Digital influencers herald a new era of branding
By Natalie Humsi, WIPO Academy
A new wave of influencers has taken over social media, with a more cutting-edge look appealing to younger generations. Digital influencers, also known as virtual humans, are the newest addition to the world of social media marketing.
In 2018, Koichi Kishimoto and Takayuki Moriya, teamed up to create a new creative-based form of intellectual property (IP). The pink-haired virtual girl called imma is Asia’s first virtual human. Her name was appropriately inspired by the Japanese word for “now.” She has grown a cult-like following with more than 350,000 followers on Instagram and over 250,000 followers on TikTok.
“Aww”-inspiring
The success of imma prompted Koichi Kishimoto and Takayuki Moriya to launch Aww Inc., Japan’s first virtual human company, in 2019. With its eye on the Asian market, the company is seeking to engage “people’s imagination” and “make them feel in “Aww”. “Our team of strategists, writers and designers define, create and activate systems that change behaviors and power tomorrow’s brands,” the company website notes.
Koichi Kishimoto is a computer graphics (CG) expert who also owns Modeling Cafe, an animation studio that develops CG and visual effects for films and video games. His years of research into human features and facial recognition has been key to developing the virtual humans produced by Aww Inc.
Takayuki Moriya studied business and marketing at university before becoming a TV commercial and music video producer. Currently, he is focusing his attention on business development and partnerships in the areas of extended reality and virtual fashion for Aww Inc.
The market for virtual humans has been growing rapidly, with various companies developing their own virtual humans or converting existing characters into virtual humans.
Takayuki Moriya, Co-founder of Aww Inc.
Crossing the uncanny valley
Humanoid robots and their derivatives tend to evoke a sense of unease among humans; this is referred to as the uncanny valley. Virtual humans or digital influencers cross this barrier for many audiences as their designs and virtual features are refined over time and become ever more realistic. However, younger audiences that grew up watching animations with special effects and high-quality CG are more accepting and feel more comfortable with them.
“I was researching and creating artificial intelligence, virtual realities, and various other platform businesses, but I was also focusing on creating a community culture that is developed by the blockchain, which is going to affect our individual futures. In this community culture, virtual humans and their associated IP will become very important,” notes Mr. Moriya.
“Instead of creating marketplaces and platforms based on existing concepts, we value the creation of the most fantastic virtual humans and IP. With IP, we are able to access all the different marketplaces, platforms, and communities – and that is the true strength of IP in this field,” he adds.
Virtual humans are popular among the world’s leading brands for their accessibility, creative displays and capacity to be tailored to the needs of the brand.
Aww Inc. is working with a number of well-known companies. For example, imma is currently starring in Lenovo’s brand movie for its “Yoga” series of notebook computers, where she symbolizes “diversity for the youth generation,” and wants to see change and affirm it as a possibility.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has supercharged demand for virtual humans as a creative solution to physical restrictions that many marketing agencies continue to face.
“The market for virtual humans has been growing rapidly, with various companies developing their own virtual humans or converting existing characters into virtual humans,” explains Mr. Moriya.
As we are now offering the developed technology to our partners, it was necessary for us to acquire the trademark right to visualize our strength.
Takayuki Moriya, Co-founder of Aww Inc.
Strategic choices
Aww Inc. is very selective with the brand partnerships it establishes to make sure that the content aligns with the personalities of their virtual humans. These include: imma, her younger brother Zinn, a fashion designer named Asu, a fashion and beauty influencer named Ria, and a Disney princess-inspired virtual character named Ella.
In light of their emerging popularity of digital influencers, the company decided to protect its IP assets by registering the trademark “MASTER MODEL®” at the Japan Patent Office for their virtual humans. The decision to register their trademark and protect their virtual humans was a key strategic business response to growing demand for them.
"As we are now offering the developed technology to our partners, it was necessary for us to acquire the trademark right to visualize our strength," Mr. Moriya explains.
imma is Aww Inc.’s first virtual human and also the first such creation in the Asia and Pacific Region. She has a very realistic look and distinct personality. You may have seen her at the closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo. According to her social media bios, she is “interested in Japanese culture, film and art”. She was listed in Forbes Women, Poland’s “Women of the Year 2020”, and in 2021, received the “Incentive Award” of the Cool Japan Matching Awards by the Government of Japan. imma is currently working on her own virtual fashion brand. (Photo: Courtesy of Aww Inc.)
Zinn is imma’s younger brother. Aww Inc. launched him in 2019. He has a cool and cute aesthetic. He is characterized as very shy and works as a fashion model. His modeling debut kicked off alongside his sister’s modeling career, with the PUMA x SLY collection in 2020. (Photo: Courtesy of Aww Inc.)
Asu is a virtual human fashion designer behind the NOWEAR clothing brand. He made his debut in 2019 as well, and lives by the motto “nothing is true”. He is inspired by “Mojibake,” a style of garbled Japanese text that was born out of Japanese Internet culture. Asu’s brand NOWEAR is so popular that products sell out within minutes of each launch. (Photo: Courtesy of Aww Inc.)
Ria is another virtual human that launched in 2019 and is recognized for her beauty. She refers to herself as a “Newman”, bridging the human and virtual worlds. (Photo: Courtesy of Aww Inc.)
The future of fashion
Building on their reputation in the fashion world with their virtual human brand partnerships and Asu’s clothing brand, Aww Inc. have also started carving out territory in virtual fashion, which it sees as a sustainable alternative to the physical fashion cycles. Virtual fashion opportunities easily build on the digital environment of virtual humans, incorporating games and “digital try-on formats” through virtual reality. Aww Inc. even plans to launch imma’s own virtual fashion brand soon, which will be available exclusively as in-game skins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
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