Dallas’ Imaginuity Launches an AI-Created ‘Virtual Shopping Bestie’ Named Cindy

Imaginuity’s Virtual AI Influencer Cindy [Image: Amaginuity]

If you could create the ideal “virtual” human to connect with as many different consumers as possible, what would she look like? A marketing agency in Dallas thought she’d look a lot like “Cindy,” the AI-created—um, person?—seen above. So they brought her to life, and now they’ve put her to work.

Imaginuity, an integrated marketing agency with a proprietary customer data platform, developed Cindy through its AI Lab in partnership with The Dealey Group, a Dallas-based brand agency for many of the shopping centers run by Chicago-based JLL Retail Property Management.

The Dealey Group led the project’s creative and content based on making Cindy a “virtual shopping bestie,” while Imaginuity “brought her to life with a complex mix of generative AI tools driven by a proprietary recipe of procedures, prompts, and modeling.”

More than just a pretty face

Cindy is more than just a pretty face—she’s an influencer with “multi-ethnic characteristics designed to resonate across geographically dispersed shopping centers.” Thirteen JLL-owned shopping centers across the country, to be exact.

She also has a job, which will never be interrupted by sick leave, vacations, or personal holidays. Her assignment: to be “a consistent and replicable virtual spokesperson online” for JLL’s shopping centers.

Nope, shoppers won’t see her strolling like an AI robot around stores. Instead, they’ll “engage” with Cindy on shopping center websites, where she’ll speak to them in lifelike video as if she’s a flesh-and-blood shopper just like them. (And not actually made from a series of 1s and 0s blended with “a complex mix of generative AI tools, driven by a proprietary recipe of procedures, prompts, and modeling.”

Cindy has a lot on her plate, including needing to be “authentic, relatable,” and able to work in different market geographies, from small to large, each with different shopper demographics and psychographic characteristics, But JLL and Imaginuity think she’s up for it.

“We carefully crafted her appearance, focusing on every detail from her glowing complexion to her chic hairstyle, ensuring she’s easily recognizable across all platforms,” Ashlyn Booth, EVP and director of property marketing for JLL, said in a statement. “But it’s not just her looks that make Cindy stand out—it’s her vibrant personality. With her infectious voice and charming manner, she’s here to spill the tea on all things fashion and trends.”

“Think of her as your ultimate style guru,” Booth added, “always ready to dish out the hottest info while rocking everything from cozy athleisure to the latest seasonal must-haves.”

A lifelike extension of Imaginuity’s platform

In what Imaginuity calls “an industry first,” Cindy is an extension of the company’s Pylot platform, which aims to create “human-centered” website experiences. Cindy’s “unique personality and presence” helps make every shopping center’s website a “go-to resource for fashion and trend information,” the agency says.

Cindy has been rolled out to market through a strategic, multi-platform social campaign. One month after her debut, she had delivered big numbers with Imaginuity reporting year-over-year online website sessions across participating shopping centers had “increased by 500%, new site users by more than 1000%, and page views by nearly 500%.”

Corbett Guest, Imaginuity’s president and chief strategy and innovation officer, says Cindy is now “an integral part of each center’s website presence and social media strategy, giving these important platforms a fresh new voice and personality that will build engagement with shoppers.”

“We’ve been developing innovative marketing technology solutions for shopping centers for over 20 years,” Guest added in a statement. “Our Pylot platform enables centers to launch highly scalable websites fast, and Cindy will enhance the user experience and drive engagement of these sites through timely content focused on the latest trends, deals, and shopping center goings-on.”

Imaginuity named a new CTO earlier this month

News of Cindy’s launch comes just weeks after Imaginuity named veteran executive Matt Sommer as its chief technology officer. Sommer—the co-founder and former CEO of MarketChorus—has spent 25 years in many key aspects of managing and growing organizations, including fostering innovation, pioneering and evangelizing product vision, and leveraging data and analytics, Imaginuity said.

Just like Cindy, Sommer has a lot on his plate, because Imaginuity dedicates a full 30% of its workforce to technology roles, pursuing its goal to reimagine ways to “make marketing smarter through data, technology, and insights,” the agency said.

You can see Cindy in action by going here.

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