Influencer Marketing's Impact on Young People's Choice of Bank: A Case Study of Lunar's Use of Influencer Marketing on Instagram

Abstract

This thesis aims to investigate Lunar’s use of influencer marketing and whether an aggressive use of this type of marketing can become a barrier to reach the target group. Despite the fact that influencer marketing is a well-known and widely used marketing method it is the first time this form of marketing is used in the financial sector. This emphasizes why it is interesting to investigate how the target group responds to this. Furthermore, it is both interesting and relevant to examine whether Lunar's strategy actually works and whether the use of influencers affects people's attitudes towards as well as trust in Lunar. The main finding from the thesis is that Lunar is not considered to be a real bank compared to the traditional banks. Based on results from interviews and questionnaire, there are several reasons for this. First, it is due to Lunar not offering financial advice and the inability to take out larger loans. Second, it is also due to the fact that Lunar has not been on the market long enough to have gained the trust of a broad target group. Lastly, it is due to the fact that Lunar does not have a physical bank, which according to the respondents seems to have a major impact on whether a bank will appear trustworthy. Another finding from this thesis is that the high exposure of Lunar's advertisements on Instagram and the company's use of influencers has resulted in the respondents perceiving Lunar as being spam-like, untrustworthy and nonserious, which is why several of them actively opted out of seeing the advertisements as the advertisements have become too recognizable. Despite the respondents' critical attitude towards Lunar's use of influencer marketing, there are still some elements that respondents find attractive. This includes e.g. the Lunar app's savings and investment functions, which gives users a sense of clarity and user-friendliness. Although, based on the reviews on Trustpilot and the App Store as well as answers from interviews and the questionnaire, it was found that there is a lack of financial advice at Lunar, which is otherwise considered an important element for consumers' choice of bank. In addition, based on the respondents’ answers, it is showed that despite having a positive attitude towards the Lunar Dankort's appearance, which was considered to be stylish, exclusive and youthful, the debit card does not play a decisive role in the respondents' choice of bank.