Department Of Marketing

Date 01/12 2014

Masters Thesis
2014

Crowdfunding

How Established Companies Can Benefit From Crowdfunding

Initiatives

By Kristian Tabermann
Cand.Merc. Strategic Market Creation
Supervisor: Liana Razmerita
Department of International Business Communication
Number of Standard Pages: 73,8
STUs: 167.995
!

Student!signature:!_______________________________________!

Executive)Summery)
The! startling! rise! of! crowdfunding! has! raised! awareness! of! and! interest! in! its! potential.!
Moreover,! it! has! attracted! the! attention! of! scholars! in! finance,! economics! and! management.!
Studies! have! been! conducted! on! diverse! subjects! and! datasets! from! various! crowdfunding!
platforms,! to! investigate! why! individuals! are! motivated! to! participate! in! crowdfunding!
initiatives,! why! some! campaigns! reach! their! funding! goal,! and! why! some! campaigns! do! not.!
Crowdfunding!in!its!broadest!sense!means!pooling!money!from!a!large!group!of!people,!i.e.!
crowd,! typically! comprised! of! small! individual! contribution,! to! support! anothers! effort! to!
accomplish!a!specific!goal.!
!!
The!concept!of!crowdfunding!began!as!a!way!for!startAups,!artists!and!individuals!with!limited!
monetary! resources! to! be! able! to! fulfill! their! dreams.! In! a! collaborative! economy,!
crowdfunding! has! helped! hundreds! of! thousands! worldwide! to! realize! their! visions.!!
Nowadays,!the!crowdfunding!space!is!starting!to!see!an!increased!awareness!from!established!
companies!that!want!to!utilize!the!power!of!the!crowd.!
!
The!aim!of!this!study!is!to!investigate!how!established!companies!social!media!activities!can!
support!crowdfunding!initiatives!in!order!to!increase!customer!engagement!with!the!help!of!
social! Customer! Relationship! Management! (social! CRM)! and! Relationship! marketing! (RM).!
The!findings!suggest!that!established!companies!have!to!understand!and!communicate!with!
their!customers!in!a!whole!new!way!in!order!to!build!longAterm!relationships.!Furthermore,!
the! findings! propose! how! companies! with! tools! from! social! CRM! and! RM! might! attract! and!
effectively! create! customer! engagement! and! foster! brand! advocates.! However,! using! these!
two! concepts! in! a! crowdfunding! context! will! require! a! major! shift! in! the! corporate! mindset!
towards! collaboration! and! transparency.! However,! if! it! is! done! appropriately,! the! resulting!
benefits! in! terms! of! reputation! and! more! valuable! relationship! with! customers! can! be!
significant.!!
However,! since! crowdfunding! is! in! it! nascent! phase,! more! theoretical! studies! have! to! be!
conducted! before! being! able! to! predict! and! measure! the! value! of! Social! CRM! and! RM! in! a!
crowdfundingAcontext.!!

1!

Table)of)Contents)
EXECUTIVE(SUMMERY(

1!

TABLE(OF(FIGURES(

4!

1.(INTRODUCTION(

5!

1.1(RAISING(CAPITAL(IN(AGE(OF(CROWDFUNDING(
1.2(THE(CROWDFUNDING(MARKET(
1.2.1!CROWDFUNDING!MODELS!
1.2.2!CROWDFUNDING!WALKTHROUGH!
1.2.3!FLEXIBLE!FUNDING!VS.!FIXED!FUNDING!
1.3(PROBLEM(DEFINITION(
1.4(RESEARCH(QUESTION(
1.5(STUDY(SETTING(
1.6(SCOPE(&(DELIMITATION(

5!
6!
8!
9!
10!
12!
16!
16!
17!

2.(METHODOLOGY(

18!

2.1(CHOOSING(THE(RIGHT(RESEARCH(DESIGN(
2.2(METHODOLOGICAL(IMPLICATIONS(
2.2.1!CRITERIA!IN!SOCIAL!RESEARCH!
2.2.2!EPISTEMOLOGICAL!&!ONTOLOGICAL!ORIENTATION!
2.2.3!INDUCTIVE,!DEDUCTIVE!&!ABDUCTIVE!REASONING!
2.2.4!RESEARCH!DESIGN!
2.3(DATA(COLLECTION(
2.3.1!CASE!STUDY!
2.3.2!SELECTING!THE!CASE!
2.3.3!INTERVIEWS!
2.3.4!SECONDARY!DATA!
2.4(LIMITATIONS(OF(THE(DATA(COLLECTION(

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3.(LITERATURE(REVIEW(&(THEORETICAL(FRAMEWORK(

28!

3.1(THE(RISE(OF(CROWDFUNDING(
3.2(THE(ROOTS(OF(CROWDFUNDING(
3.2.1!WEB!2.0!
3.2.2!CROWDSOURCING,!OPEN!SOURCE,!OPEN!INNOVATION,!LEAD!USERS!&!USER!INNOVATION!
3.2.3!SERVICE!MARKETING!
3.2.4!BRAND!COMMUNITIES!
3.2.5!DONOR!BEHAVIOR!&!MICROFINANCE!
3.2.6!SERVICE!DOMINANT!LOGIC!&!SOCIAL!CAPITAL!
3.3(MOTIVATIONAL(DYNAMICS(OF(CROWDFUNDING(
3.3.1!THE!ENTREPRENEURS!MOTIVATIONAL!DYNAMICS!
3.4(RELATIONSHIP(MANAGEMENT(&(MARKETING(
3.4.1!SOCIAL!CUSTOMER!RELATIONSHIP!MANAGEMENT!
3.4.2!INTERPERSONAL!RELATIONSHIP!MARKETING!THEORY!
3.5(SOCIAL(MEDIA(
3.5.1!EFFECTS!OF!SOCIAL!MEDIA!ON!CROWDFUNDING!INITIATIVES!
3.6(CUSTOMER(ENGAGEMENT(
3.6.1!CUSTOMER!ENGAGEMENT!CONCEPT!AND!ITS!SIGNIFICANCE!
3.6.2!CUSTOMER!ENGAGEMENT!MARKETING!CYCLE!

28!
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2!

3.6.3!CUSTOMER!ENGAGEMENT!ONLINE!
3.7(ORGANIZATIONAL(LEGITIMACY(&(CROWDFUNDING(
3.7.1!CREATING!CROWDFUNDING!LEGITIMACY!
3.8(PERCEIVED(VALUE(
3.9(MARKETING(VALUE(OF(CROWDFUNDING(
3.10(ONLINE(SOCIAL(COMMUNITIES(
3.11(CONSUMER(ENGAGEMENT(IN(AN(ONLINE(COMMUNITY(
3.11.1!UNDERSTANDING!THE!ROLE!OF!COMMUNITY!IN!CROWDFUNDING!WORK!
3.12(DISCUSSION(&(REFLECTIONS(

46!
47!
48!
49!
50!
51!
52!
52!
53!

4.(FINDINGS(

55!

4.1(CASE(STUDY(
4.1.1!MIKKELLER!APS!
4.1.2!MIKKELLER!!HUMAN!COMMUNICATION!THROUGH!SOCIAL!MEDIA!
4.1.3!MIKKELLER!&!CROWDFUNDING!PLANS!
4.2(EXPERT(INTERVIEWS(
4.2.1!CROWDFUNDING!FOR!MARKETING!PURPOSES!
4.2.2!CROWDFUNDING!INITIATIVES!CONNECTED!TO!SOCIAL!MEDIA!MARKETING!
4.2.3!CROWDFUNDING!AS!A!CUSTOMER!ENGAGEMENT!CHANNEL!
4.2.4!CROWDFUNDING!TO!FOSTER!BRAND!ADVOCATES!
4.2.5!CROWDFUNDING!RISKS!FOR!ESTABLISHED!COMPANIES!
4.3(REFLECTIONS(

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55!
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59!
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64!
66!
68!
70!
71!

6.(DISCUSSION,(IMPLICATIONS(&(CONCLUSION(

77!

6.1(FINDINGS(
6.2(MANAGERIAL(IMPLICATIONS(
6.3(CONCLUSION(
6.3.1!LIMITATIONS!OF!THE!STUDY!&!FURTHER!RESEARCH!

77!
79!
81!
82!

7.(BIBLIOGRAPHY(

84!

8.(APPENDICES(

92!

APPENDIX(I(H(INTERVIEW(WITH(JACOB(GRAM(ALSING((2014)(
APPENDIX(II(H(INTERVIEW(WITH(JAN(WARHUUS((2014)(
APPENDIX(III(H(INTERVIEW(WITH(DENNIS(HRMANN((2014)(
APPENDIX(IV(H(INTERVIEW(WITH(JOHN(VASKIS((2014)(
APPENDIX(V(H(MIKKELLERS(EXPANSION(TIMEHLINE(

!
!

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103!
108!
110!

3!

Table)of)Figures)
!

FIGURE!1!!GLOBAL!CROWDFUNDING!MARKET!(RAISED!FUNDS/NO.!OF!PORTALS)!...............................................!6!
FIGURE!2!A!GOOGLE!TREND!SEARCH!"CROWDFUNDING"!..............................................................................................!7!
FIGURE!3!A!DIFFERENT!TYPES!OF!CROWDFUNDING!.......................................................................................................!8!
FIGURE!4!A!HOW!A!TYPICAL!CROWDFUNDING!CAMPAIGN!IS!MADE.!.............................................................................!9!
FIGURE!5!A!THE!ACCUMULATION!OF!ROLES!PLAYED!BY!CONSUMERS!IN!MARKETING!LITERATURE.!......................!12!
FIGURE!6!A!CROWDFUNDING!MARKETING!TOOLS!.......................................................................................................!14!
FIGURE!7!A!THREE!FORMS!OF!LOGIC!...............................................................................................................................!22!
FIGURE!8!A!TASKS!AND!OBJECTIVES!OF!SOCIAL!CRM!.................................................................................................!37!
FIGURE!9!A!MODEL!OF!INTERPERSONAL!RELATIONSHIP!MARKETING!.....................................................................!39!
FIGURE!10!!4CS!OF!CONSUMER!ENGAGEMENT!IN!SOCIAL!BUSINESS!...................................................................!41!
FIGURE!11!!CUSTOMER!ENGAGEMENT!MARKETING!CYCLE!.....................................................................................!46!
FIGURE!12!A!CROWDFUNDING!WORK!AND!ROLE!OF!COMMUNITY!THROUGHOUT!THE!WORK!PROCESS.!...............!53!
!

4!

1.)Introduction)
The!following!sections!will!introduce!the!background!of!this!study,!i.e.!the!relevance!of!
crowdfunding!initiatives,!problem!definition,!and!the!purpose!of!this!study!ending!with!the!
research!question.!

1.1)Raising)Capital)In)Age)Of)Crowdfunding)
An!alternative!method!of!financing!new!projects!is!rapidly!changing!the!way!entrepreneurs,!
startAups!and!companies!normally!think!of!when!needing!to!raise!capital.!The!phenomenon!is!
called! crowdfunding,! and! it! has! put! a! twist! on! the! known! practices! of! raising! money! e.g.!
fundraising! and! donation.! Crowdfunding! in! its! broadest! sense! means! pooling! money! from! a!
large! group! of! people,! i.e.! crowd,! typically! comprised! of! small! individual! contribution,! to!
support!anothers!effort!to!accomplish!a!specific!goal!(Griffin!2012;!Bannerman!2013).!!
The! concept! of! crowdfunding! is! originally! linked! together! with! artists,! musicians,! and!
entrepreneurs.! Crowdfunding! is! seen! as! a! method! to! get! unknown! individuals! to! pay! for!
projects,!which!could!not!have!been!made!without!the!help!others1.!Moreover,!the!concept!of!
crowdfunding! initiatives! can! be! seen! as! a! necessary! development! in! the! slipstream! of! the!
financial!crisis!in!2008,!as!raising!capital!for!startAups,!new!ventures,!and!projects!has!become!
more!and!more!challenging!(De!Buysere!et.!al.!2012).!!
!
According! to! Mollick! (2013)! the! concept! of! crowdfunding! needs! and! deserves! far! more!
academic!attention!than!it!has!received!up!until!today.!Literature!on!crowdfunding!is!still!in!
its! nascent! phase,! and! to! several! academics! almost! nonAexisting! (Ordanini! et.! al.! 2011;!
Belleflamme!et.!al.!2013;!Mollick!2013).!The!growing!interest!of!crowdfunding!shown!in!the!
public! sphere! has! to! be! taken! seriously,! as! crowdfunding! is! said! to! change! the! paradigm! on!
traditional!financing,!i.e.!business!angles,!venture!capital,!and!bank!loans!(Lawton!&!Marom!
2010).! Therefore,! several! academics! acknowledge! the! importance! of! challenging!
crowdfunding!as!more!than!just!a!new!way!of!financing!(Ordanini!et.!al.!2011;!Belleflamme!et.!
al.!2013;!Mollick!2013).!Thus,!research!on!crowdfunding!is!open,!and!many!routes!are!worthy!
for!investigation.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1

!http://www.benzinga.com/general/crowdsourcing/14/08/4802231/cokeAmicrosoftAandA3AotherAbigAcompaniesAthatAhaveAusedA

5!

1.2)The)Crowdfunding)Market)
To!better!understand!the!importance!of!crowdfunding,!a!brief!overview!of!the!market!will!be!
described.!A!study!by!Lambert!and!Schwienbacher!(2010)!indicate!that!the!market!is!still!in!
its! initial! phase;! with! most! of! the! crowdfunding! campaigns! having! taken! place! the! past! 3A4!
years.! Lambert! and! Schwienbachers! (2010)! sample! is! widely! scattered,! containing! cases! in!
industries!raging!from!Information!and!Communication!Technologies!(ICT),!sport,!journalism,!
and! movies,! which! make! a! more! comprehensive! view! rather! than! focusing! on! specific!
categories.! While! some! of! the! fundraising! initiatives! are! based! on! donations,! around! 80%!
appeared!to!offer!some!form!of!reward!in!return!to!the!individuals,!which!participated!in!the!
campaign.!These!rewards!include!the!issuance!of!shares,!direct!cash!payments,!a!free!copy!of!
the!product,!and!a!simple!credit!on!the!product!(Schwienbacher!&!Lambert!2010).!!
In!2012!the!crowdfunding!platforms!raised!$2.7!billion!and!successfully!funded!more!than!1!
million! campaigns! (Massolution! 2013).! Furthermore,! Massolution! (2013)! forecasts! that! the!
volume! in! global! crowdfunding! will! see! an! 81%! increase! in! 2013,! to! $5.1! billion.! Moreover,!
Massolution! forecasts! that! this! number! will! be! doubled! in! 2014,! to! $10! US! dollars.!
Furthermore,! it! number! of! platforms! will! also! increase! from! 536! platforms! in! 2013! to! 766!
platform!in!2014,!and!over!a!thousand!in!2015.!

!
Figure(1((Global(Crowdfunding(Market((Raised(funds/No.(of(Portals)(
Source:!Crowdvalley!2014:!www.crowdvalley.com/news/crowdfundingAmarketAtheAinvestorsAdoubleArole!

6!

Furthermore,! when! exploring! Google! Trends! one! can! see! the! increased! awareness! for!
crowdfunding.! Starting! in! 2008! Google! shows! an! increasing! of! queries! from! 2009! up! until!
today.!In!November!2014!one!can!observe!the!highest!number!of!queries!ever!i.e.!the!number!
100!represents!the!peak!search!interest.!

!
Figure(2(H(Google(Trend(Search("Crowdfunding"(
Source:!www.google.com/trends/explore#q=crowdfunding&cmpt=q!

!
Yet,!the!emerging!interest!on!crowdfunding!should!not!be!focused!on!the!growing!initiatives!
shown! in! the! public! media.! Ongoing! discussions! about! the! potential! often! cease! in! polemic!
narratives,!not!contributing!any!value!to!understanding!the!concept!itself!(Massolution!2013).!
!

7!

1.2.1)Crowdfunding)Models)
Within! crowdfunding! there! are! four! different! funding! models! to! raise! capital.! Furthermore,!
there! are! various! regulations! linked! to! the! different! types! of! funding! models.! A! quick!
overview! of! the! four! different! crowdfunding! models! will! shed! a! light! over! the! different!
choices!a!creator!is!faced!before!creating!a!crowdfunding!campaign!(see!figure!3).(
Type(of(crowdfunding( How(it(works(
model(
Donation!model!

Lending!model!

A!donor!contract!without!existential!reward.!In!this!model!the!backer!give!
money!to!a!cause!he!or!she!finds!interesting.!This!approach!is!not!any!
different!than!traditional!donation!to!causes!such!as!nonAprofit!
organization,!NGOs,!political!campaigns,!and!other!types!of!charity.!!
A!credit!contract.!Credit!is!being!repaid!plus!interest.!This!crowdfunding!
model!is!similar!to!any!typical!lending!scenario,!where!individuals!lend!
money!to!a!project!or!company!with!the!expectation!that!it!will!be!repaid.!(

Equity!model!

A!shareholding!contract,!shares,!equityAlike!instruments!or!revenue!
sharing!in!the!project/business.!This!model!is!linked!with!various!
regulations!and!law!depending!what!country!the!creator!is!doing!his!or!
her!crowdfunding.!Governments!are!struggling!to!make!legal!actions,!
which!will!benefit!the!entrepreneurs.!!

Reward!based!model!

A!purchase!contract!offering!some!type!of!product!or!service!in!return.!
This!model!is!the!fastest!growing!funding!model.!The!creator!is!able!to!
give!away!various!perks!in!return!for!capital.!These!perks!may!be!
prototypes!of!the!future!product,!any!kind!of!different!merchandise,!even!
a!highAfive,!or!a!thank!you!note!to!the!backers.!!

Figure(3(H(Different(Types(of(Crowdfunding(
Source:!Own!creation!based!on!www.europecrowdfunding.org/2012/10/crowdfundingAmodel/!

)
!

8!

1.2.2)Crowdfunding)Walkthrough)
To!understand!how!crowdfunding!works,!three!key!factors!are!involved.!The!crowdfounders+
are! project! owners/creators,! i.e.! entrepreneurs! or! individuals! with! a! specific! goal.! The!
crowdfunders!are!the!backers,!investors,!lenders,!donors,!and!basically!anyone!interested!in!a!
project.! The! crowdfunding+ platforms! work! as! intermediaries,! e.g.! Kickstarter! or! IndieGoGo.!
Figure!4!shows!a!sketch!of!how!a!typical!crowdfunding!campaign!works.
Online!platforms!receive!applications!from!project!owners!who!intend!to!showcase!their!business!idea!or!cause!on!the!
platforms!website!

The!project!owner!is!tasked!with!creating!a!funding!
goal!over!a!marked!period!of!time!and!an!online!pitch!(most!of!the!times!in!the!form!of!a!video),!where!the!project!owner!
pitches!his/her!idea!to!potential!funders!

During!the!campaign!the!project!owner!will!keep!his!funders/fans!updated!about!the!process!with!updates!on!the!online!
platform.!!

If!the!funding!goal!is!reached!within!the!allocated!fundraising!time!frame,!the!project!owner!receives!the!money.!If!the!funding!
goal!is!not!reached,!most!of!the!platforms!will!reimburse!the!money!to!the!funders.!!

In!terms!of!post!investment,!some!funders!choose!to!remain!involved!in!the!decisionAmaking!and!overall!strategy!of!the!
business.!Some!funders!receive!voting!rights!in!the!business.!In!most!cases!the!communication!between!the!funders!and!project!
owners!will!continue!through!the!online!platform.!!

Figure(4(H(How(a(typical(Crowdfunding(campaign(is(made.((
Source:!Own!creation!based!on!De!Buysere!et.!al.!(2012)!

!
The! crowdfunding! platform! usually! serves! as! an! intermediary! between! the! crowdfounder!
and! crowdfunder.! The! platform! ensures! that! the! crowdfounder! asking! for! capital! is! not! a!
fraud!and!can!be!trusted,!which!means!that!the!people!behind!the!platforms!examine!all!the!
projects!before!launching!them!on!the!platforms.!Furthermore,!the!various!platforms!all!have!
legal!regulations!of!what!a!crowdfounder!is!allowed!to!offer!in!return!for!capital2,3.!!!
However,! crowdfunding! campaigns! do! not! necessarily! have! to! be! on! one! of! the! numerous!
crowdfunding! platforms! available.! Campaigns! can! also! take! place! on! other! social! media!
platforms,! such! as! Facebook! and! on! the! entrepreneurs! or! companys! own! website!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2
3

!https://www.kickstarter.com/help?ref=footer!
!https://www.indiegogo.com/trust!

9!

(Belleflamme!et.!al.!2013).!
1.2.3)Flexible)Funding)vs.)Fixed)Funding)
In!practice,!there!are!two!types!of!funding!methods:!The!flexible!funding!method,!also!called!
Keep5it5All5model!(KIA)!and!the!fixed!funding!method,!also!referred!to!as!the!All5or5
NothingAmodel!(AON).!
!
In!the!AON!model,!the!entrepreneurial!firms!set!a!capital!raising!goal,!however,!if!the!goal!is!
not!reached!within!the!fixed!period!of!timer!(normally!between!30A60!days),!the!firms!does!
not!keep!any!of!the!pledge!funds,!and!the!crowd!does!not!get!any!reward.!By!contrast,!in!the!
KIA!model,!the!entrepreneurial!firms!can!keep!the!entire!pledged!amount!from!the!crowd,!
whether!the!set!goal!is!reached!or!not.!!!!
!
According!to!Cumming!et.!al.!(2014)!state!that!the!AON!model!is!used!by!the!entrepreneurial!
firms!to!signal!to!the!crowd!that!they!are!committed!to!only!undertake!the!project!if!the!goal!
is!reached,!which!is!believed!to!reduced!the!crowds!risk.!By!contrast,!entrepreneurs!that!can!
scale!their!project!will!select!the!KIA!model,!i.e.!a!portion!of!the!planned!project!is!feasible.!
However,!this!model!might!indicate!less!commitment!from!the!entrepreneurs!point!of!view,!
and!increase!uncertainty!and!risk!from!the!crowds!point!of!view.!
Crowdfunding)Examples)&)Successes)
When!talking!about!crowdfunding!successes,!one!cannot!avoid!the!Pebble!smart!watch4.!The!
Pebble! smart! watch! experienced! remarkable! attention! in! public! media.! The! campaign!
launched! on! the! crowdfunding! platform! Kickstarter! in! April! 2012! set! a! funding! goal! of!
$100.000!US!dollars!in!30!days.!However,!nearly!85.000!backers!gave!away!financial!support!
ending!up!in!a!funding!volume!of!$10.1!million!US!dollars,!making!the!Pebble!smart!watch!the!
most!financed!project!on!Kickstarter!in!its!history.!!
Another,! and! more! recent! campaign,! which! also! attracted! a! lot! of! media! attention! is! the!
campaign! made! by! Stone! Brewing! Co.! The! world! famous! Stone! Brewing! Company! created! a!
crowdfunding! campaign! on! the! platform! IndieGoGo5.! Entrepreneurs,! and! increasingly! small!
craft!beer!entrepreneurs,!are!progressively!using!crowdfunding!platforms!to!raise!capital!to!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4
5

!https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597507018/pebbleAeApaperAwatchAforAiphoneAandAandroid!
!https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/stoneAgroundbreakingAcollaborationsAA2#home!

10!

get! their! new! breweries! started.! On! Kickstarter! alone! there! were! twice! the! number! of! craft!
brew! campaigns! in! the! first! six! months! of! 2012! than! the! previously! years! combined 6 .!
However,!it!was!the!first!time!that!a!large!craft!beer!company!launched!a!campaign.!
In! July! 2014! Stone! Brewing! Co.! announced! their! plans! to! open! a! new! brewery! in! Berlin,!
Germany.! The! estimated! $25! million! US! dollars! project! is! the! first! of! its! kind,! which! means!
that!it!is!the!first!time!an!American!brewery!opens!a!brewery!outside!the!US7.!!
The! brewing! giant! turned! to! the! crowdfunding! platform! IndieGoGo,! an! American! based!
platform! to! create! a! campaign.! The! campaign! indicated! that! individuals! could! participate! in!
the!new!venture!by!purchasing/preAbuying!special!collaboration!brews,!which!have!not!been!
brewed! yet.! The! money! raised! through! the! campaign! would! be! used! to! expedite! the!
construction!of!the!restaurant!and!garden!components!of!Stones!new!expansion!project8.!The!
campaign!started!on!July!19th!2014!and!closed!on!August!29th!2014.!The!campaign!was!made!
as!a!flexible!funding!model,!meaning!that!whether!or!not!Stone!Brewing!Co.!would!reach!their!
goal!of!$1!million!US!dollars!they!would!receive!whatever!the!crowd!would!fund.!On!August!
29th! at! 11.59pm! Stone! Brewing! Co.! manage! to! get! their! campaign! funded! by! $2.531.775! US!
dollars!by!13.964!backers,!which!is!253%!more!compared!to!their!original!goal.!However,!the!
success! should! be! seen! in! the! light! of! a! really! rough! start! on! IndieGoGo,! angry! fans,! angry!
people! on! IndieGoGo,! and! changing! the! campaign! because! it! was! perceived! as! greed! and!
panhandling9.!
!
These! two! examples! show! the! inherent! power! of! the! crowdfunding! paradigm,! bringing!
together! creative! and! motivated! people! having! ideas,! and! likewise! enthusiastic! people!
searching!for!new!opportunities!of!investing!their!money!or!supporting!others!ideas.!
!
!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/08/13/crowdfundingAkickstarterAmeetsAcraftAbeer/2649139/!
!http://www.stonebrewing.com/news/140719/!
8!http://www.stonebrewing.com/press/crowdfund/!
9!http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/07/throwingAstonesAgregAkochArespondsAtoAstonesAcrowd.html!
6
7

11!

1.3)Problem)Definition)
As!mentioned!above,!crowdfunding!is!a!concept!undertaken!to!raise!money!for!new!projects!
or! ventures! proposed! by! someone,! by! collecting! small! to! mediumAsize! investments! from!
several!other!people,!i.e.!a!crowd!(Ordanini!2009;!Kleemann!et.!al.!2008;!Mollick!2013;!Schenk!
&! Guittard! 2009;! Schwienbacher! &! Larralde! 2010),! instead! of! using! traditional! institutions!
such!as!angle!capital,!venture!capital,!and!banks!(Mollick!2013).!
!
Using!a!large!crowd!to!raise!capital!is!another!step!in!the!(r)evolution!of!consumer!interaction!
(Ordanini! et.! al.! 2011).! As! seen! in! the! marketing! literature! consumers! have! always! had! a!
special! place.! The! role! assigned! to! them! has! change! dramatically! over! time,! alongside! with!
development! in! the! marketing! theory! and! the! evolution! of! markets! (Ordanini! et.! al.! 2011).!
Consumers!have!transformed!from!mere!targets!to!key!information!sources!to!coAproducers!
to! partners! for! innovative! purposes! to! key! resources! and! coAcreators! of! value,! and! now! to!
investment! support,! e.g.! crowdfunding! services! (Ordanini! et.! al.! 2011;! Schwienbacher! &!
Larralde! 2010;! Belleflamme! et.! al.! 2013,! Mollick! 2013).! Figure! 5! shows! the! development! of!
the!consumers!role!in!the!marketing!literature.!

Figure(5(H(The accumulation of roles played by consumers in marketing literature.

Source:!Ordanini!et.al.!2011,!p.464!

12!

