TYPOLOGIES RESEARCH

It was relevant to look into typologies as initial research for this brief to help define what type of Opinion Former would be best for New Balance.

Firstly we looked into the book, 'Diffusion of Innovations' by Everett M. Rogers to get a better insight into what Diffusion is.
What is Diffusion?

"Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. It is a special type of communication, in that the messages are concerns with new ideas."
"An innovation is an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption. It matters little, so far as human behaviour is concerns, whether or not an idea is objectively new as measured by the lapse of time since its first use or discovery. The perceived newness of the idea for the individual determines his or her reaction to it. If the idea seems new to the individual, it is an innovation.

Newness in an innovation need not just involve new knowledge. Someone may have known about an innovation for some time but not yet developed a favourable or unfavourable attitude toward it, nor have adopted or rejected it. ‘Newness’ of an innovation may be expressed in terms of knowledge, persuasion, or a decision to adopt."

The Innovators

Opinion Leaders

"Rogers showed that a diffusion process in a social system follows an S-Curve in which the adoption of a technology begins with slow change, is followed by rapid change and ends in slow change as the product matures or new technologies emerge. He also held that people adopt new technological innovations at different times and at different rates. He then used the varying rates of adoption to distinguish different phases in the diffusion process allowing practitioners to assess such things as the life of a new product or service and the application of the correct set of marketing activities at the appropriate time." (Proven Models.com)

The Innovators and Opinion Leaders will be the two stages that we will focus on when choosing a suitable Opinion Former. We felt that these were the most fitting stages because they would result in a social and interesting Opinion Former who would help raise awareness for New Balance and hopefully get people who they interact with to adopt the brand themselves.