅 메시지에 더 긍정적인 반응을 보일 수 있을지를 검증하고자 하였다. 보다 구체적으로, 새로움 추구 경향이 강한 소비자들의 경우 가상 인플루언서들에 대해 일반 소비자들이 가질 수 있는 부정적 인식, 즉 ‘가상 인플루언서들 간의 유사성’ 및 ‘비친근함’ 인식이 낮게 나타남을 증명하였다. 아울러, 가상 인플루언서 간의 유사성 및 비친근함 인식이 낮을수록 소비자들은 가상 인플루언서가 출연하는 광고를 보다 즐겁게 인지함을 알 수 있었고, 나아가 이는 광고 속 제품에 대한 태도 및 구매 의향에 긍정적인 영향을 미칠 수 있음을 함께 밝혔다. 이를 통해 본 연구는 최근 부상하고 있는 가상 인플루언서 관련 문헌에 공헌하며, 어떤 소비자들에게 가상 인플루언서를 활용한 마케팅이 더 효율적인지를 제안함으로써 실무적인 시사점 또한 제공하고 있다.

Abstract

As marketing communication tools and processes have become more diverse with the advancement of technology, the sources of marketing information for consumers have also changed. In the past, only traditional celebrities such as TV stars and singers played an active role as messengers in communication between brands and consumers. However, in recent years, ordinary individuals who actively engage in social media have also been actively delivering marketing information. Furthermore, the emergence of virtual influencers, who have a human-like appearance, is once again transforming the related industry. Many companies are actively using these virtual influencers to advertise and engage in direct marketing for their products and services through social media platforms. As a result, consumers’ attention toward them has increased, making it necessary for both marketing practitioners and academics to study virtual influencers. In this study, we explore the effects of virtual influencers, a relatively new type of influencer, and propose a comprehensive model to examine the interaction between consumer characteristics and virtual influencers. We aim to verify which consumers are more likely to show a positive response to the marketing messages provided by these virtual influencers. Specifically, we demonstrate that consumers with a stronger tendency for novelty-seeking (i.e., consumer novelty seeking, CNS) show lower negative perceptions of virtual influencers, such as perceived similarity and perceived friendliness of a virtual influencer, which can be held by general consumers. This, in turn, reduces the negative response to the enjoyment derived from virtual influencers' advertisements, thus exerting a positive influence on product attitudes and purchase intentions. Through these findings, this study not only expands the scope of research on virtual influencers, which have recently gained prominence, but also provides practical implications by suggesting which consumers would benefit more from marketing strategies utilizing virtual influencers.

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