!
(

Nascent)Studies)On)Crowdfunding)
Existing! literature! on! crowdfunding! is,! as! mentioned,! referred! as! being! novel! and! nascent!
(Belleflamme! et! al.! 2012;! Larralde! &! Schwienbacher! 2012).! In! addition,! several! articles! and!
empirical!studies!are!still!concerned!with!investigating!the!basic!principles!of!crowdfunding!
initiatives,! including! the! various! funding! models,! reward! models,! and! the! participants!
behavior! within! the! crowdfunding! processes! (Mollick! 2013;! Belleflamme! et.! al.! 2013,!
Cummings!et.!al.!2014)!just!to!name!a!few.!Moreover,!the!studies!are!carried!out!in!a!specific!
context! like! social! projects,! the! music! or! film! industry,! or! ventures! from! various! domains!
(Kappel! 2009;! Hemer! 2011;! Ordanini! et.! al.! 2011;! Larralde! &! Schwienbacher! 2012;!
Belleflamme!&!Lambert!2014).!Based!on!best!practice!examples,!research!is!being!conducted!
on!what!might!be!drivers!for!successful!crowdfunding!projects.!
The)Power)Of)The)Internet)
As! it! can! be! observed,! modern! technology! influences! every! aspect! of! life.! The! Internets!
ubiquity! in! everyday! life! enables! individuals! to! be! connected! like! never! before! (Rubinton!
2011).! Applications! of! Web! 2.0! allow! individuals! and! companies! to! easily! address,!
communicate,!and!interact!with!a!vast!amount!of!people!simultaneously.!!
It!is!within!the!sphere!of!Web!2.0!applications!that!crowdfunding!initiatives!place!itself,!as!a!
way! for! entrepreneurs,! etc.! to! connect! with! a! vast! amount! of! people! (i.e.! a! crowd).!
Belleflamme! et.! al.! (2013)! state! that! crowdfunding! can! be! used! to! promote! products! by!
encouraging!consumers!to!spread!information!about!new!ideas,!venture,!or!products!online.!
Belleflamme!et.!al.!(2013)!suggest!three!essential!marketing!functions!of!crowdfunding.!These!
being:+Market!Research,+Promotion,!and!Engagement.!!
The! research! presumes! crowdfunding! as! a! market! research! tool,! since! a! crowdfunding!
campaign!allows!receiving!feedback!on!a!given!idea,!venture,!or!product,!as!well!as,!estimating!
the!potential!customer!base!(Belleflamme!et.!al.!2013).!Moreover,!crowdfunding!can!be!used!
as! promotion,! as! it! offers! free! visibility! for! ideas! or! products.! Crowdfunding! initiatives! may!
also! create! great! engagement,! as! a! company! has! the! opportunity! to! offer! rewards! or! give!
backers!a!special!thank!you.!Furthermore,!various!projects!offer!their!backers!the!opportunity!

13!

to! participate! in! the! product! design,! voting! rights,! and! testing.! Consumer! inputs! allow! ! the!
entrepreneurs! to! approve! the! product,! and! through! that! make! it! more! attractive! for! the!
potential! market.! Gruner! and! Homburg! (2000)! found! that! interacting! with! potential!
customers! in! the! development! stages! has! been! proven! to! have! positive! influence! on! the!
products!future!success!rate.!
(
(

Promotion!

(
(

Market!
Research!

Engagement!

(
(

Crowdfunding!
Marketing!
Tools!

(
(
(

Figure(6(H(Crowdfunding(Marketing(Tools(
Source:!Own!creation!based!on!Belleflamme!et.!al.!2013!

Pull)Stategy)
In!the!past,!marketers!would!first!identify!segments!and!categorize!them!demographically!or!
psychographically! before! launching! products! to! the! market! space.! Today! crowdfunding! has!
turned!this!approach!upside!down!by!giving!businesses,!entrepreneurs,!and!brands!the!ability!
to! market! their! product! directly! to! customers! long! before! the! product! is! even! produced! by!
using!the!social!web,!while!generating!funds!for!businesses.!Therefore,!crowdfunding!can!be!
perceived! as! a! pull! strategy! rather! than! push! strategy,! as! it! ensures! an! enthusiastic! interest!
and!engagement!from!customers!normally!through!social!media!(Cooper!2014).!!
Crowdfunding!initiatives!bring!creators,!i.e.!entrepreneurs,!and!funders,!i.e.!backers,!together!
in!a!common!project!based!on!what!is!revealed!about!the!project!and!its!participants.!Funders!
take! on! varying! levels! of! involvement! in! the! project,! from! relative! distance! to! the! right! to!
participate! in! strategic! decisionAmaking.!One! of! the! main! reasons! why! crowdfunding! has!
become! successful! might! be! that! people! strive! to! associate! with! likeminded! people! and! to!
form!communities.!Brabham!(2008)!argues!that!crowdfunding!is!similar!to!crowdsourcing,!as!

14!

it! is! build! upon! the! creation! of! communities.! Furthermore,! Brabham! (2013)! states! that! the!
sense! of! belonging! to! a! community! is! what! draws! people! into! supporting! crowdfunding!
initiatives.!Therefore,! may! crowdfunding! initiatives! not! only! contribute! to! the! realization! of!
new! projects! but! moreover,! it! also! contributes! to! the! culture! that! emerges! from! the!
relationships!between!creators,!funders,!and!communities!(Bannerman!2013).!
Established)Companies)Take)On)The)Crowdfunding)Space)
Established! companies! are! starting! to! utilize! crowdfunding! initiatives.! According! to! Dr.!
Richard! Swart! (2014),! director! of! research! on! crowdfinance! at! UC! Berkeley,! it! is! a! new! and!
growing! trend! for! many! corporations! expressing:! its+ a+ natural+ evolution+ of+ how+ companies+
are+using+social+media+marketing.!Furthermore,!companies+have+come+to+understand+that+the+
key+to+brand+engagement+and+brand+expansion+is+to+figure+out+how+to+create+deep+engagement+
in+social+media.+People+are+sort+of+turning+out+anything+that+looks+or+feels+like+a+message+from+a+
corporation+10.!
The!question!at!hand!is!how!established!companies!have!the!ability!to!utilize!crowdfunding!
initiatives!to!support!their!social!media!marketing!activities.!
!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!http://www.benzinga.com/general/crowdsourcing/14/08/4802231/cokeAmicrosoftAandA3AotherAbigAcompaniesAthatAhaveAusedA
crowdfun!

10

15!

1.4)Research)Question)
As! crowdfunding! initiatives! can! be! seen! as! a! marketing! tool,! research! on! utilizing!
crowdfunding! to! building! longAterm! relationships! with! customers! might! be! an! important!
factor! in! a! companys! marketing! strategy;! hence! a! successful! crowdfunding! campaign! may!
create! a! strong! online! community.! Moreover,! as! mentioned! above,! companies! with! already!
established! customer! bases! and! online! communities! are! starting! to! launch! crowdfunding!
campaigns!to!communicate!and!engage!with!existing!and!potential!customers.!!
Based!on!such!arguments!the!study!aims!to!answer!the!following!research!question!and!subA
questions!
!
RQ:( How( can( an( established( companys( social( media( activities( support( crowdfunding(
initiatives( to( increase( customer( engagement,( with( the( help( of( social( Customer(
Relationship(Management(and(Relationship(Marketing?(
A

How(is(Mikkeller(currently(using(social(media?(

What(are(Mikkellers(main(drivers(to(facilitate(crowdfunding(initiative?(

What( conditions( should( be( in( place( in( a( company,( like( Mikkeller,( in( order( to(
make(sufficient(use(of(a(crowdfunding(campaign?(
(

1.5)Study)Setting)
This! study! aims! to! investigate! the! concept! of! using! crowdfunding! initiatives! in! established!
companies.! This! study! pays! special! attention! to! one! organization,! which! is! determined! to!
make! a! crowdfunding! campaign! to! increase! customer! engagement,! and! get! more! brand!
ambassadors.!!
More!specifically!this!study!is!interested!in!investigating!the!underlying!factors!that!drives!the!
brewing! company! Mikkeller! ApS! to! facilitate! crowdfunding! initiatives.! Having! this! in! mind,!
this! study! will! integrate! several! literature! streams;! use! expert! insights,! secondary! data,! and!
make!use!of!a!qualitative!case!study!of!Mikkeller,!in!order!to!understand!the!various!benefits!
and! possible! pitfalls! crowdfunding! might! have! on! established! companies.! Furthermore,! this!
study! will! also! investigate! why! established! companies! are! entering! the! crowdfunding! space!

16!

and!how!they!can!benefit!from!crowdfunding!initiatives!and!create!value!for!their!businesses!
after!a!campaign.!

1.6)Scope)&)Delimitation)
The! scope! of! the! research! is! limited! to! understanding! the! drivers! behind! customer!
engagement! through! social! media! platforms.! Moreover,! the! case! study! performed! focus! on!
one!industry,!the!fastAmovingAconsumerAgoods,!i.e.!the!craft!beer!industry.!The!reason!is!that!
the!craft!beer!industry!consist!of!many!smaller!companies,!which!all!have!relatively!large!fan!
bases.! This! means! that! people! have! to! know! about! the! brewery! to! be! able! to! become! a! fan.!
Normally,! microbreweries! do! not! use! advertising! as! larger! companies,! which! means! that!
microbreweries!rely!on!wordAofAmouth!and!their!followers!on!social!media.!Furthermore,!this!
study!focuses!on!established!companies,!i.e.!Small!and!MediumAsize!Enterprises!(SMEs),!and!
will! not! take! largeAscale! corporations! into! account! that! have! whole! divisions! of! marketing,!
R&D,!and!customer!service.!!
In!terms!of!crowdfunding!models!I!will!only!focus!on!rewardAbased!crowdfunding,!since!the!
other! models! of! crowdfunding! e.g.! the! equity! Aand! lending! models! consist! of! some! kind! of!
return! on! investment! to! the! backers.! These! models! are! still! not! fully! legal! in! Denmark,! and!
since!microbreweries!are!independently!owned,!they!have!no!interest!of!selling!shares!to!the!
public.! Therefore,! the! conclusions! drawn! might! not! relate! to! companies! in! other! industries,!
although! conclusions! from! this! research! might! in! some! cases! be! suggestive! for! other!
industries.!
!
The! research! does! not! intend! to! cover! all! aspects! of! customer! engagement,! relationship!
marketing,!or!social!Customer!Relationship!Management!(social!CRM),!as!the!scope!would!be!
far! too! extensive.! The! perspective! taken! in! this! research! is! broad,! introducing! a! number! of!
aspects! concerned! with! crowdfunding! initiatives,! customer! engagement,! and! relationship!
management,!which!indicate!that!the!depth!of!the!analysis!is!strained.!!
As! mentioned! above,! the! research! on! crowdfunding! has! so! far! been! extremely! limited!
regarding!the!connection!between!crowdfunding!initiatives!and!social!media!marketing,!and!
thus! I! believe! a! broad! perspective! is! necessary.! Furthermore,! as! the! research! is! based! on!
interviews!the!conclusions!drawn!are!dependent!on!their!personal!viewpoints.!

17!

2.)Methodology)
The!methodological!choices!of!this!study!aims!to!construct!a!guideline!of!the!chosen!research!
design.! Furthermore,! this! chapter! will! provide! the! reader! with! an! overview! of! the!
methodological!implications!and!issues!regarding!the!research!design.!
!
A! research! design! provides! a! framework! and! overall! plan! for! the! collection! and! analysis! of!
data! that! is! required! to! answer! the! research! question! (Bryman! 2012).! The! function! of! a!
research!design!is!to!ensure!that!the!evidence!obtained!enables!the!researcher!to!answer!the!
initial!question!as!unambiguously!as!possible!(De!Vaus!2001,!p.9).!In!other!words,!a!research!
design!is!the!plan!of!how!the!researcher!will!gather!information,!and!which!techniques!will!be!
used! for! analyzing! the! information,! in! order! to! answer! the! research! question! the! study!
focuses! on.! This! means! that! the! research! design! will! have! a! profound! influence! on! the!
outcome! of! the! research.! It! is! known! that! the! choice! of! research! design! reflects! decisions!
about!the!priority!being!given,!to!a!range!of!dimensions!of!the!research!process.!!

2.1)Choosing)The)Right)Research)Design)
According! to! Ghauri! and! Grnhaug! (2005)! there! are! three! main! classes! of! research! design:!
exploratory,! descriptive,! and! causal! design,! and! determining! which! class! is! relevant! for! a!
research!depends!on!the!problem!structure.!
!
I!decided!to!use!an!exploratory!research!design!for!several!reasons.!Firstly,!the!nature!of!my!
topic!is!dynamic,!meaning!that!while!reading!and!collecting!articles!and!working!papers,!new!
articles!got!available.!Furthermore,!crowdfunding!is!based!on!relatively!new!technologies!and!
trends,!which!are!in!constant!development!these!years.!Secondly,!up!until!today!there!has!not!
been!much!empirical!and!conceptual!research!done!on!the!topic.!Although!the!crowdfunding!
platforms! have! been! known! for! some! years,! as! well! as! consumer! behavior,! donor! behavior,!
and!customer!engagement!have!been!research!considerably,!the!question!I!propose!is!lacking!
from! the! literature.! Thirdly,! the! issue! of! my! research! has! a! complexity;! thus! crowdfunding!
initiatives! have! multiple! factors,! which! need! to! be! investigated! and! understood! more!
thoroughly.! In! conclusion,! I! selected! an! exploratory! approach,! aiming! to! investigate! the!
benefits!crowdfunding!initiative!might!produce!to!established!companies,!and!what!risks!are!
connected!to!crowdfunding.!!

18!

!
When! conducting! an! exploratory! research,! the! methodology! literature! suggests! different!
sources! of! knowledge! and! methods! for! acquiring! information! e.g.! literature! search,!
interviewing! experts,! and! conducting! focus! group! interviews! (Saunders! et.! al.! 2009).! My!
exploratory!research!was!done!by!literature!search!and!interviewing!experts.!The!aim!of!the!
literature!review!was!to!gain!a!deeper!knowledge!on!the!topic,!and!develop!questions,!which!
hopefully! could! be! answered! with! the! help! of! the! empirical! research.! At! first,! I! interviewed!
experts! working! with! fundraising! and! crowdfunding.! Moreover,! I! interviewed! an! expert!
working!with!crowdfunding!research!at!the!University!of!Aarhus,!Denmark.!The!insights!from!
the! experts! provided! me! with! a! deeper! understanding! on! how! crowdfunding! is! being! used!
and! the! potentials! of! crowdfunding.! Secondly,! I! interviewed! the! Operational! manager! from!
Mikkeller! in! order! to! gain! insights! of! their! social! media! activities! and! decisionAmaking!
processes.! The! focus! of! the! research! was! initially! broad,! as! an! exploratory! research! often! is!
(Bryman!2012).!However,!as!the!research!advanced!it!became!narrower.!

2.2)Methodological)Implications)
The!following!parts!will!present!methodological!decisions!for!this!study.!Furthermore,!these!
parts!will!include:!criteria!in!social!science,!methodological!orientations,!and!research!design.!
2.2.1)Criteria)In)Social)Research)
Before!going!in!depth,!three!prominent!criteria!for!the!evaluation!of!social!research!have!to!be!
illuminated,!namely!Reliability,+Replication,+and!validity.!!
Reliability!has!to!do!with!the!quality!of!measurement.!In!its!everyday!sense,!reliability!is!the!
consistency!of!measures!in!a!given!research!design!(Bryman!2012).!
Replication+ is! closely! related! to! reliability,! hence,! researches! sometimes! choose! to! replicate!
the!findings!of!others.!The!reasons!for!replication!of!a!study!may!emanate!from!feelings!that!
the! original! results! do! not! match! other! evidence! that! is! relevant! to! the! domain! in! question!
(Bryman! 2012).! To! replicate! a! study! must! be! capable! of! replication;! this! means! that! if! a!
researcher! does! not! spell! out! procedures! in! great! detail,! replications! is! impossible.!
Consequently,! replications! in! social! science! is! not! common,! thus! many! researchers! tend! to!
resist! replication! because! of! this.! Burawoy! (2003)! states! that! in! academia! the! real! reward!
comes!not!from!replication!but!from!originality.!!

19!

Validity+is!concerned!with!the!integrity!of!the!conclusions!that!are!generated!form!a!research.!
Validity! has! a! great! impact! in! quantitative! research! referred! to! as! Measurement+ validity.+
Basically,! it! has! to! do! with! the! question! of! whether! a! measure! that! is! devised! of! a! concept!
really!does!reflect!the!concept!that!it!is!supposed!to!be!denoting!(Bryman!2012).!Another!type!
of! validity! is! Internal+ validity.! Internal! validity! is! concerned! primarily! with! the! question! of!
whether!a!conclusion!that!incorporates!a!causal!relationship!between!two!or!more!variables!
holds! water.! The! issues! of! causality! refer! to! the! factor! that! has! a! causal! impact! as! the!
independent!variable!and!the!effect!as!the!dependent!variable.!Overall,!internal!validity!raises!
the!question:!how!confidant!can!we!be!that!the!independent!variable!really!is!at!least!in!part!
responsible! for! the! variation! that! has! been! identified! in! the! dependent! variable! (Bryman!
2012).! Thirdly,! validity! also! addresses! External+ validity.+ External! validity! deals! with! the!
question! of! whether! the! results! of! a! study! can! be! generalized! beyond! the! specific! research!
context.! Moreover,! a! study! is! seen! as! not! externally! valid! if! it! would! only! apply! to! the!
respondents! alone.! On! the! other! hand,! if! it! is! externally! valid,! we! would! expect! it! to! apply!
more!generally!to!the!population!(Bryman!2012).!Lastly,!Ecological+validity+is!focused!on!the!
notion! whether! social! scientific! findings! are! applicable! to! peoples! everyday,! natural! social!
settings.!This!criterion!is!concerned!with!the!question!of!whether!social!research!sometimes!
produces! finding! that! may! be! technically! valid! but! have! little! to! do! with! what! happens! in!
peoples!everyday!lives!(Bryman!2012).!
2.2.2)Epistemological)&)Ontological)Orientation)
(
According!to!Creswell!(2003),!the!philosophical!assumption,!termed!worldview!or!paradigms,!
which!the!researchers!bring!to!the!study!need!to!be!identified!as!they!influence!the!practice!of!
the! research.! ! These! assumptions! refer! to! the! general! orientation! about! the! world! and! the!
nature!of!research.!(
Daymon!and!Holloway!(2002)!define!two!dominant!worldviews!in!social!science!research:!the!
interpretive!and!the!realist.!These!two!worldviews!are!contrasting.!The!realist!view!assumes!
that!reality!is!objective!and!that!researchers!can!explain!reality!by!gathering!large!amount!of!
data! and! thus! drawing! assumptions! based! on! regularities! of! the! data.! Contrasting,! the!
interpretive! view! is! subjective! and! concerns+ itself+ with+ exploring+ the+ way+ that+ people+ make+
sense+of+their+social+worlds+and+how+they+express+these+understandings+through+language,+sound,+
imagery,+ personal+ style,+ and+ social+ rituals! (Daymon! &! Holloway! 2002,! p.4).! It! provides!

20!

researchers! with! the! opportunity! of! gaining! deeper! understanding! of! their! subjects! by!
exploring!the!motivations!and!intentions.!The!interpretive!research!demands!the!researcher!
to!actively!being!involved,!i.e.!make!use!of!qualitative!research.!On!the!other!hand,!the!realist!
view!is!more!related!to!quantitative!research.!
!
The! nature! of! this! study! is! build! upon! an! interpretative! view,! i.e.! a! qualitative! research!
strategy,! as! it! is+based+upon+the+view+that+a+strategy+is+required+that+respects+the+differences+
between+ people+ and+ the+ objects+ of+ the+ natural+ science+ and+ therefore+ requires+ the+ subjective+
meaning+of+social+action!(Bryman!2012,!p.30).!!
!
I!believe!that!by!gaining!information!through!qualitative!data!will!provide!me!with!a!deeper!
knowledge!and!understanding!of!the!issues,!than!by!drawing!conclusion!based!on!regularities!
in!large!amount!of!data.!
2.2.3)Inductive,)Deductive)&)Abductive)Reasoning)
Reasoning+is+the+process+of+using+existing+knowledge+to+draw+conclusions,+make+
predictions,+ or+ construct+ explanations.+ Three+ methods+ of+ reasoning+ are+ the+
deductive,+inductive,+and+abductive+approaches!(Butte!College!2014).!+
The! inductive! approach! is! when! a! researcher! starts! out! with! a! number! of! single! cases,!
observes!a!pattern!form!and!generalizes!based!on!that!pattern!A!while!a!deductive!approach!
proceeds! from! a! general! rule! and! explains! a! single! case! through! this! rule! (Alvesson! &!
Skldberg!2009).!!
The! abductive! approach! is! a! mixture! of! inductive! and! deductive! approach;! like! induction! it!
takes! a! point! of! departure! from! the! empirical! basis,! but! does! not! reject! theoretical!
preconceptions!(like!the!inductive!approach!does)!and!is!in!that!respect!closer!to!deduction.!
The! abductive! approach! provides! the! chance! of! preceding! the! analysis! of! the! empirical!
research!with!previous!theoretical!studies!in!the!literature,!which!can!act!as!inspirations!for!
the! discovery! of! patterns! that! bring! understanding! (Alvesson! &! Skldberg! 2009,! p.! 4).!
Abductive! reasoning! provides! a! deeper! perception! of! the! research! issues! because! of! its!
inclusion! of! understanding,! whereas! induction! and! deduction! are! shallower! approaches!
(Alvesson!&!Skldberg!2009,!p.!4).!

21!

!
Figure(7(H(Three(forms(of(logic(
Source:!http://www.kon.org/archives/forum/19A1/mcgregor4.html!

In!this!study!I!will!make!use!of!an!abductive!reasoning;!hence!abduction!is!the!logic!used!to!
construct! descriptions! and! explanations,! which! are! grounded! in! the! everyday! activities! of,!
social! actors11.! The! conditions! of! this! approach! are! well! connected! with! the! focus! in! this!
paper.!!
2.2.4)Research)Design)
This!study!will!make!use!of!a!case!study!design.!There!are!various!reasons!for!choosing!a!case!
study.!Firstly,!this!method!enables!the!researcher!to!gain!a!holistic!view!of!the!topic,!providing!
a!clearer!picture!given!the!different!sources!of!evidence!used.!Secondly,!a!case!study!is!useful!
in!capturing!the!emergent!and!immanent!properties!of!an!instable!context,!e.g.!crowdfunding,!
which!seems!to!change!rapidly.!Thirdly,!as!this!study!is!an!exploratory!analysis,!where!the!aim!
is!to!provide!and!conclude!on!a!how!question,!which!aim!to!explain!a!certain!phenomenon,!a!
case!study!is!more!suitable!than!other!types!of!research!designs!(Yin!2003).!Furthermore,!the!
aim! is! to! provide! information! in! order! to! gain! new! knowledge.! Lastly,! a! case! study! allows!
generalizations! of! the! findings,! which! can! lead! to! the! understanding! of! causality! (Bryman!
2012).!!
!
The!procedural!characteristics!in!a!case!study!are!built!on!taking!into!account!that!there!are!
many! variables! of! interest,! multiple! sources! of! evidence,! as! well! as! transversal! theoretical!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11

!http://srmo.sagepub.com/view/theAsageAencyclopediaAofAsocialAscienceAresearchAmethods/n1.xml!

22!

propositions! to! guide! the! collection! and! analysis! of! data! (Yin! 2003).! The! overall! quality! of!
using!case!studies!based!on!multiple!sources!of!evidence!have!proven!to!be!rated!higher!than!
those!that!relied!on!a!single!source!of!information!(Yin!2003).!Thus,!this!reflects!positively!on!
the!validity!of!the!qualitative!data!provided!in!this!study.!

2.3)Data)Collection)

!
The!following!sections!discuss!how!I!performed!my!data!collection,!which!issues!I!focused!on!
and!how!and!why!the!data!sources!were!found!to!be!relevant!to!my!research.!!
!
I! used! primary! data,! consisting! of! the! interviews! I! performed! and! observations! as! well! as!
secondary! data.! The! primary! data! used! in! the! research! consists! of! the! interviews! that! I!
conducted! in! October! and! November! 2014.! In! total! I! interviewed! four! individuals,! all! with!
different! backgrounds! and! motivations,! which! I! believe! bring! value! to! the! research,! as! the!
information!gained!does!not!come!from!one!narrow!source.!The!interviews!were!conducted!
via!faceAtoAface,!via!Skype,!and!email.!!
!
As! this! study! is! a! qualitative! research! a! triangulated! research! strategy! is! commonly! used.!
Triangulation!in!social!science!is!often!used!to!indicate!that!different!methods!and!sources!are!
used!in!order!to!check!the!results.!!
!
Triangulation! is! a! powerful! technique,! which! facilitates! validation! of! data! through! cross!
verification!from!two!or!more!sources.!When!using!multiple!observers,!theories,!methods,!and!
empirical!data!researches!hope!to!overcome!eventual!weakness!or!intrinsic!biases!(Yin!2003).!
Additionally,! any! case! study! findings! are! likely! to! be! more! conclusive! and! accurate,! when!
based!on!several!sources!of!data!(Yin!2003).!
!
For! the! purpose! of! this! research,! data! related! to! the! topic! was! collected! using! CBS! library!
both!online!and!physical,!exploiting!the!online!database!and!bookshelves.!Internet!search!was!
conducted! to! get! access! to! books,! academic! journals,! and! articles! relevant! to! the! topic.!
Furthermore,! literature! was! identified! and! fetched! through! various! Internet! sources,! social!

23!

media! tools,! which! have! been! an! inevitable! source! of! information! during! all! stages! of! the!
research!process.!!!
2.3.1)Case)Study)
According! to! Yin! (1994),! a! case! study! is:! +an+ empirical+ inquiry+ that+ investigates+ a+
contemporary+phenomenon+within+its+real5life+context,+especially+when+boundaries+between+the+
phenomenon+ and+ the+ context+ are+ not+ clearly+ evident+ (p.13).! A! case! study! is! applicable! in!
situations! where! the! researcher! wants! to! study! individuals,! group,! organization,! social,!
political,! and! related! phenomena! (Yin! 1994).! Moreover,! case! studies! are! argued! to! be! a!
relevant!strategy!when!the!researcher!has!little!control!over!events.!Case!studies!are!also!said!
to!be!applicable!for!studying!unexplored,!emerging!fields,!and!thus!viable!sources!of!evidence!
for!the!development!of!theoretical!implications!(Yin!1994).!!
2.3.2)Selecting)The)Case)
Given!the!novelty!and!the!circumstances!of!this!study!it!requires!a!careful!selection!of!the!case!
to!investigate.!The!research!includes!an!empirical!study!of!one!company,!which!is!determined!
of!utilizing!crowdfunding!as!a!tool!to!build!relationships!and!integrate!their!customers!in!the!
company,!in!order!to!support!their!social!media!marketing.!!
The! case! company! is! Mikkeller! ApS,! a! Danish! micro! brewing! company,! which! has! become! a!
successful!company!worldwide.!Although!the!company!has!over!40.000!people!who!like!them!
on!Facebook!Mikkeller!wants!to!engage!more!with!their!followers/customers!and!make!them!
ambassadors!for!the!company.!!
Following!argumentations!explain!the!rationale!behind!choosing!this!particular!case!for!the!
study.!!!
In! my! daily! life! working! in! the! craft! beer! industry! I! see! microbreweries! working! intensely!
with! social! media! as! their! primary! marketing! channel.! Working! at! Mikkeller! ApS! it! came! to!
my! knowledge! that! they! were! in! the! very! early! stage! of! thinking! about! launching! a!
crowdfunding! campaign.! I! instantaneously! saw! a! match;! working! with! crowdfunding! in!
practice! while! writing! my! masters! thesis! about! crowdfunding.! Furthermore,! I! found! that!
there!only!were!limited!studies!focused!on!crowdfunding,!and!especially!the!marketing!aspect!

