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In partnership with Offbeat Media Group, NeoReach has officially launched a new report covering a hot topic in the Creator Economy: Virtual Creators. Our 2022 Virtual Creators Report presents a deep dive into virtual creators and how they have grown in recent years. Ultimately, our analysis of the top virtual creators is intended to provide insight into the role virtual creators play in the Creator Economy.
As mentioned above, the data presented in this report was collected in partnership with Offbeat Media Group. We utilized their platform Virtual Humans to pull a list of the most popular virtual creators on Instagram and TikTok.
Once we had the list of creators, we manually pulled the follower counts of each. Narrowing the list down to the 5 most-followed and 5 least-followed creators on both platforms. TWe were able to compare creators by their audience demographics, brand affinity, and their metrics, including engagement rates, views, and follower growth. This revealed a number of correlations. In addition to comparing the virtual creators to each other, we also drew comparisons between virtual and real-life creators.
Download our 2022 Virtual Creators Report here.
What are Virtual Creators?
According to Christopher Travers, Co-Founder of Offbeat Media Group, “a virtual influencer is a computer-generated character given an unwavering first-person personality and shared consistently on social media.
“Virtual creators come in many styles ranging from cartoony and 2D, all the way up to hyper-realistic and human-like. Most virtual influencers are the creations of individuals, while others are entire productions built by creative teams. The potential of virtual characters, more simply called ‘avatars,’ as influencers is massive.
“This is especially fascinating considering the economics and influence of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, which ultimately inspired the birth of the avatar economy both from a technical and social standpoint. The avatar economy is, in short, all creation, consumption, and commerce associated with avatars. Virtual influencers are just one piece to the macro avatar economy movement which will define virtual worlds and the future of social media at large.”
Top 5 Virtual Creators on Instagram
1. Lu of Magalu
Lu is a virtual creator who was created by Magalu, a Brazilian retail brand, in 2009; setting the stage for the rise of virtual creators in the 2010s.
- @magazineluiza
- 6M Followers
- 15.6K Avg. Likes
- 0.26% Engagement Rate
2. Nobody Sausage
Nobody Sausage was created by artist Kael Cabral. First appearing in 2020, Nobody Sausage has become one of the top virtual creators in the world.
- @nobodysausage
- 4.3M Followers
- 128.5K Avg. Likes
- 2.96% Engagement Rate
3. CB of Casas Bahia
CB is a Brazilian virtual creator created by Casas Bahia, a popular retail brand. He was created in 2017 and is the virtual mascot for the brand.
- @casasbahia
- 3.2M Followers
- 23K Avg. Likes
- 0.69% Engagement Rate
4. Miquela Sousa
Miquela Sousa is a virtual creator who started gaining popularity in 2016. She quickly became one of the most well-known virtual creators in the world.
- @lilmiquela
- 3M Followers
- 42.1K Avg. Likes
- 1.40% Engagement Rate
5. Good Advice Cupcake
Good Advice Cupcake was created by artist and author Loryn Brantz in 2018. The creator posts positive content and “good advice” on Instagram.
- @thegoodadvicecupcake
- 2.5M Followers
- 21.4K Avg. Likes
- 0.85% Engagement Rate
For more insights on the top virtual creators, download the report here.
Top 5 Virtual Creators on TikTok
1. Nobody Sausage
In addition to being the second highest-followed virtual creator on Instagram, Nobody Sausage is the highest-followed virtual creator on TikTok!
- @nobodysausage
- 16.7M Followers
- 3.4M Avg. Views
- 1.35% Engagement Rate
2. FN Meka
FN Meka is a virtual creator who first appeared in 2019. This creator is a robot rapper and has released a few songs.
- @fnmeka
- 10.2M Followers
- 5.1M Avg. Views
- 3.19% Engagement Rate
3. Tin Lizzardo and Catty B
Tito Lizzardo and Catty B are two virtual creators who first started gaining popularity in 2020. Since then, they have become extremely popular on TikTok.
