Cartoon Influencers : The influencer media format as a potential mainstream alternative for animated media.

Abstract

This research assesses the challenges and outcomes of implementing the influencer storytelling format into fictional cartoon character-based intellectual properties and brands, and its potential as a mainstream alternative for animated media. Virtual influencers are a new, and still scarce, phenomenon. However, we could see a rise of these virtual identities in social media in the near future. The nature of cartoon characters could help them to take advantage of such a format, and possibly even outperform their fictional or maybe even their real human counterparts.

The goal of this research is to find out what is the criteria that these cartoon characters need to meet in order to perform successfully in a narrative format that is made of multiple media formats, cross-platform, interactive experiences and has a high and exhaustive level of exposure. While previous obstacles like technology, barrier of entry and traditional animation production pipelines are no longer of relevance; the current challenges rather reside on character construction, brand management, production capacity, and understanding an unstable media. This research assesses the input and results that organizations and professionals of the animation industry are collecting from their cartoon influencer first explorations; and it aims to collect the criteria that they take into account when considering to explore the influencer format with their intellectual properties and brands.