The company’s character was ahead of Barbie, and was also considered one of the virtual celebrities with the most ability to generate revenue in posts.
Lu, from Magalu, has already starred with Alok in the video for ‘My Head (Can’t Get You)’, has been alongside Anitta in some actions, and even in Super Dança dos Famosos, the company’s virtual assistant was present. And no wonder, last week, Lu was considered the most notorious virtual personality in the world.
According to the American portal Virtual Humans.org, Lu is the most followed virtual influencer in the world, with 31.2 million followers on her social networks. In the ranking, the Brazilian appears ahead of the Barbie doll and youtuber and the character Nobody Sausage, created by Brazilian Kael Cabral.
A study carried out by the website Onbuy.com, the virtual influencer from Magalu is also the personality with the greatest potential to generate advertising revenue on Instagram posts in 2022. “Even with the language obstacle, Lu was the first global case of manifestation of virtual influence within a brand”, says Pedro Alvim, senior manager of social networks at Magalu.
Created in 2003 as a voice for Magazine Luiza’s e-commerce site, Lu went from being a digital seller, helping people in the purchase process through content, until reaching a virtual celebrity, who talks, dances, interacts and takes a stand on relevant issues, such as pro-women, anti-racist and social inclusion causes.
“Lu was the first manifestation of virtual influence within a brand, globally. We were already studying the manifestation of virtual influence in other countries and contexts, but there was no benchmarking of how this could work within a brand”, says Alvim.
For him, Brazil has fertile ground for the content ecosystem, with the emergence of new relevant creators all the time. “We were testing and learning. And Lu was building her journey as a content creator as well as her notoriety in Brazil”, he highlights.
Alvim says the strategy is focused on creating narratives that build empathy and connection with people, generating useful content, participating in real-time conversations and curating products and offers.
“It is important to emphasize that the character not only represents but also accompanies this evolution of the brand, reflecting our beliefs and positioning. This generates identification with people and builds a sense of community”, he says. “The number of followers is just one of the indicators that we follow about the character and the brand, and it shows people’s interest in what we have to say and tell, through Lu”, he adds.