24!

of!it.!Moreover,!my!study!program!Strategic!Market!Creation!focuses!on!marketing,!business!
development,!and!innovation.!!!
!
All!the!aboveAmentioned!features!guided!me!to!connect!crowdfunding!together!with!various!
theories!and!concepts.!Moreover,!crowdfunding!initiatives!created!by!established!companies!
have! not! been! studied! thoroughly,! which! triggered! me! to! investigate! how! established!
companies!might!benefit!from!crowdfunding!initiatives.!Therefore,!I!find!the!topic!relevant!to!
my!study!program,!as!it!connects!various!concepts!from!my!curriculum.!!
2.3.3)Interviews)
!Interviews!have!been!conducted!and!used!to!collect!data,!which!will!be!used!in!the!analysis.!
The!interviewees!have!been!selected!by!searching!the!Internet!to!find!people/companies!who!
have!used!crowdfunding,!and!to!find!people!considered!as!people!with!special!knowledge!in!
the! field! of! crowdfunding.! According! to! Daymon! and! Holloway! (2002)! the! important!
attributes!of!interviews!are!that!are!flexible!and!allow!one!to!understand!the!perspectives!of!
interviewees.!
Case)Company)Interview)
I! interviewed! one! employee! from! Mikkeller,! Operations! Manager! Jacob! Gram! Alsing!
(Appendix!I),!who!is!working!with!all!parts!of!the!company.!Currently!working!with!their!new!
venture,!which!will!be!funded!by!the!crowd.!
The!interview!was!conducted!in!order!to!gain!a!deeper!insight!into!Mikkellers!social!media!
marketing.! Furthermore,! I! wanted! to! gain! knowledge! why! Mikkeller! has! decided! to! use!
crowdfunding! initiatives! to! support! their! business,! what! Mikkeller! sees! as! the! greatest!
potential! within! their! companies! for! using! these! initiatives,! and! if! they! have! discovered! or!
seen!any!hindrances.!!
Interviews)With)Experts)
I!conducted!interviews!with!experts!ranging!from!assistant!professors!to!a!senior!director!of!
outreach! from! the! crowdfunding! platform! IndieGoGo.! This! provided! me! with! different!
perspectives!of!knowledge!about!the!subject!of!how!the!platforms!can!be!used,!how!they!are!
currently! used,! and! which! possibilities! they! present! for! the! companies.! The! experts! have!
different! backgrounds! and! knowledge;! hence,! contributing! with! divergent! expertise! to! the!

25!

research.!!
Jan! Warhuus! is! an! assistant! professor! at! Aarhus! University! (Appendix! II).! He! is! currently!
working!analytical!with!crowdfunding,!and!has!held!several!lectures!and!talks!on!the!topic.!!
I! also! interviewed! Dennis! Hrmann! (Appendix! III),! who! specializes! in! fundraising.! He! is! a!
partner! at! Fundraiseren.dk,! which! consists! of! Rasmus! Munch! and! Dennis! Hrmann.! Dennis!
Hrmann! is! a! candidate! skilled! in! communication! and! economics! and! has! additional!
continuing! education! in! fundraising,! sponsorship! and! project! management! as! well! as! many!
years!of!experience!in!fundraising!and!project!development.!Dennis!Hrmann!has!been!used!
as!an!expert!in!several!Danish!papers!regarding!crowdfunding.!!
Moreover,!I!interviewed!John!Vaskis!(Appendix!IV),!who!is!a!senior!director!of!outreach.!John!
Vaskis! has! helped! several! startAups! with! their! crowdfunding! campaigns.! Recently! he! has!
assisted!Stone!Brewing!Co.!with!their!crowdfunding!campaign!(mentioned!in!the!introduction!
chapter)!!
2.3.4)Secondary)Data)
The! secondary! data! is! basically! other! researchers! data! and/or! research! papers! (Daymon! &!
Holloway!2002),!which!I!analyzed!in!light!of!my!own!research!topic.!My!process!began!with!
collecting! and! reading! articles! about! crowdfunding.! These! articles! led! me! to! other! articles,!
question!about!the!topic,!and!interesting!paths!to!go.!I!searched!the!CBS!library!database!as!
well! as! Google! Scholar! for! articles,! books,! and! working! papers! using! key! words! such! as!
crowdfunding! success,! crowdfunding! mistakes,! crowdfunding! and! community,!
crowdfunding! and! marketing,! crowdfunding! and! social! media,! crowdfunding! and!
customer!engagement,!crowdfunding!and!organizational!legitimacy,!and!social!media!and!
customer! relationship! management.! I! aimed! to! include! articles,! which! had! been! referenced!
widely!in!my!selection;!however,!some!very!recent!articles!were!of!great!interest!due!to!the!
scope!of!the!articles!and!my!research!question.!Furthermore,!the!secondary!data!turned!out!to!
be!a!valuable!source!to!the!study!due!to!the!novelty!of!my!study.!!

26!

2.4)Limitations)Of)The)Data)Collection)
This! part! will! uncover! various! obstacle! and! limitations,! which! I! faced! in! all! stages! of! my!
research.! Furthermore,! the! limitations! forced! me! to! make! unforeseen! modifications!
throughout!the!research.!
!
In!this!study!I!faced!some!obstacles,!which!made!me!change!my!scope!several!times.!Initially,!
the! scope! of! the! thesis! was! to! make! use! of! a! netnographic! study! on! Mikkeller! and! Stone!
Brewing! Co.! crowdfunding! campaigns.! However,! due! to! unforeseen! obstacles! Mikkeller!
postponed! their! crowdfunding! campaign! (which! is! still! not! launched),! moreover,! data! from!
Stone!Brewing!Co.s!crowdfunding!campaign!was!difficult!to!fetch.!Secondly,!the!main!obstacle!
was!that!the!majority!of!the!people!I!wanted!to!interview!turned!down!my!request,!and!others!
did!not!return!my!request!at!all.!Some!of!the!companies!I!contacted!claimed!that!they!did!not!
have!the!necessary!resources!or!time!to!provide!me!with!information.!Some!did!not!want!to!
comment,! or! provide! me! information! about! their! crowdfunding! initiatives.! A! total! of! 20!
people!and!companies!I!contacted!only!three!returned!with!a!positive!answer.!Furthermore,!
other!companies!returned!with!links!to!blogs!and!websites,!and!claimed!that!information!was!
already! available.! ! Some! of! the! experts! I! contacted! indicated! that! there! is! still! a! lot! to! be!
learned,! and! that! data! or! knowledge! about! why! established! companies! are! starting! to! use!
crowdfunding!initiatives!are!not!yet!available!or!to!some!extend!not!even!thought!of.!
!
!

27!

3.)Literature)Review)&)Theoretical)Framework)
This! chapter! will! present! the! already! existing! literature! on! crowdfunding.! Moreover,! this!
chapter! will! guide! the! reader! through! the! literature! by! using! existing! literature! on!
crowdfunding!and!connect!it!with!several!literature!streams!that!can!support!crowdfunding!
initiatives.! Furthermore,! this! chapter! will! investigate! other! literature! streams,! which! may!
have!the!ability!to!support!companies!facilitating!crowdfunding.!

3.1)The)Rise)Of)Crowdfunding)
!
Crowdfunding!as!a!state!of!mind!is!not!a!new!phenomenon;!hence!donation!for!charity!can!be!
viewed! as! crowdfunding,! and! this! approach! has! been! known! for! many! decades.! However,!
crowdfunding! as! a! business! tool! is! claimed! to! be! novel.! As! mentioned! in! the! introduction!
chapter! crowdfunding! is! a! method,! which! can! be! used! to! raise! capital! through! the! Internet.!
Because! of! its! remarkable! success! several! authors! have! begun! to! investigate! this! novel!
financing!method.!However,!according!to!Mollick!(2013)!there!has!been!very!little!published!
peerAreviewed!work!to!date!on!the!topic.!
!
The! rise! of! crowdfunding! as! a! new! method! to! raise! capital! can! be! seen! as! a! subdivision!
originated! in! the! slipstream! of! the! financial! crises! (De! Buysere! et.! al.! 2012).! This! statement!
arises!from!the!fact!that!raising!capital!from!traditional!sources!e.g.!business!angles,!venture!
capital,! bank! loan,! and! etc.! has! become! more! and! more! difficult! for! new! ventures! but! also!
established!businesses.!Many!entrepreneurs!find!crowdfunding!attractive!because!it!helps!to!
reduce!the!risk!of!underfunding!a!project;!hence,!entrepreneurs!may!utilize!crowdfunding!as!
an! innovative! capital! management! mechanism! to! avoid! earlyAstage! capital! gaps! by! preA
funding!production!and!sales!(Harrison!2013).!
Crowdfunding)Definition)
Schwienbacher!and!Larralde!(2010)!proposed!one!of!the!first!definitions!of!crowdfunding:!!
+ crowdfunding+ is+ the+ financing+ of+ a+ project+ or+ a+ venture+ by+ a+ group+ of+
individuals+ instead+ of+ professional+ parties+ (like,+ for+ instance,+ banks,+ venture+
capitalists+or+business+angels)!(p.4).!

28!

However,! a! few! years! later! Belleflamme! et.! al.! (2012)! came! with! a! clearer! definition.! They!
define!crowdfunding!as:!!
An+open+call,+mostly+through+the+Internet,+for+the+provision+of+financial+resources+
either+in+form+of+donation+or+in+exchange+for+the+future+product+or+some+form+of+
reward+and/or+voting+rights+(p.8).+
Crowdfunding! hereby! positions! itself! as! a! preAmarket! service,! which! entrepreneurs! may!
utilize! to! generate! capital,! and! at! the! same! reduce! risks! associated! with! traditional! funding!
methods.! However,! crowdfunding! is! a! concept! build! upon! various! literature! streams.! These!
will!be!identified!in!the!following!parts.

3.2)The)Roots)Of)Crowdfunding)
To!be!able!to!understand!crowdfunding!more!thoroughly!it!is!beneficial!to!take!crowdfunding!
oneAstep! back.! The! academic! literature! on! crowdfunding! is! to! some! researchers! largely!
inexistent! (Schwienbacher! &! Larralde! 2010;! Ordanini! et.! al.! 2011;! Belleflamme! et.! al.! 2012;!
Mollick!2013).!Therefore,!to!better!understand!the!phenomenon,!it!needs!to!be!addressed!as!a!
part!of!several!literature!streams.!The!various!literature!streams!will!be!helpful!to!provide!an!
appropriate! setting! for! understanding! the! concept! of! crowdfunding.! Although,! insights! from!
the!various!literature!streams!only!address!some!aspects!of!crowdfunding,!it!will!provide!this!
thesis!with!a!clearer!understanding!of!the!concept.!
3.2.1)Web)2.0)
The!emergence!of!Web!2.0!has!made!it!easier!to!communicate!and!interact!with!individuals!all!
over! the! world! simultaneously.! The! developments! of! Web! 2.0! applications! are! critical!
features,! and! have! facilitated! easy! access! to! the! crowd! (Brabham! 2008;! Kleemann! et.! al.!
2008).! Web! 2.0! is! defined! as! a! WebAasAparticipationAplatform! that! enables! interaction!
between! users! (OReilly! 2007).! The! features! of! Web! 2.0! are! crucial! for! entrepreneurs! to! be!
able! to! easily! reach! networks! of! investors! or! consumers! (Belleflamme! et.! al.! 2010).! The!
importance! of! efficient! communication! and! networking! is! claimed! to! be! an! essential!
component!of!any!crowdfunding!process!(Larralde!&!Schwienbacher!2010).!!
In!a!study!by!Lee!et.!al.!(2008)!they!identify!three!important!properties!of!Web!2.0:!openness,!

29!

collaboration,! and! participation.! Furthermore,! Lee! et.! al.! (2008)! claim! that! Web! 2.0!
technologies! allow! users! to! provide! content,! interact! with! each! other,! and! thereby! create!
value!for!the!company.!
Additionally,! Hemer! (2011)! recommends! adding! two! features! of! Web! 2.0,! namely! the!
functions!of!viral+networking+and+marketing.+These!additions!allow!mobilizing!a!great!number!
of! users! in! specific! web! communities,! within! a! relatively! short! period! of! time.! According! to!
Gladwell!(2010)!the!Internet,!and!especially!Web!2.0!is:!!
+ terrific+ at+ the+ diffusion+ of+ innovation,+ interdisciplinary+ collaboration,+ [and]+
seamlessly+matching+up+buyers+and+sellers.12!!
However,!the!ties!created!through!online!platforms!are!relatively!weak!(Gladwell!2010).!!It!is!
argued! that! collective! action! by! online! crowds! may! be! unstable,! may! individualize! risk,! and!
may!remove!the!degree!of!personal!or!community!involvement,!which!can!make!action!on!the!
part!of!funders!meaningful!(Gladwell!2010).!Although!Web!2.0!applications!have!a!significant!
impact!on!crowdfunding!there!are!other!literature!streams,!which!can!help!understanding!the!
various!layers!of!crowdfunding!mechanisms.!!
3.2.2)Crowdsourcing,)Open)Source,)Open)Innovation,)Lead)Users)&)User)Innovation)
Literature!on!open!source!(Lakhani!and!von!Hippel!2003)!and!crowdsourcing!(Kleemann!et.!
al.! 2008)! may! also! enhance! the! knowledge! on! crowdfunding.! In! an! open! source! scenery,!
production!and!development!aspects!of!offerings!are!outsourced!to!potentially!many!people!
who!freely!are!given!access!to!the!given!source!material!(von!Krogh!and!Spaeth!2007).!!In!a!
crowdsourcing!setting!a!job!is!also!outsourced!in!the!form!of!an!open!call!to!a!large!pool!of!
people! (Howe! 2006;! Brabham! 2008;! Brabham! 2013).! The! central! theme! is! that,! in! both!
settings,!a!crowd!of!people!collaboratively!contributes!to!the!production!process!or!solution!
to!a!design!issue!or!problem.!Leimeister!et.!al.!(2009)!suggest!that!crowdparticipation!in!both!
open! source! and! crowdsourcing! are! motivated! by! learning,! direct! communication,! selfA
promoting,! and! social! benefits.! Moreover,! some! people! participating! in! crowdsourcing! are!
also! driven! by! the! monetary! rewards! obtainable! if! winning! the! contest! (Schenk! &! Guittard!
2009).! Unlike! open! source! and! crowdsourcing,! participants! of! crowdfunding! are! not! only!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12

!http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/smallAchangeA3!

30!

contributing! with! knowledge! and! effort! but! also! play! promotional! and! investment! roles! in!
support!of!the!initiatives!being!crowdfunded;!thus!participants!are!likely!to!be!driven!by!other!
types!of!motivations!(Ordanini!et.!al.!2011;!Gerber!et.!al.!2012;!Mollick!2013),!such!as!feelings,!
and!belonging!to!a!greater!cause.!
Other!literature!streams,!which!additionally!offer!insights!in!the!field!of!crowdfunding,!are!the!
theories!on!lead!users!and!open!innovation!(von!Hippel!1986;!Chesbrough!2003).!These!two!
theories! focus! on! customer! involvement! in! developing! new! offerings! intended! for! other!
customers.!The!fundamental!mindset!is!that!some!users!have!the!ability!to!anticipate!needs!
long!before!the!offerings!ends!in!the!marketplace,!and!that!firms!can!capitalize!on!such!lead!
users!sense!of!innovation!and!expertise,!in!developing!potential!successful!new!products!(von!
Hippel! &! Katz! 2002).! The! idea! of! having! lead! users! is! important,! however! also! scarce.! Lead!
users! may! be! difficult! to! uncover! and! to! implement! in! organizations,! however! lead! users!
reflect!some!characteristics!of!participants!in!crowdfunding!initiatives,!such!as!scouting!and!
screening!of!interesting!products!or!ideas!seeking!funds!(Lilian!et.!al.!2002).!Unlike!lead!users!
crowdfunding! builds! upon! the! idea! that! a! relatively! large! number! of! people! participate! in!
deciding!what!should!be!offered!to!the!market!(Ordanini!et.!al.!2011).!
As!seen!so!far,!one!of!the!main!characteristics!of!crowdfunding!is!participation.!As!seen!in!the!
introduction! Ordanini! et.! al.! (2011)! emphasize! that! customers! have! become! active! players,!
when!companies!are!to!launch!new!products!to!the!market.!This!can!be!explained!by!looking!
at!the!service!marketing!literature.!!!
3.2.3)Service)Marketing))
In! the! service! marketing! literature! the! customers! role! has! always! been! of! great! interest! in!
service!provision!(Bitner!et.!al.!1997;!Blazevic!and!Lievans!2008).!The!service!delivery!always!
includes! a! certain! degree! of! customer! participation,! to! which! extent! involves! providing!
information! to! the! service! organization,! or! even! more! direct! involvement! in! the! service!
provision! itself! (Fang! 2008).! ! As! customerAparticipation! may! contribute! to! better!
customization,!improved!experience,!and!to!some!degree!greater!efficiency,!it!also!has!some!
weaknesses! for! consumers.! This! may! be! increased! uncertainty! and! responsibility! over! the!
outcome! (Bendapudi! and! Leone! 2003).! Customer! participation! is! highly! relevant! to!
crowdfunding!because!the!customers!involved!in!crowdfunding!are!not!merely!integrated!in!

31!

the! service! delivery! phase,! but! additionally,! contribute! to! the! design! and! set! up! the! entire!
crowdfunding!offering!(Moeller!2008).!Still,!one!of!crowdfundings!initial!and!distinguishing!
characters! is! that! customers! are! the! key! actors! who! make! possible! the! generation! of! the!
offering.! This! means! that! customers! play! a! vital! part! with! their! evaluative! decisions! and!
financial! support! (Ordanini! et.! al.! 2011).! Moreover, while the service-marketing theory

focuses on contexts where the individuals participating in the service provision and in
consuming the service are the same; in crowdfunding the customer-participants help in
developing an offering, i.e. funding, that is later consumed by others (Ordanini!et.!al.!2011).!
3.2.4)Brand)Communities)
As!crowdfunding!builds!upon!various!factors!of!commitment!and!collaboration,!it!is!valuable!
to!emphasize!the!literature!on!brand!communities,!which!suggests!some!features!that!relate!
to!crowdfunding!contexts.!!
The!literature!suggests!that!consumers,!who!are!intensely!involved!with!a!brand!that!offers!
symbolic! benefits,! can! develop+ a+ common+ understanding+ of+ a+ shared+ identity+ (Muiz! and!
OGuinn!2001,!p.413).!Bagozzi!and!Dholakia!(2006)!propose!that!brandAcommunity!members!
are!typically!motivated!by!fun,!learning,!identification,!and!status,!especially!when!the!activity!
is!shared!in!social!networks.!It!is!suggested!that!individuals!may!use!online!communities!to!
generate!a+process+of+collective+value+creation!(Schau!et!al.,!2009,!p.30).!Still,!the!literature!on!
brand! community! does! not! take! monetary! support! from! users! into! account,! which! is! a! key!
element! of! crowdfunding! models.! However,! there! are! literature! streams,! which! take! the!
monetary!support!into!account,!e.g.!donor!behavior!and!microfinance.!
3.2.5)Donor)Behavior)&)Microfinance)
The!literature!on!donor!behavior!takes!monetary!support!into!account!(Kotler!and!Andreasen!
1991).!White!and!Peloza!(2009)!propose!that!the!motivational!factors!involved!in!charitable!
causes!are!selfAesteem,!public!recognition,!satisfaction!of!expressing!gratitude!for!ones!own!
wellbeing,! and! relief! from! feeling! guilt! and! obligation.! Moreover,! the! literature! on!
microfinance!highlights!the!role!of!crowds!in!trying!to!sustain!small!projects!having!a!social!
meaning! (Rutherford! 2000).! Still,! these! literature! streams! focus! solely! on! donors! motivated!
by! nonAeconomic! benefits.! This! means! that! this! literature! is! not! capable! of! explaining! the!
majority! of! crowdfunding! initiatives,! which! involve! monetary! payoffs! and! risks! for! the!

32!

participants!(Ordanini!et.!al.!2011).!!
3.2.6)Service)Dominant)Logic)&)Social)Capital)
Furthermore,! the! emerging! Service! Dominant! Logic! (SDL)! has! introduced! the! idea! that!
consumers!are!considered!as!resource!integrators!in!service!systems,!thus!extending!the!role!
of!consumers!in!the!service!value!network!(Vargo!&!Lusch!2008).!Still,!even!the!most!recent!
contributions!of!SDL!do!not!consider!the!consumer!as!an!actor!in!value!networks!by!virtue!of!
their! investment! activities! (Lusch! et.! al.! 2010).! However,! the! literature! on! social! capital!
contributes!to!the!general!understanding!of!crowdfunding!initiatives.!Social!capital!is!defined!
as:!
!The+ sum+ of+ the+ actual+ and+ potential+ resources+ embedded+ within,+ available+
through,+and+derived+from+the+network+of+relationships+possessed+by+an+individual+
or+social+unit.+Social+capital+thus+comprises+both+the+network+and+the+assets+that+
may+be+mobilized+through+that+network!(Nahapiet!and!Ghoshal!1998,!p.243).!!
Harpham! et.! al.! (2002)! categorize! social! capital! into! four! general! categories:! 1.! Collective+
efficacy;+2.+Social+trust+and+reciprocity;!3.+Participation+in+voluntary+organizations,+and!4.!Social+
integration.! Social! capital! is! seen! as! an! intangible! resource,! which! is! held! both! at! the!
individual!level!and!related!to!personal!formal!and!informal!relationships!and!trust,!and!at!the!
collective!level,!e.g.!within!a!group!or!a!territory!(Harpham!et.!al.!2002).!
Davidsson!and!Honig!(2003)!show!that!bridging!and!bonding!social!capital,!consisting!of!both!
strong! and! weak! ties,! was! a! robust! predictor! for! nascent! entrepreneurs,! as! well! as! for!
advancing! through! the! startAup! process.! However,! with! regard! to! outcomes! like! first! sale! or!
showing!a!profit,!the!only!aspect!of!social!capital,!that!being!a!member!of!a!business!network,!
had! a! statistically! significant! positive! effect.! The! study! by! Davidson! and! Honig! (2003)!
supports! human! capital! in! predicting! entry! into! nascent! entrepreneurship,! but! only! weakly!
for!carrying!the!startAup!process!towards!successful!completion.!
The!literature!streams!all!provide!some!implications!to!better!understand!the!many!layers!of!
crowdfunding.! However,! some! of! them! only! contributed! with! knowledge! about! customerA
participation,! and! some! only! to! added! knowledge! regarding! startAups,! and! nonAeconomic!
benefits.! To! better! understand! motivational! factors! from! the! entrepreneurs! point! of! view,!

33!

and! especially! in! regards! to! established! companies,! the! following! parts! will! take! other!
literature,! frameworks,! and! theories! into! account.! These! parts! will! provide! this! study! with!
knowledge!to!better!answering!the!research!question!proposed.!!!!

3.3)Motivational)Dynamics)Of)Crowdfunding)
The! literature! on! crowdfunding! has! focused! intensely! on! motivational! factors,! mostly! from!
the!backers!point!of!view;!hence!scholars!try!to!understand!the!different!dynamics!involved!
when!anonymous!contributors!decide!to!fund!new!ventures!(Gerber!et.!al.!2012).!Moreover,!
there!is!also!a!great!interest!of!investigating!and!understanding!the!motivational!factors!from!
the!entrepreneurs!point!of!view;!hence!raising!money!to!get!a!new!business!started!might!be!
the! main! purpose,! however,! other! factors! such! as! market! research,! promotion,! and!
engagement!are!also!significant!to!businesses!and!entrepreneurs!(Belleflamme!et.!al.!2012;!De!
Buysere!et.!al.!2012).!
3.3.1)The)Entrepreneurs)Motivational)Dynamics)
Creating!a!crowdfunding!campaign!may!primarily!be!seen!as!a!way!to!raise!capital!to!start!a!
new! business.! Nonetheless,! besides! raising! money! crowdfunding! initiatives! enables!
entrepreneurs!to!gain!feedback!of!the!product!before!its!release!into!the!public!marketplace!
(De!Buysere!et.!al.!2012).!Besides!getting!feedback,!entrepreneurs!are!able!to!estimate!pricing!
information,!demand!for!the!product,!precise!information!about!market!demands,!and!direct!
customer! interaction! (De! Buysere! et.! al.! 2012).! Another! possible! benefit! of! crowdfunding!
from! the! entrepreneurs! point! of! view! is! that! crowdfunding! can! lead! to! wordAofAmouth!
recommendation!and!other!social!marketing!(De!Buysere!et.!al.!2012).!!!
!
Gerber!et.!al.!(2012)!found!that!entrepreneurs!decide!to!use!crowdfunding!initiatives!to!raise+
funds,+ establish+ relationships,+ receive+ validation,+ replicate+ successful+ experience+ of+ others,+ and+
expand+ awareness+ of+ work+ through+ social+ media.+ Gerber! et.! al.! (2012)! also! found! that+
entrepreneurs! emphasize! that! crowdfunding! is! an! incredibly! effective! way! of! evaluating! if!
their!product!or!idea!has!a!mass!appeal.!Other!scholars!found!that!crowdfunding!establishes!
a! direct! link! between! the! entrepreneur! and! the! customer.! This! link! is! the! first! step! towards!
marketing,! customer! loyalty,! participation,! and! emotional! attachment! to! the! product! (De!
Buysere! et.! al.! 2012;! Gerber! et.! al.! 2012;! Mollick! 2013).+ Furthermore,! being! able! to! gain!

34!

information!about!preAsales,!numbers!of!backers,!amount!of!money!raised!in!a!specific!time!
period!is!valuable!information!for!entrepreneurs!(Belleflamme!et.!al.!2012).!!

3.4)Relationship)Management)&)Marketing)
The! American! Marketing! Associations! (AMA)! definition! of! marketing! indicates! that:!
marketing+ is+ an+ organizational+ function+ and+ a+ set+ of+ processes+ for+ creating,+
communicating,+ and+ delivering+ value+ to+ customers+ and+ for+ managing+ customer+
relationships+in+ways+that+benefit+the+organization+and+its+stakeholders13!
3.4.1)Social)Customer)Relationship)Management)
The! social! web! has! become! a! challenge! for! businesses! in! the! area! of! customer! relationship!
management!(CRM).!The!users!of!social!web!not!only!share!private!information,!but!also!use!
it!to!search!for!products,!or!to!share!recommendations!and!experiences!with!friends!or!other!
users! (Alt! &! Reinhold! 2012).! This! represents! a! shift! from! the! traditional,! indirect! customer!
contact! though! sales! representatives,! customer! advisors,! and! call! center! agents! towards! a!
direct! customer! contact! with! consumers! (Alt! &! Reinhold! 2012).! The! social! web! enables!
companies! to! learn! about! opinions,! experiences,! and! developments,! which! may! be! useful! to!
develop! and! improve! products.! However,! escalating! discussions! among! users! in! the! social!
web! may! have! negative! impact! on! a! companys! image.! In! contrast,! a! company! may!
communicate! and! interact! directly! with! consumers,! either! in! campaigns! or! for! service!
purposes!(Alt!&!Reinhold!2012).!
!
It!is!claimed!that!most!companies!are!creating!a!profile!page!on!the!social!web,!but!that!most!
companies!do!not!know!how!to!sufficiently!make!use!of!it!(Baird!&!Parasnis!2011).!Companies!
need!to!understand!how!to!make!use!of!social!CRM,!and!recognize!that!instead!of!managing+
customers,!the!role!of!the!businesses!are!to!facilitate!collaborative!experiences!and!dialogues!
that!customers!value.!The!ability!to!understand!what!customers!value!is!a!critical!first!step!
toward! building! a! social! CRM! strategy.! Baird! and! Parasnis! (2011)! found! by! surveying! more!
than!1000!consumer!and!350!executives!worldwide!that!customers!are!far!more!interested!in!
obtaining! tangible! value.! The! research! shows! that! consumers! have! strong! opinions! about!
their!social!media!interactions!and,!despite!their!embrace!of!social!media!their!willingness!to!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
https://archive.ama.org/archive/AboutAMA/Documents/American%20Marketing%20Association%20Releases%20New%20Definition%
20for%20Marketing.pdf.!

