CoverGirl's Influencer Chatbot Is Smart, Funny and Responsive

CoverGirl has released what it claims is the first influencer chatbot marketing campaign, using a program designed to emulate a real person's conversational style. The make-up brand, which was spun off to Coty from Procter & Gamble in October, invited fans to use the teen-focused messaging app Kik to interact with a chatbot version of Kalani Hilliker, a 16-year-old American dancer, model and TV personality. The chatbot was created by influencer marketing platform The Amplify and chatbot developer Automat, companies that became part of the 18-month-old network You & Mr Jones in mid-2016. "Mobile commerce will be colossal using bots," said David Jones, former Havas global CEO and founder of You & Mr Jones. "In 12 months there will be thousands of these. Traditional ads can cost thousands per click -- this is a conversation on Kik." Results so far include 14 times more conversations with the chatbot than with an average post by Ms. Hilliker, 91% positive sentiment, an average of 17 messages per conversation, 48% of conversations leading to coupon delivery and 51% click-through on coupons delivered, according to Mr. Jones.