Crafting Persuasive Environmental Messages for Virtual Influencers: The Role of Anthropomorphic Conversational Style, Persuasion Appeal, and Behavioral Context

The use of virtual influencers (VIs) has emerged as an alternative to human influencers for marketing initiatives. Prior studies have focused primarily on the visual characteristics of VIs and their use in advertising settings, with limited attention given to their capacity to drive pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). We have developed an integrated persuasive framework, grounded in the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Congruity Theory, that links VI characteristics, message appeals, and behavioral context to persuasion outcomes. Study 1 examined VI message strategies and found that competence (vs. warmth) anthropomorphic conversational style and influencing (vs. de-influencing) appeal enhanced message persuasiveness. Study 2 explored the effectiveness of VIs in promoting plastic waste reduction behaviors across different behavioral contexts and found that messages pertaining to difficult (vs. easy) and private (vs. public) behaviors significantly enhanced message persuasiveness, but that messages promoting easy and private behaviors generated stronger behavioral intentions. The insights from these studies can provide valuable guidance to businesses, marketers, and environmental advocates on effective VI message strategies for addressing challenges related to climate change.