13

35!

engage!with!companies!should!not!be!assumed!or!taken!for!granted.!Furthermore,!they!found!
that!only!a!very!small!percentage!of!consumers!engage!regularly!by!responding!to!posts!and!
authoring! content.! Moreover,! more! than! 50! %! of! the! consumers! do! not! even! consider!
engaging! with! businesses! through! social! media! sites.! Baird! and! Parasnis! (2011)! discovered!
significant! gaps! between! what! businesses! think! consumers! care! about! and! what! consumers!
state! they! want! from! their! social! media! interactions! with! companies.! Consumers! expect!
something! tangible! in! exchange! for! their! time,! endorsement,! and! personal! data.! Lastly,! they!
found! that! most! business! believe! social! media! will! increase! advocacy.! However,! only! 38!
percent!of!the!consumers!agree,!and!more!than!60!percent!believe!passion!for!a!business!or!
brand! is! a! precondition! for! social! media! engagement.! Therefore,! companies! need! to! find!
creative!ways!to!tap!the!power!of!the!trusted!social!community.!
According!to!Alt!and!Reinhold!(2012)!the!social!web!is!an!additional!communication!channel!
to! potential! customers.! By! using! Social! CRM! to! tap! the! potential! of! interactive! oneAtoAone!
relationships! with! many! customers,! knowledge! from! the! social! web! may! enrich! existing!
market!data!with!insights!from!consumers.!It!is!also!suggested!that!social!CRM!also!enhance!
the! reach! and! the! effectiveness! of! customer! interaction.! Furthermore,! social! CRM! activities!
may! have! the! potential! to! increase! customers! identification! with! a! company! or! a! brand! to!
improve!the!information!quality!of!campaigns,!with!statements!or!classifications!from!other!
users.! Moreover,! it! may! make! the! interaction! more! interesting! by! employing! appropriate!
locationAbased! loyalty! and! incentive! mechanisms.! Alt! and! Reinhold! (2012)! state! that! social!
web! is! turning! into! a! competitive! need! for! CRM,! especially! in! sectors! with! endAcustomer!
contact.!
!

36!

Alt!and!Reinhold!(2012)!stress!that!successful!social!CRM!is!based!on!five!tasks:!
Task(areas(
1.!Social!Media!

2.!Analysis!

3.!Management!

4.!CRM!

5.!Interaction!

Description(&(Objectives(
Social!Media!services,!such!as!forums,!wikis,!and!
communities!for!information!distribution!and!
collaborative!creation!of!information!!
!Objective:!Establishing!of!a!social!media!
presence,!networking!with!
prospects/consumers/customers!
Analytical!techniques!for!monitoring!and!mining,!
e.g.,!evaluation,!filtering,!search,!aggregation,!
enrichment,!transformation,!or!ruleAbased!object!
generation!!
!Objective:!Identification!of!relevant!contents,!
actors,!and!services!on!the!social!web,!
description!of!dependencies!on!the!social!web!
and!interpretation!of!contents!from!social!media!!
Management!functionalities,!such!as!moderation,!
process!management,!reputation!management,!
data!integration,!evaluations,!or!privacy!
management!!
!Objective:!Strategic!and!operational!
management!of!social!media!channels!and!
activities,!integration!between!systems!and!
ensuring!the!responsiveness!of!a!company!in!the!
social!web!!
Link!to!CRM!functions,!such!as!lead,!contact,!
campaign,!or!service!management!
!Objective:!Functionalities!for!CRM!process!
planning,!execution!and!control,!use!of!
information!from!social!media!information!(e.g.,!
contact!data,!postings)!in!CRM!activities!(e.g.,!
analysis,!campaigns)!!
Interaction!techniques,!such!as!content!delivery,!
dialogue!development,!publication,!
dissemination,!recommendation,!alarm,!or!
notification!!
!Objective:!External!communication!and!
support!of!dialogue!implementation!on!the!social!
web,!proactive!and!reactive!communication!with!
social!media!users!!

(
Figure(8(H(Tasks(and(Objectives(of(Social(CRM(
Source:!Alt!&!Reinhold!(2012,!p.290)!

37!

3.4.2)Interpersonal)Relationship)Marketing)Theory)
According! to! Palmatier! (2008)! most! theoretical! an! empirical! research! relies! on! models! of!
interfirm!relationships,!which!then!extend!to!interpersonal!or!consumer!research!to!suggest!
that! the! effects! of! relationship! marketing! on! performance,! depend! on! some! combination! of!
trust! and! commitment.! Interpersonal! relationship! marketing! is! build! upon! social! exchange!
theory.!Social!exchange!theory!proposes!that!human!relationships!result!from!subjective!costA
benefit! analyses,! which! attempt! to! maximize! benefits! and! minimize! costs.! Furthermore,!
exchange!theory!often!draws!in!reciprocity!norms!as!an!underlying!building!block.!However,!
relationship! marketingAmodels! often! ignore! reciprocity,! even! though! it! represents! a! critical!
mediator! of! interpersonal! relationship! marketing! (Palmatier! 2008).! Reciprocity! sits! at! the!
core! of! marketing! relationships! (Bagozzi! 1995,! p.275).! However,! allowing! a! consumer! to!
reciprocate! a! feeling! of! gratitude! (reciprocitys! emotional! core)! converts! a! shortAterm!
emotion!into!a!longAlasting!relational!norm!(Palmatier!2008).!!
Relationship!marketing!undertakes!circular!reciprocation:!if!I!do!something!for!you,!I!expect!
you! to! do! something! for! me! in! return! (Palmatier! 2008,! p.25).! It! is! claimed! that! gratitude! is!
inseparable! from! reciprocity! because! it! reflects! an! embedded! psychological! pressure! to!
return!the!favor;!the!mere!recognition!of!benefit!seems!to!generate!a!sense!of!obligation!to!
repay!(Palmetier!2008,!p.25).!
Customer!gratitude!increases!in!response!to!favors,!and!grateful!customers!reward!firms!for!
extra!efforts,!which!implies!that!investments!in!RM!make!consumers!feel!grateful,!which!then!
prompts!them!to!engage!in!behaviors!that!improve!seller!performance!(Palmatier!2008)!
Palmatier!(2008)!states!that!the!cognitively!focused!constructs!of!commitment!and!trust!are!
interrelated! with! the! emotional! concepts! of! gratitude.! In! addition,! cognition! and! emotion!
entwine! closely! (p.27).! Moreover,! not! only! does! gratitude! enhance! shortAterm! purchasing!
behaviors,!it!also!promotes!consumer!trust!and!reciprocity!norms!with!its!longerAterm!effects!
(Palmatier!2008,!p.27).!Moreover,!gratitude!enhances!relationship!marketingAperformance!in!
three!main!ways:!1.!Consumers!engage!in!positive!purchase!behaviors!to!satisfy!their!feelings!
of! obligation! in! response! to! relationship! marketingAinduced! feelings! of! gratitude.! 2.! The!
increased!levels!of!consumer!trust,!due!to!gratitude,!increase!consumer!commitment!and!thus!
enhance!relational!performance!outcomes.!3.!Gratitude!promotes!the!development!of!norms!

38!

of! reciprocity! over! the! longer! term! and! initiates! a! reciprocation! cycle,! which! has! longAterm!
positive!effects!on!consumer!behaviors!(Palmatier!2008,!p.27).!!
Palmatiers! (2008)! model! of! interpersonal! relationship! marketing! shows! how! a! sellers!
relationship!marketing!activities!can!foster!longAterm!relationship!marketing!effects.!!

!
Figure(9(H(Model(Of(Interpersonal(Relationship(Marketing(
Souce:!Palmatier!(2008,!p.27)!

!
In! a! relationship,! every! individual! has! expectations.! A! relationship! without! expectations! is!
meaningless.! As! relationships! can! never! be! one! sided.! An! individual! invests! his! time! and!
energy!in!relationships!only!when!he!or!she!gets!something!out!of!it.!There!are!relationships!
where! an! individual! receives! less! than! he! gives.! This! leads! to! situations! where! individual!
starts! comparing! his! relationship! with! others.! As! the! social! exchange! theory! is! based! on! a!
give! and! take! approach! it! is! a! beneficial! as! a! way! to! build! relationship! with! customers.!
Furthermore,! it! could! provide! companies! with! knowledge! about! customer! perceptions!
concerning! the! companies! products.! Crowdfunding! is! build! upon! the! concepts! of! engaging!
with! customers,! why! relationship! marketing! could! potentially! provide! companies! with!
valuable! tool! to! successfully! create! campaigns! and! social! media! marketing! activities,! and! at!
the!same!time!build!longAterm!relationships!with!their!customers.!!
!
!

39!

3.5)Social)Media)
Nowadays,!the!Internet!is!the!cheapest!and!most!efficient!platform!for!companies!to!perform!
marketing! content! and! interact! with! customers.! One! of! the! most! effective! ways! to! involve!
customers!and!create!commitment!and!trust!is!by!using!social!media!applications.!
Social!media!applications!have!emerged!and!have!become!a!popular!tool!among!companies.!
According! to! Kaplan! and! Haenlein! (2010)! social! media! is! a! group! of! Internet! based!
applications,! which! build! upon! the! ideological! and! technological! foundations! of! Web! 2.0.! It!
allows! individuals! to! create,! share,! and! exchange! information! and! ideas! in! virtual!
communities! to! coAcreate,! discuss,! and! modify! userAgenerated! content! (Evans! 2010).! The!
everAdeveloping! Internet,! which! is! now! also! available! on! smartphones! and! tablets! are! the!
main! reason! for! increased! participation! in! social! media.! It! is! said! that! it! is! an! interactive!
media,! which! exploits! the! interplay! of! users,! wherein! every! user! has! an! input! (Eyrich! et.! al.!
2008).! Social! media! has! now! become! one! of! the! most! popular! techniques! for! marketers! to!
approach!consumers!and!create!awareness.!!
A! forecast! suggests! that! by! 2015! approximately! 1/3! of! the! global! population! will! be!
interconnected!through!different!types!of!social!media.!This!penetration!of!social!media!will!
result! in! consumer! expenditures! of! $29! trillion! dollars! (Evans! 2010).! Social! media! has!
therefore! been! called! a! major! disrupter! of! marketing! management! over! the! past! decade!
(Evans!2010).!!
One! of! the! explanations! why! social! media! has! become! popular! today! is! that! we! live! in! a!
communicative!environment!that!is!experiencing!a!lack!of!trust.!As!a!result!of!it,!people!do!not!
trust! advertising! and! other! sources! of! official! information! about! products! and! are! wary! of!
any! information,! which! does! not! come! from! people! they! know! personally! (Brogan! &! Smith!
2010).!This!caused!people!to!unite!in!communities!that!share!common!interests.!
According!to!Evans!(2010)!social!media!has!a!value!for!all!functions!of!business.!Connecting!
business! with! consumers! via! social! media! is! defined! through! the! concept! of! social! business.!
Social!business!extends!social!technology!throughout!the!business,!including!product!design,!
customer!service,!and!promotion!teams.!Furthermore,!social!media!can!be!used!for!ideation,!
early! warning! of! problems! or! opportunities! awareness! aids,! market! expansion,! customer!
service,!competitive!threats,!and!exposed!weaknesses!(Evans!2010).!

40!

!
According!to!Evans!(2010)!the!key!to!social!business!is!consumer!engagement.!While!Social!
media! allows! the! achievement! of! collaboration! between! business! and! consumer,! traditional!
advertising!goals!are!exposure!and!impression.!
Evans! (2010)! suggest! four! fundamental! way! of! consumer! engagement! in! social! business:!
consumption,!curation,!creation,!and!collaboration.!See!figure!10!for!further!explanation.!
!

Figure(10((4Cs(Of(Consumer(Engagement(in(Social(Business(
Source:!Own!creation!based!on!Evans!(2010)!

!
As!figure!9!shows,!collaboration!is!the!top!level!of!consumer!involvement.!According!to!Evans!
(2010)!there!are!six!types!of!collaboration!projects:!
1. Ideation! ! is! the! development! of! ideas! in! different! topics.! Members! of! a! community!
suggest!ideas!and!vote!on!them.!
2. Support! applications! A! are! practices! aimed! at! reduction! of! support! cost! through!
launching! readyA! toAuse! support! forums! and! white! label! doAitAyourself! platforms!
powered!by!social!media!community.!

!
(

41!

3. Knowledge! exchange! A! is! a! platform! for! the! exchange! of! knowledge! between! its!
members!
4. GameAbased! sharing A! is! a! practice! encouraging! people! to! share! information! by!
involving!them!in!gameAlike!activities.!
5. Crowdsourcing A!is!a!practice!where!an!individual!or!a!firm!requests!a!community!to!
perform!certain!work!usually!without!initial!payment.!
6. Crowdfunding! A! is! a! practice! in! which! a! community! pools! money! to! finance! certain!
activities!
Crowdfunding! is! the! only! form! of! consumerAcollaboration,! which! requires! monetary!
participation! from! consumers,! and! sometimes! without! any! material! reward.! Evens! (2010)!
emphasizes!that!crowdfunding!compared!to!other!forms!of!consumerAparticipation!has!more!
opportunities! to! affect! the! business! than! any! other! form! of! social! media! by! determining!
products! to! be! developed! by! companies.! It! is,! hereby,! suggested! that! social! media!
collaboration!has!great!effects!on!crowdfunding!initiatives.!
3.5.1)Effects)Of)Social)Media)On)Crowdfunding)Initiatives)
Studies! have! been! made! on! how! social! media! effects! crowdfunding.! Mollick! (2012)!
established!a!connection!between!Facebook!friends!and!crowdfunding!projects!success.!The!
research! was! conducted! based! on! the! sample! from! Kickstarter,! more! specifically! in! the! film!
category,!and!with!the!target!of!not!less!than!$5000!USD.!Mollick!(2012)!found!that!a!project!
creator!with!10!friends!has!a!9!percent!probability!of!success,!one!with!100!friends!has!a!20!
percent! probability! of! success,! and! one! with! 1000! friends! has! a! 40! percent! probability! of!
success.!However,!the!research!did!not!take!into!account!likes!and!did!not!include!projects!
where!the!creators!have!no!Facebook!account.!!
Moisseyev! (2013)! attempted! to! provide! a! mathematical! estimation! of! likes! necessary! to!
deliver! certain! crowdfunding! goals.! More! specifically,! Moisseyev! (2013)! wanted! to! estimate!
number!of!likes!necessary!for!delivery!of!a!fundraising!target!of!any!crowdfunding!project.!
Moisseyev! (2013)! established! a! strong! relationship! between! social! media! seals! of! approval!
and!crowdfunding!activities.!Moisseyev!found!that!likes!are!hard!currency!in!crowdfunding!
and! claims! that! likes! affect! all! the! fundraising! results:! the! delivery! of! funding! ratio,! the!
fundraising!total,!and!the!number!of!backers.!Moreover,!the!established!connection!between!

42!

fundraising! total! and! likes! indicated! that,! without! sufficient! likes! the! project! target! will!
probably!not!be!delivered.!Based!on!the!established!connection!between!likes!and!delivery!of!
crowdfunding! target! he! found! that! a! total! of! 546! likes! can! be! sufficient! to! fundraise! an!
intended!amount.!However,!Moisseyev!(2013)!concludes!that!the!number!generated!through!
the!derived!equation!cannot!be!taken!as!a!sort!of!magic!number!that!guarantees!results.
Moisseyev!(2013)!states!that!a!small!number!of!likes!may!bring!little!change!to!the!overall!
result,! but! once! a! project! collects! a! critical! mass! of! likes,! their! effect! is! stunning.! Lastly,! he!
suggest! that! people! with! powerful! social! media! profiles! can! get! more! likes! for! their!
crowdfunding!projects!and!more!likes!can!bring!more!money.!!

3.6)Customer)Engagement)
Customer! engagement! is! a! topic! of! great! interest! to! managers! and! consultants! in! diverse!
industries!and!companies,!and!increasing!interest!in!customer!engagement!has!paralleled!the!
continued! evolution! of! the! Internet! and! the! development! of! ever! changing! and! innovative!
digital!technologies!and!tools!in!the!era!of!Web!2.0!(Sashi!2012).!Powerful!tools!in!the!social!
media! space! like! wikis,! blogs,! micro! blogging! sites! like! twitter,! video! and! photo! sites! like!
YouTube! and! Instagram,! and! social! networking! sites! like! Facebook,! and! LinkedIn! have!
become!important!features!for!companies!and!customers:!
The+interactive+nature+of+social+media+with+its+ability+to+establish+conversations+
among+individuals+and+firms+in+communities+of+sellers+and+customers+and+involve+
customers+in+content+generation+and+value+creation+has+excited+practitioners+with+
its+potential+to+better+serve+customers+and+satisfy+their+needs+(Sashi!2012,!p.254)+
The!roles!of!the!seller!and!the!customer!converge,!with!seller!and!customer!collaborating!in!
creating! value! (Prahalad! &! Ramaswamy! 2004).! Web! 2.0! technologies! and! tools! appear! to!
facilitate! the! coAcreation! of! value! by! seller! and! customer! (Harrison! &! Barthel! 2009).! Online!
community! networks! allow! customers! to! become! active! coAconstructors! of! life! experiences!
and!consumption!meaning!(Firat!&!Dholakia!2006).!

43!

By using social media organizations can forge relationships with existing and new
customers and form communities that interactively collaborate to identify and understand
problems and needs (Sashi 2012).
These+ interactions+ change+ the+ traditional+ roles+ of+ both+ seller+ and+ customer+ in+
exchange+relationships.+ Indeed+ customers+often+add+value+ by+ generating+ content+
and+ even+ become+ ardent+ advocates+ for+ the+ sellers+ products+ and+ can+ influence+
purchase+decisions+of+others+in+peer5to5peer+interactions.+(p.255)!
Engaged! customers! are! claimed! to! be! valuable! assets! for! companies,! as! they! are! likely! to!
recommend!products!to!others.!Engaged!customers!can!add!value!for!a!company!by!sharing!
content! via! wordAofAmouth,! blogs,! social! networking,! and! comments! on! web! sites,! etc.!
According! to! Sashi! (2012)! customer! engagement! expands! the! traditional! role! played! by!
customers! and! includes! them! in! the! valueAadding! process.! This! is! done! by! helping! sellers!
understand! customer! needs,! participating! in! the! product! development! process,! providing!
feedback! on! strategies! and! products,! and! becoming! advocates! for! the! product/brand!
(Goodman!2012)!
The! engagement! process! mainly! consists! of! providing! customers! with! memorable!
experiences,! which! encourage! the! consumer! to! spread! the! word! about! a! given! companys!
products!or!services.!Essentially,!it!might!build!special!connections!between!the!company!and!
its! customers,! thus,! providing! the! customers! with! additional! value! to! the! products.! The! key!
path! to! establishing! communication! is! by! sharing! content,! which! encourage! customers! to!
contact!and!interact!with!the!company!(Goodman!2012,!p!xv).!
3.6.1)Customer)Engagement)Concept)And)Its)Significance)
The!concept!customer!engagement!has!existed!as!a!part!of!the!market!economy!for!decades.!
Essentially,! in! the! consumer! era! the! engagement! concept! has! become! more! important! than!
ever! before,! which! is! caused! by! several! factors! (Chaffey! 2007).! Due! to! media! fragmentation!
customer! loyalty! is! significantly! reduced! compared! to! previous! decades.! ! This! means! that!
consumers!nowadays!have!a!wide!selection!of!products!to!choose!from;!hence,!even!satisfied!
customers!may!not!necessarily!stay!loyal!to!the!brand.!Moreover,!highly!developed!media!has!
broadened!opportunities!of!delivering!marketing!content;!thus!shifted!customer!expectations.!

44!

New! media! allow! customer! experiences! to! be! increasingly! more! interactive;! hence! more!
meaningful! to! consumers.! Furthermore,! technological! development,! particular! social! media!
has!affected!consumer!behavior.!For!instance,!popularity!of!traditional!media,!such!as!radio,!
television,! printed! press! has! dropped! significantly! in! comparison! to! online! media! (Chaffey!
2007).!
!
Solomon! (2004)! suggests! that! customer! involvement! with! a! given! product! consists! of! five!
main!components:!Firstly,!Personal!interest+in!a!given!product!category!brings!the!consumer!
to! the! product! in! the! first! place.! Secondly,! a! consumer! considers! possible! negative! impact!
caused! by! a! wrong! choice! of! a! product,! as! the! consumer! perceive! it.! The! other! three! main!
components!are!the!probability!of!making!a!bad!purchase,!the!pleasure!value!of!the!product!
category,!and!the!degree!of!how!closely!the!product!category!is!related!to!the!consumer!(pp.!
127A131).!!
!
The! aim! of! crowdfunding! is! to! develop! a! bond! with! the! backers.! Maintaining! an! ongoing!
relationship!and!repeating!interactions!with!the!backers,!may!do!this.!Research!shows!that!an!
ongoing! relationship! with! consumers! help! them! to! feel! more! involved,! thus,! making! the!
product!or!service!more!meaningful.!Feelings!more!related!to!a!product!encourage!customers!
to!stay!loyal!to!the!brand!(Solomon!2004).!
3.6.2)Customer)Engagement)Marketing)Cycle)
According!to!Goodman!(2012)!the!Customer!Engagement!Marketing!Cycle!(CEMC)!consists!of!
four!main!stages!(see!figure!11).!!
1.! Providing! an! experience! for! the! customers.! Creating! memorable! experiences! for! the!
customer! may! involve! different! elements,! e.g.! providing! an! exceptional! service! or! simply!
remembering!a!customers!name.!A!great!experience!is!what!lets!the!customer!differentiate!a!
certain!company!form!numerous!others!(Goodman!2012).!!
2.!Enticing!the!customer!to!stay!in!touch.!Establishing!or!maintaining!interaction!is!key!to!
customer!engagement.!This!may!be!done!by!providing!the!customer!with!contact!information,!
encourage!to!follow!the!company!on!social!media!etc.!Goodman!(2012)!states!that!it!is!vitally!
important!to!consider!the!ways!of!enticing!the!consumer!to!connect!in!the!meantime!or!

45!

immediately!after!the!business!interaction!is!completed.!!
3.! The! actual! engagement! into! communication.! After! delivering! the! service! experience! and!
encouraging! them! to! connect! with! the! company,! the! engagement! phase! begins.! The!
consumers! are! invited! to! participate! in! the! conversation! with! the! company.! Communication!
or!interaction!can!be,!and!most!frequently!is,!set!up!in!relation!to!the!content!shared!by!the!
company!(Goodman!2012).!!
4.! As! the! result,! consumers! often! get! more! enthusiastic! about! the! product! or! brand,! which!
leads!to!spreading!the!wordAofAmouth,!which!is!the!ultimate!goal!of!the!customer!engagement!
process,! as! the! customers! share! their! service! experiences! with! others,! thus,! attracting! new!
potential!customers!(Goodman!2012).!!
)

Providing!service!
experience!

)
)

Customer!
endorsment!

Entice!to!stay!in!
touch!

)
)

Engaging!into!
communication!

)
)

Figure(11((Customer(Engagement(Marketing(Cycle(
Source:!Own!creation!based!on!Goodman!(2012)!!
!
!

3.6.3)Customer)Engagement)Online)
The!key!idea!of!customer!engagement!online!is!to!utilize!online!social!media!tools!in!order!to!
carry! out! conversations! with! customers.! One! of! the! most! important! differences! between!
traditional! customer! involvement! and! online! customer! involvement! is! that! todays! media!
allow!companies!to!interact!with!customers!instead!of!merely!talking!to!them.!Therefore,!by!
establishing! a! twoAway! communication! may! allow! companies! to! take! a! closer! look! at! the!
customers! needs! and! expectations! (Goodman! 2012,! pp.4A5).! The! aim! for! companies! is! to!

46!

create! brand! advocates,! and! make! them! spreading! information! through! wordAofAmouth.!
WordAofAmouth!is!considered!as!one!of!the!most!efficient!ways!of!marketing!communication,!
as! it! is! perceived! to! be! more! reliable! and! significant! than! content! made! by! companies.!
Research!shows!that!consumers!tend!to!trust!experiences!of!their!peers!more!than!any!type!of!
advertisement.!!With!the!use!of!the!social!networks,!word!of!mouth!is!spread!through!multiple!
exchanges,!giving!the!potential!for!the!message!to!influence!numerous!receivers.!(Brown!et.!
al.!2007).!

3.7)Organizational)Legitimacy)&)Crowdfunding)
Legitimacy+ is+ a+ generalized+ perception+ or+ assumption+ that+ the+ actions+ of+ an+
entity+ are+ desirable,+ proper,+ or+ appropriate+ within+ some+ socially+ constructed+
system+of+norms,+values,+beliefs,+and+definitions+(Suchman,!1995,!p.574)!!
Crowdfunding! may! facilitate! legitimacy! development! for! nascent! and! promising! ventures!
(Bock!et.!al.!2014).!Crowdfunding!offers!entrepreneurs!a!tailorAmade!solution!to!collect!and!
allocate! finance! due! to! its! marketAfacing! funding! approach! (Belleflamme! et.! al.! 2013).!
Entrepreneurs!might!be!able!to!establish!strong!networks!in!the!market!and!utilize!traction!
from!the!crowd!to!increase!organizational!legitimacy!and!facilitate!financial!capital!assembly!
(Bock!et.!al.!2014).!!
According! to! Suchman! (1995)! organizational! legitimacy! helps! explain! why! some! nascent!
entrepreneurial! activities! develop! into! successful! firms! and! others! do! not.! Mathews! (1993,!
p.350)!provides!a!thorough!definition!of!organizational!legitimacy:!
Organizations+seek+to+establish+congruence+between+the+social+values+associated+
with+ or+ implied+ by+ their+ activities+ and+ the+ norms+ of+ acceptable+ behavior+ in+ the+
larger+social+system+in+which+they+are+a+part.+In+so+far+as+these+two+value+systems+
are+ congruent+ we+ can+ speak+ of+ organizational+ legitimacy.+ When+ an+ actual+ or+
potential+disparity+exists+between+the+two+value+systems+there+will+exist+a+threat+to+
organizational+legitimacy+
Organizational! legitimacy! may! be! understood! as! a! resource,! additionally,! as! a! signal! for!
resource! assembly! in! entrepreneurial! processes! and! activities! (Ahlstrom! &! Bruton! 2002).!

47!

