소비자의 감각추구성향에 따른 가상 인플루언서의 특성과 광고태도 차이 검증

Advertising and marketing using virtual influencers, who are imaginary and digital characters without substance, is a newly emerging trend. These virtual influencers, many of whom are as active as famous real-life celebrities, even interact with consumers in real time, employing attractive visuals and styles. Against this backdrop, this study was conducted to identify differences in the characteristics of virtual influencers and consumers' attitudes toward advertisements that use virtual influencers according to consumers’ sensation-seeking tendency, one of their personal characteristics. To this end, a survey was conducted targeting 218 male and female adults nationwide through an online survey company. The findings are as follows. First, of the characteristics of virtual influencers, attractiveness and similarity showed differences according to consumers' sensation-seeking tendencies, but reliability showed no difference. In other words, consumers with higher sensation-seeking tendencies perceived more attractiveness and similarity to virtual influencers. Second, consumers' attitudes toward advertisements using virtual influencers was found to differ depending on their sensation-seeking tendencies. That is, consumers with higher sensation-seeking tendencies had a more favorable attitude toward advertisements using virtual influencers. These findings have academic significance in that they reflect the personal characteristics of consumers by expanding on previous studies that have only verified the causal relationship between the characteristics of virtual influencers and the audience response, focusing on the effectiveness of advertisements on the audience. In addition, at the practical level, this study is meaningful as it provides new insights into marketing strategies using virtual influencers.