Designing Influence: How Cartoonish and Humanlike Characters Shape Consumer Decisions

Virtual influencers have become a growing phenomenon in the digital marketing landscape. They can exist in any form—robots, animals, cartoon figures, human avatars or even aliens —and are tailored with specific personalities that emulate human traits, behaviors and interactions. This research shows that both cartoonish and realistic virtual influencers and advisors are able to effectively boost product engagement. Character design plays a crucial role depending on the context. Managers should strategically align character design with specific campaign goals. Regular assessment of a virtual character`s impact on its audience and on brand perception and iterative adjustments can help sustain engagement and avoid consumer fatigue. As virtual characters become more common, consumers need to build digital literacy to critically assess these entities’ influence in their lives. As the popularity of virtual influencers grows, there is an urgent need for ethical guidelines and industry standards regarding virtual characters.