Establishing! legitimacy! can! facilitate! quicker! and! efficient! capital! acquisitions,! as! well! as!
legitimacy! and! resource! assembly! are! likely! coAcreated! during! organizational! development!
(Zimmerman!&!Zeitz!2002).!It!is!suggested!that!legitimacy!gives!ventures!access!to!external!
stakeholders!and!is!associated!with!inflow!of!exogenous!resources (Mason!&!Harrison!2000;!
Chen!et!al.!2009).!!
Anderson! (2005)! emphasizes! that! various! ventures! may! seek! legitimization! by!
communicating! projections! of! the! firms! intended! operational! or! commercial! pathway.! In!
regards!to!crowdfunding!initiatives!this!may!support!legitimization.!However,!Mollick!(2014)!
suggests! that! legitimacy! is! not! easily! obtained! during! crowdfunding,! and! found! that!
unsuccessful! projects! fail! their! funding! target! by! large! amounts! while! successful! projects!
exceed! their! targets! by! small! amounts.! This! indicates! that! project! legitimacy! is! relatively!
difficult!to!achieve!when!creating!a!crowdfunding!campaign.!
3.7.1)Creating)Crowdfunding)Legitimacy)
((
Cultural! entrepreneurship! theory! emphasizes! that! the! subjective! perception! of! the! firm! to!
external!agents,!regardless!of!the!objective!value!of!the!firms!resource!stock,!may!be!essential!
to!legitimization!and!ultimate!resource!assembly!(Lounsbury!&!Glynn!2001).!
Zimmerman!and!Zeitz!(2002)!state!that!this!contrasts!with!bounded!rationality!approaches!to!
venture!capital!investment;!hence!these!approaches!rely!on!models!of!risk!minimization!and!
management.!Lounsbury!and!Glynn!(2001)!suggest!that!using!narrative!and!storytelling!can!
provide+ needed+ accounts+ that+ explain,+ rationalize,+ and+ promote+ new+ venture+ to+ reduce+
uncertainty+typically+associated+with+entrepreneurship+(p.!546).!It!is!suggested!that!stories!can!
provide! a! link! of! shared! sense! making! between! the! entrepreneurs! and! the! stakeholders!
(Martens! et.! al.! 2007).! Within! crowdfunding! initiatives! these! stories! are! communicated! via!
video!pitches!and!written!text!made!by!the!entrepreneur.!Mollick!(2014)!found!that!potential!
investors,! i.e.! backers,! are! attracted! to! projects! that! appear! likely! to! succeed.! Bock! et.! al.!
(2014)!state!that:!!
!
Crowdfunding+ leverages+ interactive+ ICT+ features+ to+ create+ a+ dynamic+
environment+that+could+nurture+and+build+organizational+legitimacy!(p.7)!
!

48!

This! means! that! by! using! crowdfunding! mechanisms,! entrepreneurs! are! able! to! create!
narratives,!which!communicates!information!to!its!investors.!According!to!Reuber!and!Fischer!
(2005)! active! engagement! facilitates! ventures! establishing! organizational! legitimacy! with!
their! customers,! leveraging! cultural! dynamics! inside! online! communities! to! support! capital!
assembly.!

3.8)Perceived)Value)
The! term! perceived+ value! is! considered! as! the! comparison! between! the! total! perceived!
benefits!and!the!total!perceived!costs!(Lovelock!2001).!Chen!and!Dubinsky!(2003)!state!that!
perceived! value! is! the! sum! of! transactional! costs! and! expected! profits! or! losses.! Another!
finding!suggests!that!perceived!value!is!the!difference!between!acquired!profits!and!paid!costs!
when! a! consumer! tends! to! maintain! the! continuous! relationship! with! the! service! provider!
(Sirdeshmukh!et!al.!2002).!Additionally,!Sweeney!and!Soutar!(2001)!propose!the!dimensions!
for!the!product!basis,!including:!1.!Emotional!Value:!a!consumers!perception!of!the!product!or!
service!in!the!consumption!process.!2.!Social!Value:!a!consumers!cognition!of!the!product!or!
service!in!the!social!image.!3.!Quality!Function!Value:!the!measurement!of!the!product!quality!
and! the! acquired! performance! it! delivers.! This! shows! that! if! planning! a! crowdfunding!
campaign!they!products!offered!have!to!presented!as!either!being!a!need!to!have,!a!product!or!
service,! which! serves! a! greater! value! in! social! communities,! or! delivers! a! higher! value! than!
already!existing!products!or!services.!
Perceived(Customer(Value(

Perceived customer value is identified as marketing and branding related concepts, which
points out that success of a product is largely based on whether customers believe it can
satisfy their needs. This phrase emphasizes that when a company develops its brand and
markets its products, customers ultimately determine how to interpret and react to the
marketing messages. The term value proposition is used to better understand customer
perceived value. A value proposition is a comparison of the benefits offered by a company's
product to its customers relative to the price it asks customers to pay. Companies can
generally influence the value proposition in one of two ways. Companies can use long-term
brand building advertising to emphasize key traits of the brand and products, or they can
offer a relatively low cost to enhance value. Ultimately, the key is that customers feel that

49!

the product's value exceedingly justify its price (Osterwalder & Pigneur 2010).
3.9)Marketing)Value)Of)Crowdfunding)
Crowdfunding!campaigns!potential!financial!benefits!are!significant.!However,!it!is!suggested!
that!it!also!brings!benefits!seen!from!a!marketing!perspective!(Belleflamme!et.!al.!2013).!!
As! mentioned! in! the! introduction! three! marketing! functions! are! important! regarding!
crowdfunding!initiatives:!Research,!Promotion,!and!Engagement.!The!research!suggests!that!
crowdfunding! is! a! useable! market! research! tool;! hence! crowdfunding! campaign! allows!
receiving!feedback!on!a!given!product,!and!the!ability!to!estimate!the!potential!customer!base.!
In! addition,! some! crowdfunding! campaigns! offer! their! supporters! an! opportunity! to!
participate!in!product!design.!It!is!acknowledge!that!consumers!input!often!allows!adopting!
the! product! to! be! more! attractive! for! the! potential! market.! Gruner! and! Homburg! (2000)!
suggest! that! interacting! with! customers! has! proven! to! have! positive! influence! on! the!
products! future! success! rate.! Belleflamme! et.! al.! (2013)! propose! that! crowdfunding!
campaigns! can! be! used! to! promote! a! product! by! encouraging! consumers! to! spread!
information! about! the! campaign! through! wordAofAmouth.! The! research! on! the! topic! claims!
that! some! companies! used! their! crowdfunding! campaigns! purely! for! marketing! purposes,!
hence! it! was! considered! as! the! easiest,! and! moreover,! the! cheapest! way! of! advertisement.!
Several! of! the! interviewed! companies! state! that! their! crowdfunding! campaigns! helped! to!
draw! attention! of! press! and! media.! Additionally,! the! interviewees! state! that! the! funding!
contributors! tend! to! become! active! promoters! of! the! products! themselves,! as! the! feeling! of!
involvement!in!the!funded!project!motivates!them!to!spread!the!word!around!the!people!they!
know.!Therefore,!crowdfunding!appears!to!be!an!efficient!way!of!building!up!a!consumer!base!
(Gorshkov!2011),!because!crowdfunding!campaign!offers!an!increased!social!media!exposure.!
The! obtainable! exposure! can! lead! to! further! spreading! of! the! word! by! users! or! media.! It! is!
suggested!that!customers!are!more!willing!to!spread!the!information!about!the!projects!they!
support! though! social! networks,! allowing! the! crowdfunding! creator! to! establish! their! own!
online! community! based! on! those! people! (Gerber! et.! al.! 2012).! Lastly,! engagement! with! the!
customers! is! achieved! through! rewarding! them! with! certain! perks! for! their! donations.! The!
rewards! can! be! both! tangible! and! intangible! (Gerber! et.! al.! 2012).! Additionally,! customer!
engagement!is!not!simply!associated!with!rewards,!but!establishing!twoAway!communication!

50!

between!the!backers!and!the!creators,!engaging!the!customers!into!a!community,!urging!them!
to!feel!a!part!of!the!group!(Gerber!et.!al.!2012).!

3.10)Online)Social)Communities)
The!key!factor!in!any!crowdfunding!campaign!is!the!use!of!the!Internet,!and!particularly!social!
media.!Crowdfunding!platforms!depend!on!an!online!social!community.!Online!communities!
are!defined!as!any!virtual!space!where!people!interact!to!converse,!exchange!information!or!
resources,!learn,!or!play!(Kraut!et.!al.!2012).!Scholars!investigating!social!science!propose!how!
to! get! a! online! social! community! started,! integrate! newcomers,! encourage! commitment,!
regulate! behavior! when! there! are! conflicts,! motivate! contributions,! and! coordinate! those!
contributions! to! maximize! benefits! for! the! community! (Gerber! et.! al.! 2012).! Weng! and!
Fesenmaier! (2003)! examined! why! community! members! are! willing! to! make! active!
contributions! to! their! community! and! found! that! motivations! of! efficacy,! instrumental,! and!
expectancy! have! positive! effects! on! level! of! contribution.! Firstly,! using! Facebook! to! expand!
one's! social! network! is! a! type! of! instrumental! motivation.! Specific! instrumental! motivations!
include! seeking/providing! emotional! support,! finding! friends/peers,! relationship! building,!
group! attachment/commitment,! expressing! identity,! and! increasing! selfAesteem/respect.!
Second,!efficacy!as!a!motivation!is!providing!health!advice!on!an!online!health!forum.!Efficacy!
motivations! include! satisfying! other! members'! needs,! being! helpful! to! others,!
seeking/providing! advice,! and! sharing! enjoyment.! Third,! quality! assurance! motivation!
includes!editing!Wikipedia!to!make!sure!information!is!correct!and!up!to!date.!Basic!quality!
assurance! motivations! are! controlling! products,! service! quality,! and! enforcing!
suggestions/evaluations.! Fourth,! status! motivations! include! gaining! prestige! and! attaining!
status!in!the!community.!Lastly,!expectancy!as!a!motivation!includes!waiting!for!a!reply!on!a!
Twitter! feed.! The! main! expectancy! motivations! are! seeking! future! exchange! from! anybody!
and! seeking! future! exchange! from! someone! who! provides! help.! Moreover,! ease! of!
communication,! members'! personality,! and! their! level! of! general! involvement! in! the!
community!had!positive!relationships!with!level!of!active!contribution.!Moreover,!individuals!
contributing! to! online! communities! are! also! driven! by! motivations,! such! as! the! desire! for!
knowledge,!social!standing,!peer!companionship,!approval,!desire!to!improve!society,!and!to!
be!autonomous!(Gerber!et.!al.!2012).!

51!

3.11)Consumer)Engagement)In)An)Online)Community)
Hui et. al. (2014) investigated how creators of a crowdfunding campaign use their social
network to reach their campaign goals. They identified tree main challenges, which included
understanding network capabilities, activating network connections, and expanding network
reach. Hui et. al. (2014) state that many creators and supporters have the desire to mitigate
annoying others or getting annoyed by excessive request for help. Moreover, some of the
creators also described the difficulties of knowing how to address the crowd and ask for
their support. Furthermore, they suggest that creators often do not realize the need to grow a
network of supports prior to a campaign. This indicates the need to understand the
marketing strategy implication connected to crowdfunding. Hence, creators are often not
experienced in business operations but often merely creative people having a good idea.
Hui et. al. (2014) notice in their study that successful project creators may more often build
an online audience prior to campaign launch, and write targeted rather than general
messages asking for support. Also, they found that connecting with people outside their
personal network, and locate people with interests aligned with the project is important
before launching a campaign.
3.11.1)Understanding)The)Role)Of)Community)In)Crowdfunding)Work)
Hui! et.! al.! (2014)! aim! is! to! understand! the! collaborative! efforts! and! dayAtoAday! activities! of!
crowdfunding! users! to! design! and! improve! crowdfunding! support! tools! (Hui! et.! al.! 2014,! p.!
62).!!
Hui! et.! al.! (2014)! interviewed! 47! crowdfunding! campaign! creators,! and! found! that! the!
creators! carry! out! five! main! types! of! work:! preparing+ the! campaign! material,! testing+ the!
material,! publicizing+ the! project,! following+ through+ with! project! goals,! and! reciprocating+
resources! to! the! community.! They! also! found! that! during! each! stage! of! work! there! was!
collaboration!among!all!individuals!involved!i.e.!other!creators,!employees!working!with!the!
crowdfunding!platform,!and!backers.!!
Hui! et.! al.! (2014)! put! together! a! table( of! crowdfunding! work,! including! definitions! and!
summary!of!the!role!of!community!throughout!the!work!process.!(See!figure!12)!

52!

!
Figure(12(H(Crowdfunding(work(and(role(of(community(throughout(the(work(process.(
Source:!Source:!Hui!et.!al.!(2014,!p.5)

!
Hui!et.!al.!(2014)!highlight!that!crowdfunding!creators!should!maintain!regular!contact!with!
their! community! throughout! the! campaign,! by! providing! content! to! the! backers! on! a! daily!
base.!Furthermore,!their!findings!indicate!that!maintaining!the!relationship!with!the!backers,!
introduces! unique! difficulties! to! the! typical! entrepreneurial! process.! Creators! are! seeking!
lasting! relationships,! thus! following! communityAbuilding! practices.! Creators! are! striving! to!
engage! with! supporters! personally! by! explaining! the! value! of! their! support,! recruiting!
supporters! to! spread! the! word! about! the! campaign! in! order! to! reach! the! critical! mass! of!
members.!Moreover,!creators!are!extrinsically!motivating!people!to!contribute!by!promising!
rewards!(Hui!et.!al.!2014,!p.!70).!Additionally,!Hui!and!colleagues!found!that!creators!heavily!
reliance! on! community! is! beneficial! because! consumers! throughout! the! campaign! are!
constantly!judging!their!work.!However,!even!though!creators!acknowledge!the!usefulness!of!
receiving!feedback!from!the!crowd,!only!few!creators!attempt!to!do!it!on!a!large!scale!because!
of!the!fear!of!public!rejection.!Lastly,!crowdfunding!initiatives!rely!on!collaboration!to!achieve!
project! goals.! Crowdfunding! fundamentally! relies! more! on! community! support! for! project!
success.! Hui! et.! al.! (2014)! found! that! creators! rely! on! community! efforts! to! overcome!
difficulties! of! getting! advice,! designing! ones! campaign,! getting! feedback,! publicity,! and!
shipping!rewards.!!

3.12)Discussion)&)Reflections)
As!the!literature!on!crowdfunding!is!nascent!and!still!in!its!infant!stages!it!is!highly!relevant!to!
take!the!many!literature!streams!under!the!magnifying!glass.!When!searching!the!Internet!to!

53!

gain! knowledge! about! crowdfunding,! I! found! various! ways! to! investigate! the! crowdfunding!
space.!(
So! far,! the! literature! review! chapter! presented! has! delivered! a! structure! and! discussion! of!
crowdfunding!initiatives!in!connection!to!entrepreneurial!success.!Furthermore,!the!literature!
review! has! presented! a! concise! set! of! definitions! of! key! concepts.! Overall,! the! literature!
review! evaluates! how! to! use! crowdfunding! initiatives! i.e.! what! kind! of! value! can!
crowdfunding! initiatives! generate,! what! are! the! benefits! of! crowdfunding! from! a! marketing!
perspective,!and!which!conditions!need!to!be!in!place!in!order!to!make!use!of!crowdfunding!
initiatives.!!!
The! crowdfunding! platforms! have! received! much! attention! as! an! alternative! way! for!
entrepreneurs! to! raise! capital,! how! to! set! up! a! campaign,! which! factors! are! important! to!
create! a! successful! campaign,! and! what! benefits! exist! for! startAups.! However,! there! is! still! a!
lack!of!academic!studies!regarding!how!to!make!use!of!marketing!initiatives,!why!this!study!
will!emphasize!how!established!companies!can!use!crowdfunding!initiatives!as!part!of!their!
marketing!strategy.!
Literature! on! established! companies! using! crowdfunding! has! not! received! much! academic!
attention,! if! any,! yet.! This! means! that! the! research! on! this! particular! topic! is! made! by! best!
guesses,! which! is! connected! to! research! already! investigated! in! the! fields! of! crowdfunding,!
social! CRM,! and! customer! engagement.! Moreover,! the! research! is! aligned! with! the! growing!
interest!of!how!crowdfunding!can!be!used!for!marketing!purposes,!which!is!the!main!focus!in!
the!literature!review.!!
The! aim! is! to! connect! the! presented! literature! with! the! collected! data! to! investigate! how!
established! companies! might! utilize! crowdfunding! initiatives! to! support! their! social! media!
activities.!
!
!

54!

4.)Findings)
The!following!chapter!will!display!the!findings.!The!chapter!starts!with!a!brief!introduction!of!
the! company! in! question,! Mikkeller! ApS,! in! order! to! present! background! information! about!
their! business! activities,! industry! and! market! position.! Afterwards,! the! main! findings! of! the!
interviews!from!all!the!interviewees!are!presented.!Lastly!a!discussion!is!made!to!connect!the!
findings!and!research!question.!!

4.1)Case)Study)
4.1.1)Mikkeller)ApS)
Mikkeller!is!a!Danish!brewing!company!founded!in!2006!in!Copenhagen!by!two!friends!Mikkel!
Bjerg! Borgs! and! Kristian! Keller14.! In! 2007! Kristian! Keller! left! Mikkeller! to! pursue! other!
career! dreams.! However,! Mikkel! continued! to! brew! and! develop! innovative! beers.! Today!
Mikkeller! export! beers! to! 40! countries! around! the! world.! Mikkeller! has! made! collaboration!
beers! with! some! of! the! worlds! most! acknowledged! and! innovative! microbreweries;! Three!
Floyds,!Chicago,!de!Struise,!Belgium,!Hill!Farmstead,!Vermount!and!Anchorage,!Alaska!just!to!
name! a! few.! Mikkeller! also! makes! house! beer! for! some! of! the! best! and! most! prominent!
gourmet!restaurants!in!Denmark,!such!as!Noma!(Michelin),!Mielcke!&!Hurtigkarl!and!Kiin!Kiin!
(Michelin).!Because!of!Mikkels!inventive!and!constant!development!of!Mikkeller!he!has!been!
called!the!cult,!rocknroll!and!gypsyAbrewer!in!Danish!and!international!press15.!!
Beer)Geek)Breakthrough)
The! big! breakthrough! in! the! international! beer! world! arose! with! a! clean! and! simple! idea! of!
adding! French! press! coffee! to! an! oatmealAstout.! The! result! Beer! Geek! Breakfast! was! voted!
number!one!stout!on!the!international!beer!forum!Ratebeer.com!and!kickAstarted!Mikkellers!
international! success. That! same! year! two! American! distributers! travelled! all! the! way! to!
Denmark,! which! resulted! in! Mikkeller! signing! a! distribution! deal! with! the! American! beer!
distributor,!Shelton!Brothers.!Shortly!after,!Mikkeller!started!brewing!Beer!Geek!Breakfast!at!
the!Danish!microbrewery!Gourmet!Bryggeriet!to!cope!with!the!demand16.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!http://press.mikkeller.dk/wpAcontent/uploads/MikkellerABio.pdf!
http://press.mikkeller.dk/wp-content/uploads/Mikkeller-Bio.pdf
16 !http://press.mikkeller.dk/wp-content/uploads/Mikkellers-Vision.pdf!
14
15

55!

The)Vision)
The! vision! is! to! brew! beers! that! challenge! the! concept! of! good! beer! and! move! people.!
Mikkeller!do!this!by!using!the!best!ingredients!and!work!with!the!most!talented!and!creative!
minds! around! the! world.! Furthermore,! Mikkeller! aims! to! make! quality! beers! a! serious!
alternative!to!wine!and!champagne!when!having!gourmet!food17.!
!
Mikkeller)And)The)Craft)Beer)Market)
Mikkeller! is! considered! as! one! of! the! best! microbreweries! in! the! world,! topping! the! lists! on!
several!rating!websites!since!the!2006.!However,!the!micro!brewing!market!space!is!difficult!
to! put! in! boxes! due! to! the! fact! that! almost! all! of! the! breweries! are! independently! owned.!
Furthermore,!microbreweries!brew!many!different!styles!of!beer,!quantities!of!beer!brewed,!
and! collaborations! between! companies,! which! make! it! difficult! to! make! segmentations.!
However,! when! viewing! the! two! major! rating! sites! on! the! Internet! RateBeer! and!
BeerAdvocate,! Mikkeller! is! popping! up! on! all! the! various! lists! as! one! of! the! best! and! most!
innovative! breweries! in! the! world.! Furthermore,! it! is! relatively! easy! to! enter! the! micro!
brewing!market!due!to!the!low!entry!costs!e.g.!one!does!not!need!to!own!a!brewery!to!start!a!
brewing! company.! New! breweries! are! entering! the! market! almost! on! a! daily! basis,! and!
Brewersassociation.org!more!that!2800!breweries!exist!today18.!!
!
Entrepreneurial)Explosions)
Mikkeller! is! not! merely! a! brewery.! Mikkel! Bjerg! Borgs! always! strives! to! pursue! new!
ventures,!which!he!always!believes!will!succeed.!In!2010!Mikkel!opened!his!first!beer!bar!at!
Vesterbro,! Copenhagen.! The! bar! has! been! on! the! list! of! best! beer! bars! in! the! world! ever!
since19.! However,! the! entrepreneurial! drive! did! not! end! there.! The! timeAline! illustrates! the!
expansion!of!the!Mikkeller!brand!(Appendix!V).!
!
I!interviewed!one!key!employee!at!Mikkeller!in!order!to!gain!insight!and!knowledge!on!how!
Mikkeller! views! their! opportunities,! challenges,! and! difficulties! regarding! their! marketing!
work! and! options! to! facilitate! crowdfunding,! and! how! they! believe! crowdfunding! initiatives!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!http://press.mikkeller.dk/wp-content/uploads/Mikkellers-Vision.pdf!
!http://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/numberAofAbreweries/!
19 !http://www.ratebeer.com/places/top-rated/!
17
18

56!

can! support! their! business.! As! mentioned! in! the! methodology! (chapter! 3),! the! employee! I!
interviewed!was!Jacob!Gram!Alsing,!Operations!Manager!at!Mikkeller.!
4.1.2)Mikkeller))Human)Communication)Through)Social)Media)
The!first!topic!of!discussion!was!about!Mikkellers!marketing!strategy!and!how!they!want!to!
be! perceived! by! customers.! The! Operations! Manager,! Jacob! Gram! Alsing! clearly! stated! that!
Mikkeller! is! a! human! company! where! everybody! working! at! Mikkeller! shares! the!
responsibility!of!promoting!the!brand!to!the!world:!!
+
All+employees+help+with+the+promotion+by+posting+and+sharing+personal+information+on+
Facebook,+Twitter,+and+Instagram+(Alsing!2014).!!
!
Moreover,!Jacob!Gram!Alsing!is!focused!on!marketing,!i.e.!generating!content!on!social!media,!
but!emphasized!that!Mikkeller!is!a!brand!that!is!dynamic!in!its!marketing!activities.!Moreover,!
since! the! company! does! not! use! any! money! on! traditional! marketing,! e.g.! posters,!
commercials,!Mikkeller!rely!free!publicity!from!all!its!stakeholders:!!
!
We+ are+ not+ the+ normal+ company+ where+ we+ have+ a+ full5time+ marketing+
manager+responsible+for+generating+information+to+our+customers,+and+we+
use+many+resources+but+we+do+not+use+any+money+on+marketing! and! we+
would+much+rather+in+direct+contact+with+our+customers,+and+we+do+this+by+
telling+ personal+ stories,+ not+ by+ putting+ up+ posters+ at+ Trianglen+ or+ some+
other+places+(Alsing!2014).!!
!
Although!Mikkeller!almost!daily!receives!inquiries!from!companies!that!offer!to!manage!the!
brewery's!communication!professionally!they!always!get!rejected!because!it!would!not!create!
any!value!for!Mikkeller!or!its!customers:!
!
I+believe+it+will+become+dishonest! and+too+static.+We+want+to+be+the+rebel+
in+the+class+and+so+we+must+also+accept+that+there+may+be+typos+in+our+posts+
on+Facebook+(Alsing!2014).!!
!

57!

Mikkellers! customers,! fans,! and! even! unhappy! customers! play! an! important! role! in! the!
marketing!strategy,!whether!it!is!by!telling!that!a!child!is!named!after!the!brewery!or!that!a!
customer!criticizes!the!beer!Mikkeller!attempts!to!use!it!on!their!social!media!platform:!!
!
We+want+to+involve+customers+in+both+extremes+5+from+the+extreme+fans+to+
the+ unhappy+ customers,+ we+ are+ just+ not+ aware+ of+ how+ we+ do+ it+ right+
(Alsing!2014).!
!
When!asking!Jacob!Gram!Alsing!whether!Mikkeller!is!a!company!that!engage!and!involve!their!
customers! enough! in! the! product! development,! Jacob! Gram! Alsing! explained! that! they!
occasionally!ask!their!followers!on!Facebook!to!come!up!with!ideas!regarding!developing!new!
products.!Furthermore,!he!explained!that!Mikkeller!to!some!extend!use!their!customers!in!the!
brainstorming!process!when!wanting!to!develop!new!beers!but!that!they!might!could!benefit!
even!more!from!customer!insight.!He!also!explained!that!involving!customers!might!become!a!
challenge!if!they!want!to!be!rebellious:!
!
We+ know+ that+ it+ is+ all+ about+ selling+ beers+ to+ our+ customers+ and+ we+ are+
constantly+ developing+ new+ beers+ that+ challenge+ the+ market+ and+ our+
customers+ ()+ we+ are+ aware+ of+ the+ saying+ the+ customer+ is+ always+ right+
but+we+are+definitely+also+aware+of+our+competences+and+right+now+we+are+
selling+all+the+beer+we+produce+(Alsing!2014).!!
!
Jacob!Gram!Alsing!explained!that!Mikkeller!is!now!a!well!established!company!but!they!will!
never!let!themselves!become!a!conservative!company,!and!that!they!will!keep!developing!and!
pushing!the!boundaries!in!the!craft!beer!industry.!This!means!engaging!with!customers!in!a!
new!way!and!making!them!ambassadors!for!the!Mikkeller!brand.!
!
Next! topic! was! about! legitimacy! and! how! Mikkeller! view! their! own! legitimacy.! Jacob! Gram!
Alsing!explained!that!he!believes!that!the!reason!why!Mikkeller!has!developed!into!the!kind!of!
brand!it!is!today!is!mainly!because!Mikkeller!has!succeed!in!telling!personal!stories,!and!that!
their!customers!appreciate!personal!stories!rather!than!fixed!marketing.!Furthermore,!Jacob!
Gram!Alsing!stated:!!

58!

!
I+believe+that+people+buy+our+products+because+we+are+good+at+what+we+do,+
and+because+we+are+not+afraid+of+telling+people+about+it,+and+I+think+people+
love+that+we+are+un5Danish+and+that+we+behave+like+rock+stars+(Alsing!
2014).!!
!
Jacob! Gram! Alsing! further! elaborated! how! the! brand! is! still! highly! connected! with! the!
authentic!story!the!company!is!build!upon,!and!that!he!believes!that!customers!really!like!the!
story,!and!in!some!way!feel!connected!to!the!brand,!due!to!the!story:!!
!
The+ story+ of+ how+ the+ schoolteacher+ Mikkel+ (the+ owner+ of+ Mikkeller)+
transformed+ a+ simple+ hobby+ project+ into+ a+ worldwide+ success+ business+ is+
pretty+ simple+ a+ good+ story+ in+ itself.+ So+ when+ you+ have+ a+ story+ like+ this,+
awesome+ products,+ beer+ events,+ and+ dedicated+ employees,+ who+ care+ and+
believe+ in+ the+ brand+ and+ therefore+ produce+ stories+ without+ I+ have+ to+ tell+
them+to+do+so,+customers+can+feel+the+authenticity+(Alsing!2014).!!
!
However,! Jacob! Gram! Alsing! made! it! clear! that! Mikkeller! could! ultimately! run! the! risk! of!
becoming!a!victim!of!its!own!success:!!
!
The+question+is+how+we+maintain+a+reputation+as+an+'underground'5brand+
while+the+company+grows+and+increasingly+turns+into+a+more+international+
brand.+That+is+something+we+will+always+have+in+mind!(Alsing!2014).!
4.1.3)Mikkeller)&)Crowdfunding)Plans)
Next!topic!was!focused!on!crowdfunding,!and!more!specifically!about!Mikkellers!plan!of!using!
crowdfunding!to!fund!their!newest!venture,!a!brewpub!located!in!the!meatpacking!district!in!
Copenhagen.! When! asking! about! how! the! idea! of! using! crowdfunding! originated! from! Jacob!
Gram!Alsing!answered:!
!

