Rozy has been developed by South Korean company Sidus Studio X.- The
virtual influencer and model is signed for eight exclusive contracts and is predicted to earn more than $854,000 this year. - Virtual models are considered more convenient than celebrities as there are no fears of scandal, and time or space constraints.
An example of this emerging trend is Rozy, a virtual influencer and model who has received more than 100 sponsorships and is predicted to earn more than 1 billion Korean won ($854,000 approx) this year.
Rozy was developed by Sidus Studio X in August last year. Aged 22, Rozy looks and feels quite like a human being on her Instagram page which has over 60,000 followers. The fact that she’s a virtual human was actually revealed in December last year and became very popular through an advertising campaign in July this year.
Rozy has already completed two advertisements this month, and is signed for eight exclusive contracts, Sidus Studio X CEO Baek Seung-yeop said during CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyeon-jung's News Show'.
Future plans
Baek Seung-yeop added that the company has already achieved the profit it was aiming for through Rozy, and its target for this year is over 1 billion Korean won ($854,000 approx). At present Rozy can pose for photos and shake a few moves for videos. But there are bigger plans of releasing Rozy’s voice and even casting her in movies, dramas and entertainment shows.
Why virtual humans are ideal for ad campaigns
According to Baek, Rozy as a virtual human is ideal for advertising campaigns as there are no worries of scandals, time and space. Since virtual humans won’t age, the contracts can also last for a long period of time.
Virtual humans can also be beneficial for customised advertisements targeting specific audiences. For Rozy, her looks are based on the MZ (Millenials and Gen-Z) generation, and not borrowed from a specific person.
Not the first virtual influencer
Similar to Rozy is Miquela Sousa, a 19-year-old Brazilian-American virtual model, musical artist and influencer. Miquela’s Instagram account has been around since 2016 and it currently has 3 million followers.
These virtual humans still have a lot of work cut out for them but with AI being an emerging technology we can only expect it to get better. That’s quite fascinating and scary at the same time.
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