Supervisors: Susanne Pedersen & Lina Jacobsen
Discussants: Carsten Bergenholtz & Panos Mitkidis

Abstract
Virtual influencer marketing is gaining attraction from brands by providing new ways of engaging with audiences while ensuring control over the appearance, behavior, and beliefs of the influencer (Conti et al., 2022). Even though this level of control is attractive for brands, it is not clear whether consumers fully comprehend and cope with this new medium for persuasive communication. While this is relevant to investigate for consumers in general, adolescents are of particular concern, as they are generally more positive and receptive towards influencer marketing (De Jans et al., 2018). With an exploratory, qualitative research design, eight focus group interviews were conducted with adolescents between the age of 12-18 and parents of children in this age range. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that adolescents perceive virtual influencers similarly to human influencers in the sense that (virtual) influencers can be altered personas tailored to resonate with target audiences. However, adolescents and parents express particular skepticism towards virtual influencers due to their lack of transparency. Furthermore, adolescents state they are able to identify persuasive content shared by influencers. While parents agree with this, they are not convinced that adolescents can cope with or fully comprehend the influence exerted in the persuasive content shared by (virtual) influencers. This article contributes to the current literature by extending influencer marketing and providing insights into the ethical implications of virtual influencers’ presence on social media platforms - an environment used by adolescents for entertainment and socialization.

Everyone is welcome!