59!

we+ (Mikkel! and! Jacob)+ want+ to+ bring+ ambassadors+ in+ to+ enhance+ the+
brand,+and+we+both+have+read+some+articles+on+crowdfunding+and+thought+
it+sounded+great+and+something+new+we+should+try!(Alsing!2014).!
!
When!asking!about!the!importance!of!raising!money!through!the!campaign,!Jacob!Gram!Alsing!
explained! that! it! is! about! much! more! that! just! raising! money,! and! that! he! believes! that! the!
campaign!hopefully!can!build!a!culture!and!community!around!what!they!do,!and!that!it!can!
lock!in!our!best!customers!and!take!advantages!of!the!linking,!which!social!media!allows!them!
to! have! with! their! customers.! Moreover,! when! asking! what! kind! of! value! he! believes!
crowdfunding!can!offer!Mikkeller,!Jacob!Gram!Alsing!responded:!!
!
The+ primary+ value+ will+ be+ to+ create+ ambassadors+ who+ experience+ a+ co5
ownership+ in+ the+ project.+ Our+ brand+ is+ largely+ built+ on+ "word+ of+ mouth",+
therefore+is+the+creation+of+ambassadors+essential+for+spreading+the+word+
about+ us.+ Furthermore,+ not+ many+ Danish+ companies+ have+ plunged+ into+
major+campaigns,+and+therefore+we+imagine+that+there+will+be+some+media+
attention+on+the+project+(Alsing!2014).!!
!
Throughout!the!interview,!Jacob!Gram!Alsing!emphasized!that!whatever!Mikkeller!is!doing!or!
will!attempt!to!do!they!will!always!strive!to!push!the!boundaries,!be!provocative,!not!follow!
other!companies,!challenge!Janteloven!(The!Law!of!Jante),!and!will!always!strive!to!be!ahead!
of!their!competitors,!stating:!!
!
We+strive+to+be+different,+and+we+always+try+to+do+things+differently.+It+has+
almost+become+our+mantra+to+do+unexpected+things++you+can+call+us+risk5
takers+(Alsing!2014).!!
!
When! I! asked! Jacob! Gram! Alsing! if! he! could! see! any! risks! regarding! crowdfunding! he!
elaborated!on!Stone!Brewing!Co.s!recently!ended!campaign.!Jacob!Gram!Alsing!explained!that!
when!he!first!heard!about!the!campaign!he!was!surprised!that!a!company!like!Stone!Brewing!
would!use!crowdfunding,!and!that!he!also!was!a!little!pissed!because!he!felt!that!Mikkeller!
suddenly! could! not! follow! Stone! Brewings! footsteps.! Furthermore,! Jacob! Gram! Alsing!

60!

explained! that! when! he! heard! about! Stone! Brewing! rough! start! on! IndieGoGo! he! felt! a! bit!
anxious!about!using!crowdfunding!himself,!stating!that:!
+
I+ witnessed+ a+ company+ (Stone+ Brewing+ Co.),+ which+ was+ a+ the+ edge+ of+
loosing+ everything+ they+ have+ accomplished+ + 18+ years+ of+ hard+ work+ was+
almost+ruined+by+a+crowdfunding+campaign.+By+witnessing+that+got+a+little+
afraid+and+stated+doubting+our+plans+(Alsing!2014).!
+
When! asking! about! how! he! sees! Mikkellers! crowdfunding! initiatives! compared! to! Stone!
Brewing,! Jacob! Gram! Alsing! explained! that! Mikkellers! crowdfunding! would! be! totally!
different.! Instead! of! just! preAselling! new! collaboration! brews! Mikkeller! wants! to! create! a!
community! filled! with! ambassadors! who! buy! memberships,! and! will! be! treated! like! coA
owners:!
!
we+ want+ to+ bring+ as+ many+ engaged+ people+ on+ board+ as+ possible,+ we+ will+
personally+get+to+know+everybody+involved,+and+we+will+interact+with+our+
members+personally+(Alsing!2014).+
+
Jacob!Gram!Alsing!elaborated!on!the!fact!that!it!seemed!like!Stone!Brewing!did!not!put!enough!
work! into! their! campaign,! and! that! by! viewing! what! they! did! and! have! done! he! could! see! a!
lack! of! engagement! from! the! companys! side.! He! explained! that! it! seemed! like! Stone! only!
focused!on!the!purchasing!part,!and!not!on!the!communication!part.!!!!
+
!
!
(
!

61!

4.2)Expert)Interviews)
This! section! will! present! what! the! experts! expressed! about! the! relationship! between!
crowdfunding! and! marketing! purposes;! crowdfunding! and! customer! engagement;! and!
crowdfunding! and! organizational! legitimacy.! Furthermore,! I! will! also! add! secondary! data! in!
this!part.!!
4.2.1)Crowdfunding)For)Marketing)Purposes)
When! asking! the! experts! how! they! consider! the! opportunities! of! using! crowdfunding! for!
marketing!purposes!their!opinions!were!unanimous.!The!expert!from!IndieGoGo!John!Vaskis!
stated:!!
!
Crowdfunding+ is+ a+ valuable+ tool+ for+ entrepreneurs+ to+ create+ awareness+ for+ their+ new+
venture+ or+ product.+ A+ crowdfunding+ campaign+ enables+ everybody+ with+ a+ good+ idea+ to+
share+information+directly+to+existing+and+potential+new+customers+(Vaskis!2014).!!
!
In!addition,!Assistant!Professor,!Jan!Warhuus!stated!that!crowdfunding!is:!definitely+a+useable+
marketing+ tool+ for+ companies+ (Warhuus! 2014).! He! also! suggests! that! crowdfunding! is! an!
extension!of!already!recognized!marketing!theories:!!
!
()+ We+ know+ from+ other+ theories+ like+ lead+ user,+ first+ user+ etc.+ that+ companies+ are+
interested+ in+ uncovering+ customers+ and+ communicating+ with+ their+ customers+ because+
they+(the+companies)+then+can+understand+how+to+make+better+products+or+services,+this+
is+ here+ crowdfunding+ comes+ into+ the+ picture+ as+ a+ quick+ and+ suitable+ tool+ (Warhuus!
2014).!!
!
Moreover,! fundraising! expert! Dennis! Hrmann! claimed! that! it! is! difficult! even! to! separate!
crowdfunding!and!marketing!from!each!other:!!
!
They+are+interrelated.+Crowdfunding+is+not+about+sowing+grass+just+by+looking+at+it.+One+
has+to+prepare+the+ground+numerous+times,+and+preferably+in+several+phases.+There+is+a+
lot+relationship+marketing+and+customer+relationships+management+going+on+the+whole+
project+through+(Hrmann!2014).!

62!

!
When!searching!Internet!about!crowdfunding!and!marketing!I!found!several!links!concerned!
about! how! companies! can! utilize! crowdfunding! for! marketing! purposes.! The! CoAfounder! of!
the!crowdfunding!platform!IndieGoGo,!Danae!Ringelmann!stated!that!not!all!of!the!companies!
that! create! a! crowdfunding! campaign! are! in! for! the! money,! and! that! the! uncovering! of!
potential!new!customers!and!key!influencers!are!in!some!cases!even!more!important:!!
!
Not+ all+ the+ companies+ need+ the+ money;+ theyre+ just+ as+ interested+ in+ how+ potential+
customers+ respond+ to+ their+ ideas.+ We+ are+ seeing+ venture5backed+ companies+ using+
IndieGoGo+as+a+way+to+connect+and+get+market+feedback+and+data+20.+She!focused!on!the!
fact!that!crowdfunding!is:!a+way+to+get+the+community+involved+and+get+them+excited,+so+
you+can+be+sure+you+are+making+something+people+really+want,+as+opposed+to+something+
you+hope+they+want21.++
+
According!to!Ringelmann,!crowdfunding!should!be!for!everybody!and!that!everyone+deserves+
the+ right+ to+ at+ least+ try+ to+ get+ his+ or+ her+ idea+ off+ the+ ground22.+ Furthermore,! she! stated! that!
individuals,!entrepreneurs!or!companies!are!attracted!to!the!platforms!by!the!opportunity!to!
test!ideas!and!gain!feedback!from!likeminded!individuals:!!
!
Its+ an+ opportunity+ for+ the+ campaign+ owner+ to+ understand+ their+ market+ before+ they+
actually+launch.+In+that+way,+the+customer+will+get+a+better+product,+the+campaign+owner+
will+launch+a+better+product,+and+there+will+be+less+waste.+If+you+create+a+product+no+one+
wants,+it+will+just+go+to+the+landfill.+So+this+is+just+making+production+and+manufacturing+
smarter+and+more+efficient+and+sustainable23.!
!
Moreover,! Dr.! Richard! Swart,! director! of! research! on! crowdfinance! at! UC! Berkeley,! has!
additionally! suggested! that! crowdfunding! initiatives:! represents+ a+ cutting5edge+ integrated+
marketing+tool+and!that!companies!can!utilize!crowdfunding!to!be:!at+the+forefront+of+digital+

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!http://www.xconomy.com/sanAfrancisco/2014/06/05/indiegogosAdanaeAringelmannAonAcrowdfundingAasAmarketAresearch/!
!http://www.xconomy.com/sanAfrancisco/2014/06/05/indiegogosAdanaeAringelmannAonAcrowdfundingAasAmarketAresearch/!
22 !https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPbHf4i6CrQ!
23 !http://www.xconomy.com/sanAfrancisco/2014/06/05/indiegogosAdanaeAringelmannAonAcrowdfundingAasAmarketAresearch/!
20
21

63!

strategies24.!Swart!also!recognize!the!use!of!crowdfunding!initiatives!as!a!marketing!tool!and!
states!that!it!is:!a+natural+evolution+of+how+companies+are+using+social+media+marketing25.+
+
Moreover,!Jan!Warhuus!stated!that!companies!that!decide!to!make!a!crowdfunding!campaign!
also!have!the!ability!to!use!it!other!ways!and!focuses!on!the!factors!that!crowdfunding!should!
be! understood! as! a! business! model,! where! companies! have! the! ability! to! attract! more! than!
just!customers:!!
!
Businesses,+even+if+they+use+a+lot+of+energy+and+money+making+the+campaigns,+it+will+be+
outweighed+by+the+publicity+they+get.+It+is+a+great+mistake+to+say+that+it+is+only+a+form+of+
marketing+5+I+think+that+if+you+look+at+a+business+model+canvas+there+are+not+any+of+the+
nine+boxes+that+can+not+be+affected+by+a+crowdfunding+project+(Warhuus!2014).+
4.2.2)Crowdfunding)Initiatives)Connected)To)Social)Media)Marketing)
The! next! topic! addresses! the! use! of! social! CRM! and! relationship! marketing.! When! asking!
whether! these! concepts! can! be! used! to! increase! the! probability! of! making! a! successful!
crowdfunding!campaign!and!build!relationships!with!customers!there!were!rather!ambiguous!
answers!from!the!experts.!!
!
According!to!Dennis!Hrmann!(2014)!he!acknowledge!that!might!be!huge!potentials!of!using!
social! CRM! and! relationship! marketing! to! increase! the! probabilities! of! succeeding,! and! he!
believes! that! a! lot! of! the! known! theories! and! strategies,! which! are! concerned! with! building!
relationships!and!communicating!with!customers!are!vital!parts!in!crowdfunding:!!
!
I+think+it+goes+both+ways.+If+you+are+communicating+with+your+customers+on+your+social+
media+ platforms+ you+ will+ have+ a+ better+ chance+ of+ creating+ a+ successful+ crowdfunding+
campaign.+ On+ the+ other+ hand,+ if+ communicating+ and+ involving+ backers+ throughout+ the+
whole+ campaign+ they+ will+ automatically+ turn+ to+ your+ social+ media+ pages+ during+ the+
campaign+to+learn+more+about+your+products!(Hrmann!2014)!!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2014/26060/whyAcrowdfundingAisAaAmustAhaveAmarketingAtoolAforAbrands!
!http://www.benzinga.com/general/crowdsourcing/14/08/4802231/cokeAmicrosoftAandA3AotherAbigAcompaniesAthatAhaveAusedA
crowdfun!

24
25

64!

However,! Jan! Warhuus! explained! that! it! is! possible! that! social! CRM! and! Relationship!
marketing! can! be! used! to! support! both! a! companys! crowdfunding! campaign! and! increase!
awareness!of!the!companys!social!media!presence.!However,!Jan!Warhuus!also!explained!that!
researchers!need!more!data!to!be!able!to!answer!that!question!or!to!draw!conclusion!whether!
it! works! and! essentially! how! it! works.! He! also! emphasized! that! researchers! are! trying!
everything!to!explain!the!reasons!why!some!projects!succeed!and!why!some!projects!are!not:!
!
I+think+there+is+a+somewhat+greater+and+more+direct+involvement+of+a+backer+than+by+a+
Facebook+ follower.+ It+ (crowdfunding)+ is+ based+ on+ behavior,+ not+ intentions+ and+ people+
must+ have+ money+ out+ of+ your+ pocket+ without+ getting+ anything+ for+ them+ right+ here+ and+
now.+In+this+way,+a+crowdfunding+campaign+is+a+type+of+sorting+mechanism+that+provides+
access+ to+ a+ dedicated+ group,+ definitely+ not+ the+ only+ one,+ of+ customers.+ There+ are+
tremendous+ opportunities+ to+ exploit+ the+ access,+ we+ just+ need+ to+ know+ more+ about+ the+
backers+first!(Warhuus!2014).
(
John! Vaskis! also! contributed! with! insights! regarding! the! question! stating! that! the! more!
content! written! about! your! company! from! other! sources! the! more! likely! it! is! that! you! will!
succeed!with!your!social!media!marketing!and!also!your!crowdfunding!initiatives:!
!
As+I+see+it,+the+first+step+in+sustainable+marketing+is+your+community.+Identify+the+most+
influential+ members+ and+ develop+ a+ relationship+ with+ them.+ In+ doing+ so,+ youll+ maximize+
your+ reach+ without+ any+ additional+ effort.+ You+ could+ also+ compile+ a+ list+ of+ popular+
bloggers+in+your+industry+and+contact+them+directly.+If+you+can+have+other+people+writing+
about+your+project+in+an+objective5outsider+style,+your+company+becomes+more+credible+
(Vaskis!2014).!
!
John! Vaskis! also! explained! that! companies! should! make! their! social! media! more! linkable!
implying! that! crowdfunding! activities! should! not! only! be! on! the! crowdfunding! platform! but!
that! companies! should! be! extremely! aware! of! using! every! chance! they! have! to! share! their!
project!on!several!social!media!platforms:!!
!
By+ publishing+ multimedia+ press+ releases+ incorporate+ a+ variety+ of+ different+ elements+ to+

65!

captivate+your+customers.+Its+about+informing+your+customers+about+any+big+changes+or+
upcoming+events.+By+being+true+to+your+customers+youll+establish+a+long5lasting+identity+
with+ your+ followers,+ and+ if+ you+ involve+ your+ readers+ every+ step+ of+ the+ way,+ theyll+ never+
feel+overwhelmed+by+your+frequent+updates.+Map+out+a+strategy+and+stick+to+it,+but+try+to+
not+ be+ overly+ aggressive+ in+ your+ approach.+ Consistency+ and+ quality+ are+ the+ most+
important+when+it+comes+to+building+genuine+relationships+online.!(Vaskis!2014)!
!
4.2.3)Crowdfunding)As)A)Customer)Engagement)Channel)
John!Vaskis!contributed!to!this!statement!claiming!that!crowdfunding!besides!being!a!tool!to!
assemble! financial! support! new! business! opportunities! also! has! the! ability! to! create!
communities!months!before!actually!launching!the!business:++
+
If+its+applied+correctly,+crowdfunding+enables+individuals+to+create+strong+communities,+
which+ contains+ key+ individuals+ who+ can+ associate+ themselves+ to+ the+ product.+
Furthermore! he! stated:! these+ individuals+ play+ a+ vital+ role+ throughout+ the+ campaign+
causing+them+to+go+viral,+because+they+share+their+pledges+and/or+donations+with+their+
networks+(Vaskis!2014)!
!
Jan!Warhuus!also!contributed!to!this!question!by!saying!that!established!companies!that!want!
to! use! crowdfunding! have! the! ability! to! benefit! from! it! in! many! ways.! He! explains! how!
crowdfunding!creates!the!opportunity!to!get!even!more!enthusiastic!people!to!back,!share!and!
talk!about!a!certain!product:!
!
Companies+ that+ already+ have+ a+ fan+ base+ with+ 'real'+ fans+ can+ use+ crowdfunding+ to+ get+
more+'real'+fans.+Your+customers+who+just+like+you+suddenly+have+the+chance+to+be+part+
of+ your+ company+ by+ seeing+ their+ contributes+ as+ an+ I+ helped+ you+ support! (Warhuus!
2014).+
+
According!to!Dr.!Richard!Swart!crowdfunding!campaigns:!can+strengthen+customer+affinity+to+
brands+ and! that! campaigns! represents+ a+ unique+ marketing+ opportunity+ for+ forwarding5

66!

thinking+companies+to+dramatically+strengthen+consumer+ties+with+their+brand26+
!
Moreover,!Diana!Ringelmann!claims!that!there!is:!an+element+of+community+engagement+and+
market+feedback+and+giving+fans+the+opportunity+to+be+involved+27.+Meaning!that!crowdfunding!
can!create!ripple!effects,!which!leads!to!wordAofAmouth!advantages.!!!
!
Furthermore,! John! Vaskis! sees! a! huge! potential! of! crowdfunding! as! a! customer! engagement!
channel,!expressing!that:!!
!
Crowdfunding+gives+companies+shortcuts+to+building+at+least+two+of+the+three+elements+of+
brand+equity+viz.+brand+awareness+and+brand+loyalty,+and+it+doesnt+necessarily+detract+
from+the+third,+brand+association+(Vaskis!2014).++
+
But!more!than!just!brand!awareness,!crowdfunding!has!the!ability!to!breed!brand!loyalty.!By!
stating!that!crowdfunding!can!produce!a!feeling!of:!!I+helped+make+this+happen+(Vaskis!2014).!
!
Dennis!Hrmann!suggested!that!the!people!who!are!backing!a!project!are!extremely!valuable!
people,!and!that!companies!should!use!them!for!more!than!just!monetary!purposes.!In!fact,!he!
sees!a!great!potential!if!using!the!backers!correctly:!
!
A+ lot+ of+ them+ (the+ backers)+ who+ are+ on+ the+ crowdfunding+ platform+ are+ properly+ also+
writing+ reviews+ or+ operates+ on+ other+ platforms.+ Can+ you+ get+ those+ people+ further+
activated+in+relation+to+the+product+so+that+they+can+create+interest+and+demand+at+other+
levels.+ ()+ it+ is+ hard+ to+ come+ up+ with+ a+ specific+ solution,+ but+ maybe+ you+ could+ reward+
them+ according+ to+ the+ hype+ they+ create+ around+ the+ product+ instead+ of+ matching+ the+
reward+according+to+the+amount+of+money+they+give+(Hrmann!2014)!
+
John!Vaskis!introduced!a!newer!approach!of!the!traditional!marketing!mix.!He!indicates!that!
crowdfunding!initiatives!are!build!on!the!4Ps!or!even!the!7Ps,!but!that!companies!that!want!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
26
27

!http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2014/26060/whyAcrowdfundingAisAaAmustAhaveAmarketingAtoolAforAbrands!
!http://www.xconomy.com/sanAfrancisco/2014/06/05/indiegogosAdanaeAringelmannAonAcrowdfundingAasAmarketAresearch/!

67!

to! utilize! crowdfunding! need! to! acknowledge! a! newer! approach! to! effectively! use!
crowdfunding!campaigns!as!a!customer!engagement!tool.!He!introduced!concept!the!3Es:!
!
The+3s:+Engage,+Equip,+and+Empower.++Engage++Give+your+fans+the+gift+of+you.+Engage+
with+ them.+ Listen+ to+ what+ they+ are+ telling+ you.+ You+ have+ to+ be+ part+ of+ the+ conversation+
about+ your+ brand,+ and+ be+ a+ presence+ in+ your+ fans+ lives.+ Equip+ + give+ them+ a+ reason+ to+
talk.+It+can+be+telling+about+be+amazing+products,+great+service,+insider+knowledge,+social+
elevation,+ incredible+ stories,+ unbelievable+ facts+ or+ even+ funny+ disclosures.+ Its+ on+ you.+ It+
really+depends+on+you+understanding+your+consumers+and+what+they+like+about+you+and+
providing+whatever+it+is+they+need+from+you.+Empower++give+consumers+different+ways+to+
talk+ and+ share.+ Let+ them+ know+ that+ they+ are+ important+ to+ you+ and+ that+ sharing+ their+
opinions+ is+ important+ to+ you.+ Help+ them+ find+ ways+ to+ share+ with+ their+ circles+ and+ find+
ways+to+help+them+move+their+conversations+around.+(Vaskis!2014)!
4.2.4)Crowdfunding)To)Foster)Brand)Advocates)
When! asking! about! the! potentials! of! using! crowdfunding! initiatives! to! nurture! brand!
advocates!it!became!clear!that!it!is!important!for!crowdfunding!creators!that!they!know!how!
to! use! social! media,! and! that! creators! have! to! have! in! mind! that! successful! crowdfunding! is!
not!only!about!providing!information!but!also!about!listening!to!the!crowd:!!!
!
Social+ media+ is+ a+ powerful+ tool,+ but+ rarely+ properly+ used+ by+ entrepreneurs+ to+ build,+
excite,+and+engage+their+crowds.+I+would+say+the+problem+is+not+the+technology+available,+
but+rather+the+internal+culture+of+the+organization+(Vaskis!2014).!+!
!
In! addition,! Jan! Warhuus! explained! that! the! culture! of! communication,! transparency,! and!
collaboration! are! vital! parts! of! crowdfunding,! and! if! not! used! properly! tremendous!
opportunity!to!build!powerful!online!communities!through!social!media!engagement!will!be!
missed.!Jan!Warhuus!also!put!great!emphasis!on!the!value!that!backers!can!give!a!company:!
!!
The+value+the+backers+can+offer+a+company+can+not+be+overstated+in+crowdfunding.+When+
the+ backers+ tell+ friends+ about+ a+ product+ or+ service+ they+ have+ backed+ these+ friends+ are+
much+more+likely+to+check+the+product+or+service+themselves+and+then+tell+their+networks+

68!

about+it+(Warhuus!2014).!!
+
Furthermore,! Jan! Warhuus! explained! the! importance! of! the! backers! after! the! campaign! has!
ended!is!even!greater!than!the!money!the!backers!have!put!into!a!companys!campaign:!!
+
After+ the+ crowdfunding+ campaign+ the+ crowd+ is+ still+ the+ most+ vital+ asset+ you+ received+
from+ a+ successful+ campaign.+ The+ crowd+ has+ now+ converted+ into+ your+ marketing+ and+
promotion+ team+ by+ becoming+ brand+ advocates+ that+ increase+ your+ brand+ awareness+
through+ social+ media+ e.g.+ word5of5mouth.+ They+ will+ become+ an+ important+ part+ of+ your+
product/service+ development+ team+ that+ can+ provide+ market+ validation+ and+ proof+ of+
concept+(Warhuus!2014).!
!
John! Vaskis! also! elaborated! on! this! by! stating! that! companies! that! use! crowdfunding! have!
huge!amounts!of!data!about!specific!elements!of!a!companys!ideas!or!product.!Companies!can!
extract!the!data!and!even!uncover!truly!enthusiastic!people,!which!can!be!brought!in!before!
launching!the!final!product!to!the!market:!!
!
Backers+will+also+play+an+important+part+after+your+campaign+because+you+now+have+the+
market+research,+data,+and+a+market+for+your+product+(Vaskis!2014)++
!
Moreover,!John!Vaskis!also!specified!that!the!most!common!mistake!made!by!entrepreneurs!
facilitating!crowdfunding!initiatives!is!the!importance!of!building!the!crowd!before!entering!
the!crowdfunding!platform!because!the!task!is!only!just!stated!when!you!get!funded:!!
!
The+ funding+ part+ is+ not+ the+ most+ important.+ You+ have+ to+ prepare+ the+ campaign+
beforehand+ so+ that+ the+ backers+ will+ not+ only+ fund+ your+ project+ but+ most+ importantly+
become+engaged+community+members+during+the+campaign+(Vaskis!2014).!
+
By! doing! so,! the! companies! could! create! hubs! of! dedicated! customers! and! give! them! the!
feeling!that!they!are!part!of!the!project.!

69!

4.2.5)Crowdfunding)Risks)For)Established)Companies)
When! asking! if! there! are! any! risks! associated! with! established! companies! facilitating!
crowdfunding!initiatives!Jan!Warhuus!stated!that!companies!that!are!too!big!should!not!be!
allowed!to!use!crowdfunding,!and!that!there!are!different!risks!connected!to!crowdfunding:!!
!
Companies+ should+ be+ allowed+ to+ use+ crowdfunding+ ().+ Whether+ it+ is+ greed+ or+ tone+
deafness+from+businesses+about+what+is+going+on+the+platforms+I+do+not+know.+But+if+you+
just+come+in+from+the+right+with+a+corporate+hat+on+I+do+not+think+you+will+get+tuned+in+on+
what+it's+all+about+and+how+it+works!(Warhuus!2014).!
!
Furthermore,! Jan! Warhuus! elaborated! on! what! is! needed! for! companies! that! decide! to! use!
crowdfunding!initiative!to!support!their!business:!!
!
Companies+that+want+to+use+crowdfunding+are+standing+on+goal+for+a+lot+when+choosing+
to+ go+ on+ the+ platforms.+ All+ of+ a+ sudden+ everybody+ knows+ if+ the+ companies+ are+ late+ or+ if+
something+goes+wrong.+If+companies+use+traditional+lending+options+such+as+banks+etc.+it+
is+only+the+bank+and+the+board+that+know+if+you+are+late.+So+as+I+say,+if+you+cannot+go+on+a+
wire+and+chew+gum+at+the+same+time+market+communication+wise+you+should+be+careful+
to+use+crowdfunding.+A+company+has+to+know+how+to+tackle+such+things+in+the+media.+You+
must+have+experience+or+someone+who+knows+how+to+deal+with+such+things+in+the+media+
and+in+direct+communication+with+all+the+backers.+So+it+is+a+lot+of+work+and+it+is+a+bigger+
mouthful+than+most+expect+(Warhuus!2014).!
!
According!to!Jan!Warhuus!established!companies!must!not!perceive!crowdfunding!campaigns!
as!the!perfect!answer!to!all!their!marketing!payers.!In!fact,!established!companies!have!to!be!
really!specific!if/when!using!crowdfunding:!!
!
Companies+ that+ already+ have+ a+ brand+ value+ and+ already+ have+ a+ customer+ base+ etc.+
should+consider+what+they+really+want+to+achieve.+In+fact,+crowdfunding+is+the+precursor+
to+companies+or+start5ups,+which+have+no+capital.+But+companies+that+are+over+the+valley+
of+ death+ should+ be+ careful+ to+ use+ crowdfunding+ as+ the+ companies+ could+ suffer+ from+
mistrust+or+loose+their+legitimacy+(Warhuus!2014).!

70!