- @titolizzardo
- 5.7M Followers
- 571.8K Avg. Views
- 0.40% Engagement Rate
4. Noodle and Bun
Noodle and Bun were created in 2020. Their TikTok page features them in animations corresponding with TikTok trends.
- @noodle_and_bun
- 5.2M Followers
- 881.4K Avg. Views
- 1.33% Engagement Rate
5. Janky
Janky is a virtual creator who was created by Superplastic. First appearing in 2019, Janky has quickly become one of the top virtual creators in the world.
- @reallyjanky
- 5.2M Followers
- 603.4K Avg. Views
- 0.71% Engagement Rate
For more insights on the top virtual creators, download the report here.
Key Takeaways from the Top Virtual Creators
- Among the top virtual creators, 62.70% of their combined audiences consist of women.
- The virtual creators with the highest engagement rate have a mostly male audience.
- The majority of the top virtual creators are located in the United States and Brazil.
- TikTok’s top creators had the highest total followers and average views in comparison to those on Instagram.
- Instagram’s bottom 5 creators (from our list of the most popular virtual creators) had the highest average engagement rate overall.
For more takeaways and correlations, download the report here.
The Top Industries Among Virtual Creators
Our analysis of the top virtual creators and their brand partnerships also revealed data on the top industry categories for these collaborations.
We identify the popularity of a number of industries among the top virtual creators. Additionally, we further narrow down this data according to a multitude of metrics, including a deep dive into the top three industries: fashion, entertainment, and beauty. To read more about the top industries, download the report here.
The Top Brand Partnerships
Recent years have seen an increasing number of brands partner with virtual creators in their influencer marketing campaigns. We have identified some of these top brands as well as some of the highest-performing campaigns and brand collaborations.
High-profile brands like Pacsun, Tommy Hilfiger, Samsung, Epic Games, Gucci, and more have set the stage for partnerships with virtual creators within the influencer marketing sphere. It is no coincidence that many of these brands have also embraced the rise of NFTs and The Metaverse.
Looking at prominent case studies, we take a deep dive into some of the top brands that have partnered with virtual creators in their influencer marketing campaigns.
| Partnership | # of Posts | Likes on First Post | Comments on First Post |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miquela Sousa x Samsung | 2 | 54,118 | 1,500 |
| Janky x Epic Games | 3 | 43,936 | 367 |
| Guggimon x Tommy Hilfiger | 3 | 33,420 | 30 |
| Dayzee x Gucci | 1 | 18,083 | 37 |
| APOKI x Beaker | 9 | 3,515 | 26 |
For more insights on these top brand partnerships, download the report here.
“Real” vs. Virtual Creators
Once we identified and analyzed the top virtual creators on Instagram and TikTok, we compared their metrics and demographics against that of a group of real creators. In this case, the term “real creators” refers to content creators whose appearance and persona connect to a real, physical person.
Through our analysis of the data from both virtual and real creators, we were able to draw conclusions regarding their following, industry affinity, trend projections, price per post, audience demographics, and other metrics.
From there, we analyzed the differences in their content, sponsored posts, and brand partnerships in order to understand the different roles these two types of creators play in not only the influencer marketing industry but also the greater Creator Economy.
For insights on how virtual and “real” creators compare, download the report here.
Editor’s Note
Creators, virtual and real, are at the heart of the Creator Economy. Through this report, we intend to highlight the increasing role that virtual creators play in this industry. Virtual creators have directly tied virtual reality and The Metaverse into social media and the influencer marketing industry, further expanding the ever-growing Creator Economy.
In recent years, we have seen virtual creators skyrocket in popularity, many of them amassing millions of followers, becoming verified on multiple social media platforms, and partnering with some of the biggest brands in the world. Additionally, in our comparison of virtual and real creators, we found that virtual creators are indeed pulling their weight.
In the coming years, we only expect the number of virtual creators to continue growing, especially as the connection between the Creator Economy and The Metaverse expands.
Download our 2022 Virtual Creators Report here.
