Opinion Leaders

One of the key tools for marketing communications is to use opinion leaders and formers as brand advocates and generate word of mouth communication.

Opinion leaders are 'ordinary' people to whom others look for information and advice. They are 'early adopters' of new ideas and seek out information which they pass on to family, friends, work colleagues and social groups - increasingly today using social media. They may sometimes be used in advertisements to aid credibility.

Opinion formers are people who are considered to be knowledgeable or an expert. As a result their advice is creadible and through reviews, recommendations and endorsement they can help support a marketing message.

Messages delivered by attractive sources achive higher retention recall. Organisations regularly use celebrities to act as a spokesperson to endorse their products. However, this is only effective for as long as the celebrity is seen as being both an expert and/or trustworthy in the public perception. Accenture had a partnership with the football player Andrey Arshavin which (after his scandalous commentary: "The fact that we did not meet your expectations is not our problem. It's your problem") was terminated. He was no longer a credible opinion former in the public domain.