!
Jan!Warhuus!also!suggested!that!established!companies!who!see!crowdfunding!as!a!brilliant!
business!tool!do!not!necessarily!have!to!use!any!of!the!platforms!to!succeed!from!the!crowd.!
In! fact,! Jan! Warhuus! highlighted! that! established! companies! can! be! just! as! successful! by!
creating!a!crowdfunding!campaign!on!their!own!website!or!social!media!platforms:!
!
If+ you+ already+ have+ a+ fan+ base+ and+ you+ want+ to+ engage+ with+ your+ customers,+ you+ can+
easily+ make+ your+ own+ crowdfunding+ campaign+ on+ your+ social+ media+ platforms.+ In+ that+
way+it+seems+less+like+panhandling,+and+you+can+achieve+the+same+results.+I+believe+that+if+
you+do+that+you+will+have+to+follow+all+the+rules+of+crowdfunding+(Warhuus!2014)!
!

4.3)Reflections)

!
Based! on! the! findings! this! section! aims! to! connect! the! literature! and! the! findings! to! gain!
knowledge! regarding! the! various! factors! of! crowdfunding! initiatives,! i.e.! what! drives!
companies! to! facilitate! crowdfunding! initiatives,! and! what! should! be! in! place! before! being!
able!to!make!sufficient!use!of!a!crowdfunding!campaign?!
!
The!first!section,!however,!will!focus!on!Mikkellers!currently!use!of!social!media.!Social!media!
is!used!as!their!primary!and!only!way!of!communicating!and!sharing!information!with!their!
customers.! This! means! that! Mikkeller! rely! heavily! on! other! people! telling! their! peers! about!
their! brand.! Mikkeller! does! not! have! a! fullAtime! employee,! or! expert! on! social! media!
marketing!to!be!in!charge!of!the!communication!online.!However,!all!the!employees!generate!
the! information! shared! on! the! social! media! platforms.! This! can,! to! some! extend,! potentially!
cause!information!overload,!due!to!the!many!daily!postings.!Furthermore,!There!are!no!given!
rules! or! social! media! strategy,! which! means! that! the! employees! at! Mikkeller! are! posting!
various!content!on!their!social!media!platforms.!And!since!Mikkeller!is!a!company!that!is!in!
increasing!growths!every!year,!due!to!expansions!and!penetrations!into!new!markets,!the!lack!
of!consistency!or!strategy!in!regards!to!their!social!media!marketing!could!potentially!harm!
the!company!because!their!customers!cannot!differentiate!who!is!posting!the!content.!!
!

71!

When!viewing!on!the!finding!from!the!interview!with!Jacob!Gram!Alsing!he!was!putting!a!lot!
of!emphasis!on!the!fact!that!all!the!employees!at!Mikkeller!are!!telling+lots!of!stories!to!their!
fans!on!their!social!media!platforms,!however!it!seems!like!Mikkeller!could!benefit!more!from!
interacting! with! their! fans.! According! to! customer! engagement! marketing! cycle! it! seems!
there!is!a!gap!between!the!providing+service+experiences+and!entice+to+stay+in+touch,!which!is!
suggested! to! be! one! of! the! first! stages! to! create! customer! engagement! (Goodman! 2012).!
Moreover,! Mikkeller! is! trying! to! involve! their! customers! in! their! marketing! activities! by!
stating!We+want+to+involve+customers+in+both+extremes+5+from+the+extreme+fans+to+the+unhappy+
customers+(Alsing!2014).!However,!if!Mikkeller!wants!to!increase!the!relationships!with!the!
customers,! the! literature! on! social! CRM! (Braid! &! Parasnis! 2008)! suggests! that! the! company!
should!give!more!tangible!rewards!in!return!for!the!time!the!customers!use!on!involving!on!
the!social!media!platform.!
!
Furthermore,! according! to! the! findings! from! experts! Mikkeller! should! more! focused! on!
building! a! clear! social! CRM! strategy! to! better! manage! and! interact! with! their! existing!
customers/fans.!This!means!that!if!Mikkeller!wants!to!increase!the!probability!of!getting!more!
brand!advocates!they!will!have!to!listen!more!to!what!the!customers!want!instead!of!merely!
posting! information! about! what! Mikkeller! thinks! the! customers! want! to! hear.! By! using! the!
methods! learned! from! the! literature! on! social! CRM! and! relationship! marketing! (Alt! &!
Reinhold!2012;!Palmatier!2008),!which!imply!that!customers!are!more!likely!to!engage!with!
the! brand! if! the! customers! get! the! feeling! of! trust! and! commitment! from! the! company,!
Mikkeller! could! attain! an! increase! of! customer! engagement.! Moreover,! if! the! strategy! is!
applied! thoroughly! the! increase! of! gratitude! could! create! a! longAterm! relationship! with! its!
customers!and!increase!brand!loyalty!and!advocacy.!
!
Also,!It!also!appears!likely!that!Mikkellers!mindset!about!collaborating!with!their!customers!
to! develop! new! products! is! on! the! right! path,! however,! it! needs! to! be! improved! or!
implemented! better.! Jacob! Gram! Alsing! told! that! Mikkeller! occasionally! ask! people! on!
Facebook! if! they! have! inputs! regarding! new! brews,! but! that! the! majority! of! the! time! they!
basically! just! inform! their! followers! on! the! social! media! platforms! about! a! new! beers,!
products,!events,!and!personal!stories.!!
!

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When! asking! what! the! main! drivers! to! facilitate! a! crowdfunding! campaign,! it! became! clear!
that!Mikkeller!wants!to!attract!and!engage!more!intensely!with!their!customers,!and!through!
the! crowdfunding! campaign! build! relationships! with! their! customers,! and! bring! in! valuable!
ambassadors!to!help!spreading!information!about!their!brand!to!their!peers.!Another!reason!
for! facilitating! a! crowdfunding! campaign! is! according! to! Jacob! Gram! Alsing! that! Mikkeller!
always!strives!to!do!thing!differently,!and!try!new!things,!and!he!hoped!that!a!crowdfunding!
campaign! could! create! some! media! attention,! and! through! that! attract! more! valuable!
customers.!
!
According!to!the!literature!on!crowdfunding!motivations,!one!of!the!main!drivers!to!facilitate!
crowdfunding! initiatives,! besides! raising! capital,! is! to! generate! engagement! with! potential!
customers! and! gain! knowledge! about! customerAperceptions! of! the! product.! Moreover,!
entrepreneurs! who! facilitate! crowdfunding! initiatives! do! it! to! explore! the! market! potentials!
i.e.! potential! sales! volume,! target! groups,! uncover! key! influencers,! and! communities.! It!
became! clear! that! when! interviewing! the! experts! and! statements! from! other! sources,! that!
established! companies! are! resorting! to! crowdfunding! platforms! as! a! substitute/supplement!
to!traditional!marketing!activities.!Findings!also!uncovered!that!crowdfunding!for!marketing!
purposes,! is! a! naturally! evolution! social! media! marketing! within! established! companies.! It!
also!became!clear!that!the!advantages!of!facilitating!a!crowdfunding!campaign!are!the!ability!
to!involve!customers!early!in!the!process!and!reduce!marketing!costs.!!
!
As!Mikkeller!is!on!the!edge!of!creating!a!crowdfunding!campaign,!and!because!Mikkeller!is!an!
established! company! Mikkeller! has! to! consider! various! factors.! The! experts! expressed! that!
established! companies! might! benefit! positively! from! crowdfunding! initiatives! if! the!
companies! are! sufficiently! suited! for! the! task.! In! fact,! according! to! Jan! Warhuus! (2014)!
companies! have! to! follow! the! exact! same! rules! as! startAup! companies! when! it! comes! to!
creating!a!crowdfunding!campaign.!!
!
One!of!the!factors,!which!became!clear!when!interviewing!the!experts,!was!that!the!companies!
have!to!be!aware!of!what!they!want!from!the!campaign!i.e.!the!outcome!and!the!value!they!are!
striving! to! achieve.! This! means! that! if! companies! lack! from! transparency! or! if! the! value!
proposition! is! not! clearly! explained,! they! could! suffer! from! negative! response! from! the!

73!

customers! (Bock! et.! al.! 2014).! This! could! potentially! create! mistrust! and! damage! their!
organizational! legitimacy.! When! turning! to! the! crowd! companies! have! to! understand! that!
they!might!jeopardize!their!legitimacy.!The!pitch,!i.e.!the!video!and!text,!which!the!company!
put! on! the! platforms,! has! to! clearly! indicate! what! the! company! is! trying! to! achieve.! This!
means! that! transparency! is! crucial,! and! that! the! company! gives! as! much! information! as!
possible! when! the! customers! ask! and! expresses! their! opinions! towards! the! product.!
According! to! organizational! legitimacy! theory! this! implies! that! there! has! to! be! a! clear!
correspondence! between! the! social! values! associated! with! the! activities! and! the! norms! of!
acceptable! behavior! in! the! larger! social! system! (Bock! et.! al.! 2014).! If! it! is! not! the! case! this!
could! potentially! damage! the! company.! However,! if! the! campaign! is! well! communicated!
companies! can! create! a! dynamic! environment,! which! then! can! nurture! and! increase!
organizational!legitimacy.!
!!
Moreover,!after!reviewing!the!finding!in!accordance!to!the!literature!several!connections!can!
be!drawn!from!social!CRM!and!Relationship!Marketing.!First,!the!literature!and!findings!show!
that! companies,! which! facilitate! a! crowdfunding! campaign,! might! discover! different!
challenges.!This!involves!that!a!company,!such!as!Mikkeller,!first!of!all!has!to!understand!their!
network! capabilities,! which! means! the! ability! to! understand! what! the! customers! want!
compared!to!what!the!company!think!their!customers!want.!!
!
Second,! companies! have! to! be! capable! in! activating! their! network! connections.! This! can! be!
done!by!discovering!lead!user!or!asking!fans.!Once!again!it!implies!being!transparent!when!it!
comes! to! the! communication! of! the! crowdfunding! goal.! By! building! relationships! with!
customers!companies!have!the!ability!to!further!increase!legitimacy.!This!because!customers!
via! interaction! and! collaboration! with! the! company! gain! trust! and! get! the! feeling! that! the!
company!is!interested!in!connecting/interacting!with!them.!This!is!one!of!the!main!drivers!in!
relationship!marketing,!which!indicates!that!if!the!company!actively!interacts!with!customers!
the! company! has! the! opportunity! to! build! longAterm! relationships! with! their! customers!
(Palmatier! 2008).! Furthermore,! relationship! marketing! is! focused! on! commitment,! which!
implies!that!a!company!needs!to!put!maximum!efforts!to!ensure!that!the!relationship!will!last.!
Since! commitment! is! viewed! as! a! social! bond,! which! suggests! that! the! degree! of! personal!
friendship!and!liking!shared!by!a!buyer!and!seller!can!create!stronger!bonds!and!lead!to!more!

74!

engagement,!both!the!company!and!customer!must!commit!to!each!other!in!order!to!satisfy!
with! the! service.! Moreover,! communication! in! relationship! marketing! means! providing!
information! that! can! be! trusted.! The! processes! of! establishing! relationships! require!
communication,! trust,! and! satisfaction! between! both! company! and! customer.! Active!
communication! contributes! remarkably! to! the! creation! of! a! strong! bond! between! the!
company!and!customer.!
!
Third,!companies!have!to!be!aware!of!how!their!can!expand!their!network.!This!means!that!
companies! need! to! understand! the! marketing! strategies! connected! to! crowdfunding.! The!
findings!suggest!that!companies!have!to!build!an!online!audience!of!supports!that!shares!the!
same! interests! prior! to! a! campaign.! This! fact! is! clearly! aligned! with! what! Hui! et.! al.! (2014)!
found!to!be!required!from!the!crowdfunding!creator.!Writing!personal!targeted!messages!to!
existing!customers!and!influential!bloggers!with!the!given!industry!could!potentially!do!this!
(Vaskis!2014).!
!
Fourth,! companies! have! to! be! able! to! follow+ through,! meaning! that! when! a! company!
facilitating!a!crowdfunding!campaign!must!make!sure!of!delivering!the!necessary!information!
regarding! the! project! goals,! and! furthermore! they! must! show! that! they! are! capable! of!
providing!the!promised!rewards!to!their!backers!in!time!(Hui!et.!al.!2014).!If!this!cannot!be!
done!the!company!have!to!be!really!transparent!towards!the!crowd,!integrating!the!customers!
in!every!phase!of!the!campaign!(Warhuus!2004;!Vaskis!2014).!
!!
As! the! literature! suggest! social! media! applications! have! a! strong! impact! on! relationship!
between!companies!and!customers,!and!the!accessibility!to!communicate!with!each!other!is!
remarkable.!Companies!can!utilize!social!media!applications!to!create!personal!content!to!the!
customers!who!wants!to!support!their!campaign.!It!is!a!crucial!factor!for!a!company!that!the!
internal! culture! of! the! organization! is! running! efficiently,! and! that! the! organization! is!
committed! to! the! campaign.! If! a! company! is! dedicated! and! loyal! to! the! campaign! customers!
will! too.! This! enables! a! company! to! attract! key! customers! and! build! a! close! relationship! to!
them.! According! to! Goodman! (2012)! this! leads! to! customer! endorsement.! Furthermore,! the!
ultimate! outcome! for! companies! using! crowdfunding! is! that! their! backers! tell! their! peers!
about! the! campaign.! When! doing! this,! backers! are! adding! value! to! the! company! by! sharing!

75!

content,! and! then! being! advocates! for! the! company.! As! suggested! in! the! literature! on!
customer! engagement! customers! who! become! advocates! for! a! product! can! influence! the!
purchasing!decision!of!other!in!peerAtoApeer!interactions!(Sashi!2012).!+!
!
Fifth,! a! company,! which! creates! a! crowdfunding! campaign,! has! to! acknowledge! the!
importance!of!reciprocate!resources!back!to!the!crowdfunding!community.!This!means!show!
their!gratitude!to!the!investors!involved.!By!doing!this,!the!company!has!the!ability!to!create!
even!more!awareness,!as!the!gratitude!shown!will!create!a!feeling!of!returning!the!favor!from!
the! backers! point! of! view.! This! might! lead! to! a! feeling! of! belonging! to! a! greater! cause,! and!
subsequently!increase!brand!endorsement.!

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6.)Discussion,)Implications)&)Conclusion)
In!this!final!chapter!of!the!paper,!I!will!discuss!the!findings!of!the!research,!i.e.!the!theoretical!
and! practical! implications.! The! chapter! will! aim! to! answer! the! research! question! and! subA
questions!to!conclude!the!purpose!of!this!study.!Furthermore,!this!chapter!will!present!some!
managerial!implications!that!may!allow!managers!and!executives!to!efficiently!and!effectively!
use!crowdfunding!for!their!marketing!activities.!Moreover,!suggestions!and!recommendations!
are! provided! for! better! utilization! of! crowdfunding! initiatives.! Lastly,! the! conclusion!
summarizes! the! finding! from! the! research,! as! well! as! acknowledging! the! limitations! of! the!
research,!and!suggestions!for!future!research.!!

6.1)Findings)
The! business! landscape! is! changing! rapidly;! the! dynamics! of! organizations,! customers! and!
resources!are!changing!simultaneously!with!the!financial!market!and!trends.!The!theoretical!
implications! from! this! study! consider! these! characteristics! as! drivers! behind! crowdfunding.!
While!the!drivers!behind!crowdfunding!have!been!known!for!decades!there!are!still!several!
knowledge! gaps! within! the! phenomenon! of! crowdfunding! initiatives.! Most! of! the! gaps! lies!
within! the! area! of! how! to! successful! create! a! crowdfunding! campaign,! it! being! from! an!
individual! point! of! view! or! from! a! company! point! of! view.! Although! crowdfunding! is! highly!
connected! to! social! media! activities! scholars! are! trying! to! create! algorithms,! looking! at!
datasets! to! explain! how! numbers! of! followers! or! numbers! of! likes! can! create! successful!
crowdfunding.! Moreover,! scholars! are! investigating! the! motivational! dynamics! considering!
why!individuals!are!backing!startAups!and!unique!ideas!on!the!crowdfunding!platforms.!What!
is!of!great!interests!for!this!study,!is!how!established!companies!can!benefit!more!from!social!
media! activities! to! increase! the! probability! of! succeeding! from! crowdfunding! initiatives.!
Success!meaning!reaching!the!funding!goal,!but!also!indicates!building!valuable!communities,!
consisting!of!key!individuals,!who!become!active!brand!advocates.!!!
Although! customer! engagement! has! been! an! important! factor! from! the! companies! point! of!
view! for! many! years,! the! majority! of! the! companies! do! not! know! how! to! efficiently! and!
effectively!interact!with!customers,!especially!through!social!media!platforms.!In!this!volatile!
business!environment!customers!have!transformed!from!mere!targets,!i.e.!passive!buyers!that!
the!companies!could!push!products!and!offering!to,!to!valuable!coAcreators!and!active!opinion!

77!

contributors! demanding! more! customized! offerings! and! personal! twoAway! communication!

with!the!company,!and!now!in!the!age!of!crowdfunding!also!to!investors,!which!means!that!
the!customers!are!becoming!even!more!powerful!in!regards!to!even!deciding!what!products!
should! be! on! the! market.! This! shift,! together! with! Internet! and! technology! advancements,!
customer! interaction! is! also! changing.! The! everAchanging! usage! and! importance! of! social!
media!has!provided!organizations!with!communication!difficulties.!Organizations!need!to!be!
capable! to! constantly! renew! themselves,! reacting! to! the! growing! demands! from! all! the!
stakeholders,! and! listening! closely! to! what! create! value! for! customers.! Consequently,! the!
value!proposition!is!the!reason!that!customers!choose!one!offering!over!another.!!Social!media!
has! become! a! powerful! platform! where! customers! share! their! opinions! online! among! their!
peers!about!everything!that!is!important!to!them.!Also,!social!media!platforms!have!become!
the!primary!place!where!customers!seek!information!and!communicate!with!companies!and!
brands.!!
Communicating! with! customers! has! been! proven! to! be! difficult! for! certain! companies! to! do!
effectively!and!successfully.!This!means!it!is!no!longer!enough!for!companies!merely!to!share!
product! information,! and! use! social! media! for! advertising.! Companies! need! to! engage! with!
consumers!in!a!whole!new!and!dynamic!way.!Furthermore,!since!the!most!communication!has!
been! moved! to! the! social! web,! organizations! are! using! the! social! web! to! nurture! their!
legitimacy.!
!Although! organizational! legitimacy! has! been! recognized! by! organizations! as! a! strategically!
important! asset! for! decades,! the! way! organizations! are! using! it! in! todays! explosive! market!
might!not!be!enough!to!create!or!sustain!legitimacy,!because!of!the!critically!impact!that!the!
customers! have! on! organization.! In! order! to! create! and! maintain! competitive! advantages,!
organizations!need!to!be!able!to!renew!or!adapt!themselves,!and!explore!new!market!trends!
to!attract!and!satisfy!stakeholders.!The!features!of!Web!2.0!and!its!applications!have!changed!
customer!engagement!and!interaction,!and!the!new!features!of!crowdfunding!initiatives!have!
now!given!companies!a!whole!new!way!of!communicating!with!customers!and!vice!versa.!

78!

6.2)Managerial)Implications)
Social(CRM(
Social! CRM! to! some! extend! relates! to! crowdfunding! initiatives.! It! consists! of! management!
techniques!for!organizations!to!establish!social!media!presence!and!networking!capabilities!to!
communicate!with!consumers/customers.!Social!media!has!been!acknowledged!as!the!center!
for!interaction!and!collaboration!between!vast!amounts!of!users.!!
Companies! can! use! external! services,! like! Facebook! or! Twitter! to! extract! the! opinions,!
experiences,! and! requests! from! the! users.! With! minimal! investment! and! implementation!
effort! companies! can! establish! a! direct! contact! with! customers.! By! monitoring! their! social!
media! platforms! manually! it! is! possible! to! extract! marketingArelevant! information! about!
consumer!sentiments,!behavior,!and!reactions.!However,!it!can!be!a!difficult!task!for!SMEs!to!
manage!vast!amounts!of!user!content,!and!it!implies!considerable!effort.!
!
Therefore,!it!is!possible!for!companies!to!implement!analytical!techniques!for!monitoring!and!
mining,! i.e.! identification! of! relevant! contents! and! actors/customers.! By! using! more!
automation! enable! the! companies! to! monitor! and! identify! companyArelevant! information!
from! the! social! web.! By! fetching! data! concerning! the! company,! products,! and! postings! from!
users,!companies!can!interpret!and!identify!sentiments!and!the!context!of!content.!However,!
SMEs!need!to!learn!and!better!understand!how!to!sufficiently!extract!the!raw!data!from!their!
social! media! platforms! and! analyze! on! the! data.! However,! it! can! be! an! enormous! task! for! a!
small! company,! but! on! the! other! hand! it! could! potentially! give! companies! valuable! insights!
about!a!companys!products.!!
!
Moreover,! companies! will! need! to! be! capable! to! use! management! functionalities! more!
sufficiently.! Reputation! management! and! evaluation! offer! a! comprehensive! view! in! social!
CRM! activities.! Still,! it! implies! data! integration! and! requires! the! capability! of! connecting!
content!from!different!social!media!platforms,!which!for!SMEs!can!be!a!difficult!and!massive!
task.!!
Social!Customer!Relationship!Management,!which!means!use!information!from!social!media,!
e.g.! contact! data! and! postings,! requires! a! comprehensive! integration! of! interactions!

79!

techniques.! In! SMEs! it! can! be! a! big! task! because! it! implies! extensive! understandings! about!
content! delivery,! dialogue! development,! publication,! dissemination! or! recommendation,!
where!the!objective!is!to!make!proactive!and!reactive!communication!with!social!media!users.!
These! techniques! enable! companies! to! gain! knowledge! about! customer! value.! Moreover,!
information!from!the!social!web!may!enrich!the!existing!offerings,!i.e.!products!or!services!by!
evaluations!or!suggestions!from!other!users.!!
Relationship(Marketing((
The! opportunities! that! relationship! marketing! offers! to! organizations! are! notable! regarding!
crowdfunding! initiatives! from! established! companies.! By! building! longAterm! relationships!
with! customers! companies! get! more! loyal! customers,! who! then! act! as! an! extension! to! the!
promotion! of! products.! As! crowdfunding! relies! on! attracting! backers,! the! first! step! towards!
successful! crowdfunding! is! to! have! a! vast! amount! of! enthusiastic! and! loyal! people! in! your!
online! community! to! spread! the! word.! And! within! the! relationship! marketing! theory! it! is!
suggested! that! if! companies! manage! to! engage! with! customers! in! a! satisfying! way! the!
customers! are! more! likely! to! feel! obligated! in! returning! the! favor,! meaning! spreading! the!
message! to! their! peers.! However,! it! demands! a! lot! of! effort! and! investment! from! the!
companies,! i.e.! time! and! management! skills.! Therefore,! SMEs! might! have! to! select! key!
employees! to! take! care! of! customers! relationship! tasks! to! be! able! to! benefit! from! it,! as!
customer!relationships!are!something!that!is!build!over!time.!Customer!management!becomes!
extremely! important! for! a! successful! implementation! and! commercialization! of! a!
crowdfunding! campaign,! and! further! engagement! in! a! companys! products.! Capturing!
engaged! customers! through! social! media! platforms! offer! organizations! countless!
opportunities!to!further!enhance!the!value!of!their!offerings.!!In!the!process!of!selecting!and!
identifying! important! customers! both! the! crowdfunding! platform! and! other! social! media!
platforms!play!an!important!role!for!organizational!success.!!!
!
The! process! of! achieving! customer! engagement! does! not! happen! over! night.! It! is! a! long!
process!where!companies!have!to!invest!a!lot!of!resources.!One!of!the!most!effective!ways!of!
doing!this!is!by!providing!users!with!memorable!service!experiences,!which!let!the!customer!
differentiate! one! company! from! another.! Furthermore,! companies! need! to! entice! their!
customers!to!stay!in!touch.!Providing!your!customers!with!personal!and!targeted!information!

80!

or!gratitude!immediately!after!a!transaction!is!done!might!do!this.!After!the!transaction!it!is!
critically!important!to!invite!the!consumer/backer!to!participate!in!the!conversation!with!the!
company.! By! encouraging! the! backers! to! be! involve! in! the! process! companies! might! get!
valuable!insights!from!external!sources!about!further!development!of!the!product!or!service.!
The!feeling!of!belonging!to!a!greater!cause!may!result!in!customers!getting!more!enthusiastic!
about! the! brand! or! product,! which! then! might! lead! to! customers! spreading! information! to!
their!peers,!which!potentially!attracts!new!customers.!

6.3)Conclusion)
!
This!paper!presents!two!methods!that!can!be!used!for!building!longAterm!relationships!with!
customers! using! social! web! activities.! The! study! particularly! investigated! how! established!
companies! (SMEs)! can! utilize! social! media! tools! to! increase! customer! engagement! for!
crowdfunding! initiatives.! The! crowdfunding! platforms! are! relatively! new,! especially! in!
connection! to! customer! engagement! and! for! marketing! purposes.! In! todays! business!
landscape!the!importance!of!building!customer!relationships!and!customer!engagement!have!
become! clearer,! as! the! need! for! companies! to! interact! with! customers! to! increase! and! build!
organizational! legitimacy,! and! brand! advocates! to! enhance! offerings! and! awareness,! have!
become! vital! to! grow! their! companies.! Crowdfunding! is! fundamentally! about! raising! capital!
for!new!ventures!and!startAups.!However,!established!companies!are!starting!to!make!use!of!
crowdfunding!initiative!as!a!new!social!mediaAmarketing!tool,!identify!key!customers,!and!to!
engage!with!them.!!
The!paper!identified!a!number!of!drivers!and!techniques!for!organizations!to!build!and!attain!
customer! engagement! for! marketing! purposes.! The! research! showed! that! companies! that!
want!to!facilitate!a!crowdfunding!campaign!could!benefit!from!implementing!various!features!
from!both!social!CRM!and!Relationship!Marketing.!One!thing!became!clear,!there!are!no!given!
indicators! that! can! predict! crowdfunding! or! social! mediaAmarketing! success.! Furthermore,!
using! social! CRM! and! Relationship! Marketing! require! a! lot! of! effort! from! the! organizations,!
which!can!be!problematic!in!SMEs,!where!the!employees!often!have!various!responsibilities.!
Companies!have!to!be!extremely!aware!of!managing!the!relationships!with!their!customers!on!
the!social!media!platforms!in!order!to!benefit!form!social!CRM!and!relationship!marketing.!To!
successfully!increase!customer!engagement!companies!have!to!invest!time,!involve!customers!

