Korea’s Virtual Influencer ‘Rozy’ Bucks Traditional Financial Ads in Campaign for Shinhan Life
South Korea’s newly established insurance company, Shinhan Life, has launched its first brand campaign with ‘Oh Rozy’, Korea’s first virtual human.
The campaign, ‘Shinhan Life adds surprises to life’ was created by TBWA\Korea and targets Korea’s Gen MZ (those in their 20’s and 30’s) who are “reshaping the conventions of the financial investment markets,” says the brand
Bucking the trend of traditional financial ads in Korea that emphasize brand credibility through refined ad narration and wholesome visuals, Shinhan Life selected ‘Rozy’, Korea’s first virtual influencer to “break down the traditional codes applied to financial communications to appeal to MZers,” adding that, “This demographic is responsive to trends and prioritizes personal values including individuality and preference when choosing a brand or a product.”
According to TBWA/Korea, ‘Rozy’, the new face of Shinhan Life, is designed with 3D technology by analyzing the face and characteristics which Gen Z in Korea prefers the most. She currently has over 40 thousand followers on Instagram and like other influencers, she uploads photos of her daily life and actively communicates with her fans via comments.
“As brand ambassador, Oh Rozy has given Shinhan Life new and exciting ways to communicate and engage with Gen MZ, who are rising as the major consumer segment in the financial market,” said a TBWA\Korea’s spokesperson.
ShinhanLife uses virtual influencer to appeal to Gen Z
Newly launched life insurance company ShinhanLife has employed a virtual influencer for its video advertisement to better appeal to younger customers, the company said Wednesday.
ShinhanLife is a newly launched life insurer under Shinhan Financial Group. After the group acquired Orange Life, formerly known as ING Life, in 2018, it combined its own life insurer Shinhan Life with Orange Life, to launch ShinhanLife.
The insurer brought 22-year-old virtual influencer Rozy, created by Sidus Studio X, as its main model for the ad. Rozy started being active on social network from 2020 and now has some 26,000 followers on Instagram.
Rozy is not a real person, she’s a 100-percent computer generated avatar designed to look and behave like a social media influencer.
Rozy dances in the ad using moves choreographed by the company based on the hottest dances on social networking platforms like TikTok, it said in a statement.
“Unlike existing insurance ads, we selected our main model to approach the millennials and Gen Z in a more familiar way,” said Lee Sung-tae, executive vice president at ShinhanLife.
The use of the virtual model in the ad has got attention, with some comments on YouTube reading “I wouldn’t have known it was a virtual avatar if they didn’t say it.”
Rozy even posted on her Instagram page, saying she’s excited about her television debut in the ad.
It’s not the first time virtual humans have been featured on company advertisements.
Last year, Ikea featured a virtual influencer named Imma in an advertisement in Japan. Imma currently has over 339,000 followers on Instagram.