The Impact Of Global Brand Virtual Spokesman Image On Generation Z Consumers’ Brand Cool Perception

It is a common strategy for brands to attract consumers to use celebrity spokesmen to carry out marketing.However,due to the high cost of endorsements,uncontrollable gossip and other drawbacks,the effect of celebrity endorsers is constantly questioned and challenged.With the continuous development of Internet technology and the rise of the concept of meta universe,people have paid more attention and yearned for the virtual world,and the strategy of virtual spokesperson emerge as the times require.Because the 3D image of the trend of virtual spokesmen is consistent with the preferences of Generation Z born after 1995,global brands have launched virtual spokesmen or contracted virtual spokesmen through digital technology to form or improve the perception and evaluation of Generation Z users on the brand.However,in terms of appearance,some of the virtual spokesperson images of global brands in the current Chinese market are cartoon anime images,and some are high simulation images;From the perspective of national image,some are foreign characters with the same image as the home country,and some are local characters with the same image as the host country.So,do these virtual spokesmen with different images have significant differences in causing Generation Z consumers to form a sense of cool global brands?If there are differences,how are they formed?Based on a systematic review of relevant literature at home and abroad,and based on the source attraction model,this paper takes the appearance image of the virtual spokesperson（real person image vs.anime image）adopted by global cosmetics brands that intend to enter the Chinese market as the independent variable,the cool perception of the global brand by the Z-generation consumers as the dependent variable,and the quasi-social interaction as the intermediary variable,Taking the image of the virtual spokesperson’s country of origin（home country image vs host country image）as the adjusting variable,the theoretical model is constructed and tested by two scene simulation experiments（N₁=313,N₂=350）.The research results show that:first,the appearance image of the global brand virtual spokesperson will significantly affect the generation Z consumers’perception of global brand coolness.Generation Z consumers think that global brands with virtual spokesmen as imitators of human images are cooler.Second,quasi-social interaction plays an intermediary role in the process that the appearance image of the virtual spokesperson affects consumers’perception of global brand cool.Thirdly,the image of the country of origin of the virtual spokesperson plays a regulatory role in the process of the appearance image of the virtual spokesperson affecting consumers’perception of the global brand cool.And no matter what the appearance image of the virtual spokesperson is,consumers’perception of the image of the host country is cooler than that of the virtual spokesperson of the image of the home country.Based on the above research results,it provides valuable and practical strategies and suggestions for how to design and adopt the virtual spokesperson image when global cosmetics brands adopt the virtual spokesperson strategy.