Green power of virtual influencer: The role of virtual influencer image, emotional appeal, and product involvement

Based on the fast-growing sustainable consumption trend and the importance of social media in consumer decision-making, increasingly companies are introducing green products and promoting them through social media platforms. Virtual influencers (VI), as interesting alternatives to human influencers, have a lower risk of being involved in scandals and unethical behaviors, and can convey consistent ethical signals, showing a higher fit with green products. However, how to design effective VI green product endorsement solutions remains unknown. This study explored the effectiveness of VI green endorsement from three dimensions: VI image, emotional appeal, and product involvement. Four experimental studies (N = 1027) showed that human-like VI (HVI) was more credible and had an endorsement advantage compared to anime-like VI (AVI). Second, HVI was more suitable for using pride appeals, while AVI was a better match for gratitude appeals, and AVI using gratitude appeals was considered as credible as HVI. It is worth noting that emotional appeals are only applicable in low-involvement green products, and HVI is more advantageous in high-involvement product advertisements regardless of the appeal used. The findings provide a new direction for the VI green marketing of enterprises.