- The Rise of AI Influencers: How are they Impacting AI Adoption?
AI Influencers, or rather virtual or CGI influencers, are an interesting take on what it means to be a creator on the internet. They tend to have a higher engagement rate, making them all the more lucrative to the brands. In fact, a study by Hypeauditor, an AI-powered influencer platform, said that virtual personalities have up to three times more engagement rate than real influencers. Some brand deals have even been revenue generating because these influencers stand for cutting-edge technology. However, they are not necessarily driving AI adoption as the use of AI is minimal and the content is largely created by creative teams.
- With what mission and objectives, the company was set up? In short, tell us about your journey since the inception of the company.
When Mehul Gupta (Co-Founder & CEO) and I founded SoCheers, the objective was simply to help the business grow and deliver impact-driven marketing solutions. And considering that starting something of our own was both our dreams, we also wanted to have fun with it! This has remained our mission throughout, but now on a larger scale.
We started SoCheers in 2013 with just a team of two people and two clients on our roster. We have come a long way since then, to a team of over 160 passionate individuals servicing more than a 100 clients. The client roster has grown to comprise some of the most prominent names from across industries, like Amazon Prime Video India, Tata Consultancy Services, Star Group, Lupin Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment India, Godrej Interio, PokemonGO, MeeMee and Popeye’s India, to name a few.
Moreover, we’ve diversified our offerings along the way, with dedicated verticals like SoCheers Films, which has been consistently producing award-winning videos for our campaigns. We also have a Digital Intelligence & Analytics (DIA) division, which helps us better understand the consumer with data and consumer insights, and devise digital strategies accordingly.
We’ve also expanded our footprint to the Bengaluru market recently and moved into a bigger Mumbai HQ. And to think that we started from our shared apartment not even a decade ago!
- What is your biggest USP that differentiates the company from competitors?
Having worked on a variety of cross-industry projects over the years, we have developed a unique understanding of different sectors and the specific approach needed for each. We also have expertise in executing projects with budgets varying from both ends of the spectrum, while maintaining the quality.
Our team is definitely one of our biggest USPs! I’m constantly amazed and proud of the creative intelligence they showcase in every project. Moreover, we, as an agency, love to experiment and push the creative boundaries to create something stand-out.
- How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing is one of the very first industries, in fact, to have benefitted from AI. Two of the biggest tech companies, Google and Meta, are primarily digital advertising companies and over 90% of their revenue comes from their advertising business. Newer names, such as Bytedance, are also continuously being added to the mix. And these are the same companies which are at the forefront of developing AI commercially.
Moreover, as a digital advertising agency, we heavily use tools provided by them for delivering high impact results to our clients.
- What new changes will the metaverse bring to Digital Marketing?
Despite a lot of potential predictions, I still feel Metaverse is currently in its very nascent stage and speculative space. However, it can be compared to the advent and evolution of the Internet then and now.
Metaverse is already providing new and innovative ways to the brands and marketers to leverage AR and VR. Therefore, the brands will be seen optimising the immersive and interactive experience metaverse offers to connect with their audience in an almost ‘real-like’ setting.
