Innovative Branding - The Influence of an influencer

Abstract

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” Socrates, 470 BC-399 BC (Brønn and Ihlen, 2009).

This case is an illustration on how businesses are using influencers and ambassadors as lead users, both in the way they communicate and the way they develop their products and business for the future. The influence of an influencer is not only limited to what they are saying, but how they are saying it. Businesses today can’t create a five year plan, as the world can look completely different in just one. That’s why the innovative businesses stay heavily influenced by the development of the world (social media) to keep up with the trends to reach their audience.

In this thesis I have conducted a single-case study on the company Non-stop Dogwear AS, using primary and secondary data in addition to netnographic observations with numbers from the Social media-platform Instagram. I have also conducted four interviews with different influencers, with focus on their Instagram profiles; @artivicial, @jenskvernmo, @johanneshk and @lucaschanavat.

As a quite “new” player in the industry, Non-stop Dogwear takes advantage of their young employees and their ability to shift direction fast to stay vital (and innovative). The company itself arise from one single consumer-based innovation through the passion for the sport dog mushing. They build on their desire to create good products that will make a difference in the life of dogs and their owners, not with the intent to get “rich”.

One of the main findings is that the value of the right influencer instead of the number of influencers, quality over quantity, seems to be of rising importance now and for the future. I also found how the influencers are very careful in their selection of partners, and how they stay true to their values to protect their reputation