81!

in!all!phases!of!the!campaign,!and!make!them!feel!as!a!part!of!the!companys!promotion!team.!
Companies!need!to!listen!closely!to!customer!needs,!and!furthermore,!build!trust!to!be!able!to!
successfully!benefit!from!both!social!media!marketing!and!crowdfunding!initiatives.!
6.3.1(Limitations(Of(The(Study(&(Further(Research(
There! are! a! few! limitations,! which! need! to! be! addressed! and! considered! in! regards! to! the!
results! of! the! study.! Firstly,! in! an! exploratory! study! like! this! on! time! is! a! limiting! factor.! In!
order!to!research!the!links!between!the!crowdfunding!platforms!and!companys!social!media!
platforms!and!generalize!their!applicability!in!a!broader!context,!the!links!should!be!studied!
over!a!longer!period!of!time,!perhaps!even!years.!Moreover,!to!wholly!understand!the!detailed!
processes! that! lies! within! social! media! marketing! activities! in! a! company,! and! furthermore,!
the! communication! between! customers! and! company! one! would! need! to! immerse! into! the!
company.! Only! after! such! scrutiny! and! time! span! a! more! concrete! conclusion! can! be! drawn!
about! the! success! rates! of! both! customer! engagement! and! crowdfunding.! Secondly,!
generalization! and! best! guesses! on! the! findings! of! a! single! study! is! inadvisable! and! thus!
further! research! is! needed.! Thirdly,! throughout! this! study! I! have! aimed! to! stay! completely!
objective,! however,! my! inherent! perspectives! and! mindset! as! a! student! of! Strategic! Market!
Creation,!and!a!student!assistant!at!Mikkeller!ApS!may!have!influenced!the!results.!Lastly,!as!
social! CRM! and! Relationship! Marketing! are! actively! used! at! Mikkeller! ApS,! and! the! fact! that!
crowdfunding! initiatives! from! more! established! companies,! especially! in! the! brewing!
industry,! are! relatively! novel! the! results! of! the! case! study! is! based! on! assumptions! of! the!
interviewees.!
Studies!on!crowdfunding!have!been!limited!up!to!now.!Most!of!the!studies!on!crowdfunding!
so!far!have!an!empirical!nature,!e.g.!Agrawal!et.!al.!(2011)!or!Mollick!(2014).!Their!purpose!is!
to!better!understand!the!motivations!of!funders!and!fundraisers/creators,!and!to!uncover!the!
success!factors!of!crowdfunding!campaigns.!Although!these!studies!have!delivered!interesting!
insights,!further!research!on!crowdfunding!needs!to!be!studied!by!theoretical!analyses.!!
One!of!the!studies,!which!I!see!as!one!of!the!first!steps!in!the!field!of!theoretical!analysis!on!
crowdfunding!is!the!study!by!Belleflamme,!Lambert,!and!Schwienbacher!(2014).!They!argue!
that! crowdfunding! has! implications! that! go! beyond! the! financial! sphere! of! the! firm.! As! they!
suggest! crowdfunding! also! affects! the! flow! of! information! between! entrepreneurs! and!

82!

contributors.!They!also!suggest!that!raising!money!is!not!the!only!strong!motivation!from!the!
entrepreneurs!point!of!view.!Other!motivations!for!resorting!to!crowdfunding!are!perceived!
as!equally!important.!Specifically,!getting!attention,!i.e.!reduced!marketing!costs!and!obtaining!
feedback,!i.e.!market!testing!and!market!validation.!Furthermore,!crowdfunding!can!be!used!
as!a!promotion!method,!as!a!means!to!support!mass!customization,!userAbased!innovation,!or!
to! gain! a! better! knowledge! of! the! preferences! of! its! consumers.! However,! this! is! only! one!
study.! Therefore,! deeper! studies! and! perspective! on! these! dimensions! could! be! valuable!
contributions!to!better!understand!the!dynamics!of!crowdfunding.!Moreover,!studies!on!the!
effects! of! social! media! activity,! such! as! followers,! likes,! and! sentiments! should! also! attain!
more! attention! from! scholars! to! better! understand! the! impact! of! followers! and! likes! might!
have! on! crowdfunding! success.! Asur! and! Hubermann! (2010)! demonstrated! how! Twitter!
activity!can!be!used!to!predict!boxAoffice!revenues!of!movies!in!advance!of!their!release!and!
advocated! that! this! method! can! be! extended! to! other! products! of! consumer! interest.! The!
study! shows! that! social! media! activity! can! be! used! as! a! proxy! for! the! public! attention! on! a!
subject!and!that!this!attention!can!be!used!in!predicting!product!performance.!Data!collected!
on! a! subject! over! time! can! be! fitted! into! a! linear! regression! model! using! least! squares.! The!
linear!regression!model!can!be!expressed!as:( y!=!a!x!A!+!p!x!P!+!d!x!D!+!,( where!y!denote!
the!revenue!to!be!predicted,!!the!error!and!where!the!Avalues!correspond!to!the!regression!
coefficients.( The! model! includes! the! following! parameters! to! capture! the! buzz! around! the!
product!on!social!media:!A:!rate!of!attention!seeking;!P:!polarity!of!sentiments!and!reviews;!D:!
distribution!parameter,!i.e.!it!can!reflect!their!availability!in!the!market.!(
Lastly,!in!the!light!of!this!study!it!would!be!interesting!to!conduct!netnographic!analyses!on!
various!crowdfunding!campaign!made!by!established!companies!and!startAups!to!investigate!
if!there!any!significant!correlations!exists.!These!contributions!could!potentially!enlighten!the!
ongoing!debate!in!numerous!ways.!

!
!
!
(

83!

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!

91!

8.)Appendices)
)
Appendix)I)^)Interview)With)Jacob)Gram)Alsing)(2014))
!

Jacob!Gram!Alsing!begyndte!med!at!fortlle!om!hvordan!de!hos!Mikkeller!arbejder!med!
sociale!medier!til!daglig.!En!ting!som!Jacob!lgger!meget!vgt!p!nr!der!tales!om!sociale!
medier!er!at!det!er!en!opgave!som!alle!varetager!hos!Mikkeller.!Som!han!selv!siger!det:!Alle!
medarbejdere!hjlper!med!promoveringen!ved!at!poste!og!dele!personlige!oplevelser!
information!p!Facebook!og!Twitter!og!Instagram.!Derudover!fortller!Jacob!om!Deres!
marketing!Vi!er!ikke!den!normale!virksomhed,!som!har!en!fuldtids!marketing!manager!som!
har!til!ansvar!at!skrive!information!om!vores!produkter!eller!events!til!vores!kunder.!Vi!
bruger!rigtig!mange!resurser!p!markedsfring,!men!vi!bruger!ingen!penge.!Vi!vil!ogs!heller!i!
direkte!med!vores!kunder,!og!vi!gr!det!ved!at!fortlle!dem!personlige!historier,!ikke!ved!at!
stte!plakater!op!p!Trianglen!eller!andre!steder.!!
!
Da!jeg!spurgte!hvorfor!Mikkeller!ikke!har!en!professionel!til!at!varetage!deres!
marketingsopgaver,!nr!de!skal!kommunikere!til!over!40!lande!fortalte!Jacob:!jeg!tor!det!vil!
blive!for!urligt!og!for!statisk.!Vi!vil!vre!rebellen!i!klassen,!og!s!m!vi!ogs!acceptere!at!der!
er!nogle!slfejl!p!vores!Facebook!side.!Derefter!fortalte!Jacob!at!han!nsten!dagligt!
modtager!ansgninger!fra!virksomheder,!som!tilbyder!Mikkeller!at!varetage!deres!
kommunikation!professionelt,!men!at!de!altid!fr!et!kort,!men!bestemt!afvisning.!Jacob!mener!
ikke!at!professionelt!kommunikation!er!vejen!frem!og!slet!ikke,!hvis!man!nsker!at!skabe!
nogen!form!for!vrdi!for!bde!virksomheden!eller!kunderne.!!
Jacob!fortalte!at!de!stter!stor!pris!p!alle!som!gider!bruge!deres!tid!p!at!skrive!noget!p!
mail!eller!Facebook.!Og!at!de!bruger!kommentarer!fra!kunderne/fansene,!men!ogs!
kommentarer!fra!utilfredse!og!ligefrem!sure!kunder!i!deres!marketing!strategi.!Jacob!
fortller!en!historier!om!at!der!var!et!barn!som!var!blevet!opkaldt!efter!virksomheden!og!om!
en!rasende!kunde!som!bare!lige!vil!fortlle!at!hun!havde!drukket!en!Mikkeller!l!og!det!var!
den!vrste!l!hun!nogensinde!havde!smagt.!Han!siger!at!vi!vil!gerne!involvere!kunder!fra!
begge!poler!!de!helt!ekstreme!fans!til!de!meget!utilfredse,!vi!ved!bare!ikke!hvordan!vi!gr!det!
ordentligt.!

92!

!
Da!jeg!sprger!Jacob!om!Mikkeller!er!en!virksomhed!som!forstr!at!involverer!og!engagerer!
sig!nok!i!hvad!deres!kunder!siger!og!gr!og!om!de!burger!deres!kunder!nok!i!udviklingen!af!
nye!produkter!fortller!Jacob!at!de!nogle!gange!sprger!deres!flgere!p!Facebook!om!ideer!
til!nye!produkter,!men!at!de!helt!sikkert!kunne!gre!det!endnu!mere!og!endnu!bedre.!
Derudover!nvnte!Jacob!at!det!kan!vre!svrt!at!vre!rebellen!i!klassen!og!s!lige!pludselig!
sprge!om!hjlp.!Jacob!fortller!at!vi!ved!jo!godt!det!hele!handler!om!at!slge!l!til!vores!
kunder,!og!vi!udvikler!konstant!new!typer!l,!som!udfordrer!markedet!og!vores!kunder!
samtidig!er!vi!ogs!meget!bevidste!om!kunden!har!altid!ret,!men!vi!er!ogs!meget!bevidste!
om!vores!egne!kompetencer!!og!lige!nu!slger!vi!det!l!vi!producerer.!
Efterflgende!forklarede!Jacob!at!Mikkeller!er!en!etablerede!virksomhed,!men!at!de!aldrig!vil!
lade!virksomheden!blive!et!konservativ!virksomhed,!og!at!de!gr!og!vil!gre!alt!for!at!udvikle!
og!presse!de!grnser!som!findes!i!industrien.!Iflge!Jacob!gr!man!det!ved!at!gre!
virksomheden!endnu!mere!ben!og!involvere!kunderne!endnu!mere!i!hvad!der!sker!i!
maskinrummet.!!
!
Da!jeg!sprger!Jacob!om!hvordan!han!vil!vurderer!Mikkellers!legitimitet!forklarer!Jacob!at!han!
tror!grunden!til!at!Mikkeller!har!udviklet!sig!til!det!brand!det!er!i!dag!er!pga.!de!har!lykkedes!
med!at!fortlle!personlige!historier,!og!at!han!tror!at!kunderne!stter!stor!pris!p!de!
personlige!historier,!og!at!Mikkeller!nok!ikke!havde!vret!det!brand!i!dag,!hvis!de!bare!have!
lavet!helt!almindelig!markedsfring.!Jacob!er!ogs!overbevist!om!at!Mikkeller!er!blevet!en!
legitimt!virksomhed!fordi!de!ikke!stter!fingre!imellem.!Han!fortller!at:!Jeg!tror!folk!kber!
vores!produkter!fordi!vi!er!gode!til!det!vi!laver,!og!fordi!vi!ikke!er!bange!for!at!fortlle!folk!om!
det,!og!s!tror!jeg!folk!elsker!at!vi!er!s!Udanske!som!vi,!og!vi!egentlig!opfrer!os!som!
rockstjerner.!Derudover!fortalte!Jacob!at!MikkellerAbrandet!stadig!i!hj!grad!er!bygget!p!den!
oprindelige!historie!om!Mikkeller,!som!er!helt!nede!p!jorden.!Historien!om!hvordan!
skolelreren!Mikkel!transformerede!et!simpelt!hobby!projekt!til!en!verdensomspndende!
forretningssucces!er!rimelig!simpelt!en!hamrende!god!historie!i!sig!selv.!S!nr!man!har!en!
historie!som!den,!samtidig!med!virkelig!gode!produkter,!l!events,!og!dedikerede!
medarbejder,!som!interessere!sig!for!!og!tror!p!brandet!!og!derfor!skriver!historier!uden!
jeg!beder!dem!om!det,!s!tror!jeg!at!kunderne!kan!mrke!gtheden.!

93!

Jacob!Gram!Alsing!gjorde!det!dog!klart!at!Mikkeller!i!sidste!ende!kan!risikere!at!blive!offer!for!
sin!egen!succes!og!sagde!at!sprgsmlet!er,!hvordan!vi!opretholder!et!ry!som!et!!
undergrunds'Abrand,!mens!virksomheden!i!stigende!grand!vokser!og!bliver!til!et!mere!
internationalt!brand.!Det!er!noget,!vi!vil!altid!have!i!tankerne.!
Nste!emne!handlede!om!Mikkellers!kommende!crowdfunding!eventyr.!Jeg!spurgte!Jacob!om!
hvor!tanken!om!at!benytte!sig!af!crowdfunding!kom!fra?!Jacob!svarede!at!
"Vi!(Mikkel!og!Jacob)!nsker!at!bringe!ambassadrer!ind!for!at!styrke!brandet,!og!vi!begge!har!
lst!nogle!artikler!om!crowdfunding!og!tnkte!det!ld!fedt!og!noget!nyt!som!vi!var!ndt!til!at!!
prve"!
!
Jeg!spurgte!om!vigtigheden!i!at!crowdfunding!handler!om!at!samle!penge!sammen.!Jacob!
svarede!at!ideen!om!crowdfunding!kampagnen!handlede!om!meget!mere!en!pengene,!men!at!
det!selvflgelig!os!betyder!noget.!For!Mikkeller!handler!det!om!at!f!bygget!opbygget!en!
kultur!og!et!endnu!strkere!netvrk!omkring!hvad!Mikkeller!laver,!og!at!han!havde!lst!at!
crowdfunding!handler!meget!om!at!kunne!finde!de!bedste!kunder!og!drage!fordel!af!de!
forbindelser,!som!sociale!medier!giver!mulighed!for!at!have!med!ens!kunder.!
!
Jeg!spurgte!om!hvilken!vrdi!han!troede!crowdfunding!kampagnen!kunne!tilbyde!Mikkeller.!!!
Jacob!svarede!at!"Den!primre!vrdi!vil!vre!at!skabe!ambassadrer,!der!oplever!et!
medejerskab!i!projektet.!Vores!brand!er!i!hj!grad!bygget!p!"mund!til!mund",!og!derfor!er!
skabelsen!af!ambassadrer!afgrende!for!at!sprede!ordet!om!os.!Derudover!er!der!ikke!mange!
danske!virksomheder!som!har!kastet!sig!ud!i!store!kampagner,!og!derfor!forestiller!vi!os!at!
der!kan!blive!skabt!en!masse!medieomtale!omkring!projektet".!Jacob!forklarede!ogs!at!han!
hader!Janteloven!og!at!det!er!endnu!en!faktor!som!er!vigtig!ved!at!lave!en!crowdfunding!
kampagne!selvom!Mikkeller!nu!er!en!etablerede!virksomhed.!Han!fortalte!at!vi!strber!efter!
at!vre!anderledes,!vi!forsge!altid!at!gre!tingene!p!en!anderledes!mde.!Det!er!nsten!
blevet!vores!mantra!at!gre!uventede!tingene!!du!kan!kalde!os!riskAtakers.!
Da!jeg!spurgte!Jacob!om!han!kunne!se!nogle!fare!mht.!deres!crowdfunding!planer!begyndte!
Jacob!at!tale!om!Stones!kampagne.!Jacob!fortalte!at!han!blev!en!smule!overraskede!da!han!
hrte!om!Stones!kampagne,!og!at!han!faktisk!blev!en!anelse!pissed!fordi!han!fik!en!flelse!af!
at!Mikkeller!ikke!kunne!gre!det!nu,!nr!der!nu!var!en!anden!virksomhed!inden!for!samme!

94!

branche!som!gjorde!det.!Da!han!s!senere!s!at!Stone!have!vanskeligheder!i!begyndelsen!blev!
han!ogs!en!smule!nervs!omkring!deres!kommende!crowdfunding.!
Han! fortalte! Jeg! var! vidne! til! at! et! selskab! var! en! kanten! til! at! miste! alt,! hvad! de! havde!
udrettet!A!18!rs!hrdt!arbejde!blev!nsten!delagt!af!en!crowdfunding!kampagne.!Da!jeg!s!
det!blev!jeg!lidt!bange!og!begyndte!faktisk!at!tvivle!p!vores!egne!planer"+
Jeg! spurgte! Jacob! om! hvordan! han! s! Mikkellers! crowdfunding! planer! i! forhold! til! Stones.!
Jacob!forklarede!at!Mikkellers!planer!var!total!anderledes.!Mikkellers!plan!handlede!ikke!om!
at! slge! l! igennem! en! kampagne,! men! om! at! skabe! et! unikt! netvrk! med! en! masse!
ambassadrer! som! igennem! kb! af! medlemsskaber! ville! fle! sig! som! medejere! og! fle! en!
form!for!medansvar!for!Mikkellers!eksistensberettigelse.!
Jacob!fortalte!Vi!vil!bringe!s!mange!engageret!mennesker!om!bord!som!muligt,!vi!kommer!
til! at! kende! alle! involverede! personligt,! og! vi! vil! kommunikere! med! vores! medlemmer!
personligt.! Til! sidst! forklarede! Jacob! at! han! syntes! det! virkede! som! om! Stone! ikke! havde!
brugt!nok!krfter!p!deres!kampagne,!og!at!nr!han!lste!om!det!virkede!det!ikke!som!om!
Stone!engagerede!sig!nok!i!hvad!deres!kunder!skrev,!og!at!det!virkede!som!om!at!Stone!kun!
fokuserede!p!at!deres!kunder!skulle!kbe!en!masse.!
+
!
!

95!

Appendix)II)^)Interview)With)Jan)Warhuus)(2014))
bning:(
Kort!introduktion!af!mit!speciale!og!en!forklaring!om!formlet!med!mdet.!
(
Sprgsml:(
(
Hvorfor(tror(du(etablerede(virksomheder(begynder(at(benytte(sig(af(crowdfunding?(
!
Det!korte!svar!er!penge.!Men!det!er!klart!at!der!ligger!mange!andre!ting!under!overfladen,!
som!ikke!blot!handler!om!at!f!en!masse!penge!skudt!ind!i!virksomheden.!Der!er!blevet!lavet!
et!par!studier!som!netop!kigger!p,!hvilke!fordele!som!crowdfunding!kan!medfrer.!Det!er!
bl.a.!markedsundersgelse!!det!vil!sige!skaffe!data!om!ens!produkt!har!et!potentielt!marked!
at!komme!ud!til!!det!vil!sige!at!man!som!virksomhed!for!en!form!for!godkendelse!af!ens!ide!
fra!en!masse!folk,!som!rent!faktisk!vil!kbe!det!frdige!produkt.!!Der!er!ogs!
promoveringsdelen!af!nye!produkter!!det!vil!sige!at!man!skaber!en!masse!stj!eller!
awareness!omkring!ens!ide.!Men!der!er!ogs!hele!den!der!engagement!del!af!crowdfunding.!
Du!kan!lige!pludselig!skabe!en!dialog!med!en!masse!mennesker!fra!hele!verden!som!kan!
komme!med!ideer!og!tanker!om!dit!produkt.!Disse!fordele!er!jo!i!bund!og!grund!de!sammen!
som!det!altid!har!vret!nr!virksomheder!inddrager!forbrugere!til!at!udvikle!ideer!til!
fremtidige!produkter.!Crowdfunding!giver!dig!blot!et!ekstra!input!og!det!er!penge!til!at!
virkeliggre!din!ide!uden!du!behver!at!bruge!af!egen!kasse!eller!sprge!banken.!!
!
Hvilke(muligheder(ser(du(i(forhold(til(at(bruge(crowdfunding(til(marketingsaktiviteter?(
!
En!af!de!ting!man!skal!vre!meget!bevist!om!er!at,!hvis!man!ikke!kan!tygge!tyggegummi!og!g!
p!line!p!samme!tid,!s!rent!socialt!mediemssigt!s!skal!man!nok!ikke!crowdfunde.!I!hvert!
fald!ikke!i!den!store!stil.!For!s!gr!der!altid!et!eller!andet!galt,!hvis!ikke!man!kan!finde!ud!af!at!
kommunikere!sig!ud!af!det!s!har!man!et!problem!p!forhnd,!s!man!liges!godt!lade!vre!
med!at!crowdfunde.!!
!
Der!er!mere!end!en!grund!til!at!folk!vlge!at!backe!projekter.!Hvis!man!begynder!at!kigge!p!
de!der!backers,!s!er!der!nok!en!demografisk!forskel!mellem!dem!som!backer!og!dem!som!

96!

ikke!gr.!Og!jeg!tror!at!vi!med!tiden!fr!en!forstelse!om,!hvem!de!her!backers!i!virkeligheden!
er.!Udover!at!det!starter!med!de!tre!fer,!friends,!family!and!fools,!derefter!er!det!s!dit!lsere!
netvrk!og!derefter!er!alle!mulige!andre!som!hrer!om!dit!projekt!fordi!det!har!fet!sine!egne!
ben!at!g!p.!Men!hvis!vi!snakker!om!det!reward!based,!eller!i!hvert!fald!hvor!man!fr!et!eller!
andet!igen,!om!det!er!naturalier!eller!andet,!men!i!hvert!fald!ikke!aktier!eller!ejerskab!s!er!det!
jo!p!en!eller!anden!mde!reward!based,!ogs!selv!om!man!har!en!eller!anden!form!for!
folkeaktie,!hvor!man!kan!komme!et!par!gange!om!ret!til!et!event!eller!en!generalforsamling!
etc.!s!er!det!stadig!en!eller!anden!form!for!reward!based!vil!jeg!sige.!!
!
De!der!reward!based!backers,!jeg!tror!der!er!en!del!af!dem!som!kan!passe!ind!eller!i!de!
almindelige!marketings!segmenter!eller!rammer!som!heavy!users,!first!users!og!der!har!jeg!
nogle!gange!sammenliget!det!med!at!selvom!produktet!ikke!eksisterer!endnu,!hvis!du!tror!p!
dem!der!laver!produktet!s!findes!det!stadig!for!dig!kan!man!sige.!S!hvis!du!vil!ind!og!st!i!k!
for!at!kbe!den!sidste!nye!iPhone,!den!har!du!jo!heller!aldrig!brugt!endnu,!alts!du!er!jo!ikke!
sikker!p!at!den!er!bedre!en!den!du!har!i!forvejen.!Du!har!lst!noget!om!den!eller!hrt!noget!
om!den,!du!har!set!et!billede,!s!ndvendigvis!er!det!jo!ikke!s!meget!forskelligt!fra!at!vre!
backer!til!et!eller!andet!produkt!som!ogs!er!helt!nyt,!men!som!du!tror!p!vil!eksistere!om!
seks!mneder,!s!jeg!tror!at!dem!som!str!i!k!til!den!nye!iPhone!ogs!er!dem!som!er!backers.!!
Jeg!tror!der!er!en!masse!mennesker!som!er!meget!interesseret!i!et!produkt!og!gerne!vil!have!
det,!og!gerne!vil!vre!de!frste!til!at!bruge!det,!og!ogs!er!villige!til!at!f!en!betaversion!for!at!
vre!med!til!at!teste!det!osv.!Og!der!tror!jeg!ogs!du!kan!sammenligne!det!med!folk!som!ogs!
tester!software,!eller!dem!som!har!oversat!facebook!til!dansk!og!gjort!det!gratis.!S!hvorfor!
gr!folk!det?!Det!er!lidt!det!samme!sprgsml.!Og!der!er!nogle!intrinsic!rewards!i!det,!at!jeg!
har!vret!med!til!det!eller!vret!med!fra!starten!og!der!er!ogs!en!lring!for!dem!som!har!
vret!backers!fra!starten.!Om!du!er!med!til!at!skrive!et!stykke!software!s!er!du!ogs!med!at!
skrive!noget!historie.!S!det!er!lidt!ligesom!at!vre!del!af!enhver!anden!forening.!Jeg!tror!vi!
kan!lne!en!del!fra!den!almindelige!marketings!litteratur!og!fra!alt!hvad!der!hedder!open!
source,!crowdsourcing.!Det!vi!ved!derfra!passer!sikkert!ogs!udmrket!p!de!her!backers.!!At!
de!fr!et!eller!andet!ekstra!ud!af!det.!De!kan!ogs!tale!med!deres!venner!om!det.!
!
Jeg!har!talt!med!en,!som!hedder!Thomas,!som!har!lavet!en!vindmler!og!gjort!det!igennem!
crowdfunding.!Der!snakkede!han!lidt!om,!at!det!var!ikke!bare!selve!crowdfunding!perioden!

97!

som!var!vigtig!men!ogs!perioden!efter.!Man!er!stadig!en!form!for!forldre!for!de!der!backers!
i!perioden!efter!at!man!er!frdig!med!projektet.!Og!der!havde!han!et!billede!med!af!to!
englndere!p!en!motorcykel,!der!holdte!ud!foran!deres!kontor!fordi!de!var!i!gang!med!deres!
version!2,!og!der!var!s!en!som!havde!vret!med!til!at!back!dem!den!frste!gang!og!ogs!den!
anden!gang!og!han!var!s!p!motorcykeltur!i!Europa!og!havde!s!besluttet!sig!for!at!kre!til!
Danmark!og!hele!vejen!til!Kbenhavn!fordi!han!gerne!selv!vil!hente!hans!version!2!i!stedet!for!
at!de!sendte!den!til!ham.!S!han!fr!en!oplevelse,!som!ligger!ud!over!det!normale!og!det!
engagement!han!har!i!et!produkt.!S!han!er!jo!en!utrolig!god!ambassadr!for!det!her!produkt.!
S!jeg!tror!at!der!er!alle!de!der!first!user!og!alt!det,!som!ligger!i!at!vre!engageret!i!et!produkt!
som!man!holder!af!og!som!man!synes!er!en!god!ide,!men!som!ikke!findes!endnu.!Men!s!er!der!
ogs!den!helt!generelle!tendens,!hvilket!er!at!forbrugerne!har!forstet!det!der!med!at!politisk!
med!sine!penge!og!vlge!det!rigtige!produkt!af!dem!som!str!p!hylderne.!Det!har!man!kunne!
gre!i!mange!r.!Der!har!vret!et!relativt!stort!udvalg,!hvor!det!ikke!bare!handler!om!at!der!er!
tre!slags!sbepulver!og!s!konkurrer!vi!alle!sammen!om!hvem!der!kan!vaske!hvidt,!nej,!der!er!
meget!mere!end!det,!en!anden!kompleksitet!i!sdan!et!produkt!i!dag,!ssom!hvad!betyder!det!
at!vlge!det!ene!frem!for!det!andet.!Og!af!alle!de!undersgelse!af!hvorfor!folk!vlge!at!kbe!
kologisk,!hvorfor!de!vlger!grnt!osv.!meget!af!det!handler!om!at!man!vil!have!indflydelse!p!
det,!s!s!snart!forbrugerne!de!kan!se!hey!jeg!kan!ikke!bare!vre!med!til!at!vlge!hvad!der!
str!p!hylderne,!jeg!kan!!bestemme!hvad!der!skal!st!p!de!hylder!ved!at!g!ind!og!backe!
nogle!projekter.!Det!engagement!som!markedsdeltager!det!tror!jeg!forbrugerne!i!dag!er!meget!
mere!bevidste!om!end!de!var!for!r!tilbage!og!jeg!tro!egentlig!bare!det!er!sdan!en!forsttelse!
af!den!lring!af!hvad!det!betyder!at!vre!forbruger!som!har!foreget!siden!de!radikale!for!30!
r!siden!i!et!eller!andet!tv!udsendelse!sagde!at!nr!du!gr!ind!i!et!supermarked!og!du!syntes!
der!er!for!meget!emballage,!s!skal!du!bare!tage!det!af!og!lade!det!ligge!inde!i!supermarkedet!
og!s!tag!varen!med!hjem!i!stedet!for!!for!det!er!dig!som!kber!produktet.!Det!der!
engagement!er!sdan!noget!forbrugeren!har!lrt!over!tid.!Jeg!tror!der!er!de!to!dele,!at!vi!
sdan!generelt!!bare!har!en!interesse!i!at!vre!mere!engageret!som!forbruger!og!s!er!der!det!
der!specifikke!omkring!hvad!vil!det!sige!at!have!et!stort!engagement!i!et!produkt!der!
involveres!sig!i!det!og!der!er!der!mange!andre!ting!som!vi!kan!lne!fra.!
!
Hvis!man!kigge!hvorfor!det!fra!virksomhederne!kan!findes!attraktivt!s!tror!jeg!det!handler!
om!hvor!meget!kan!jeg!slge,!hvad!skal!produceres!og!hvor.!S!hvis!man!gr!ud!p!en!

98!

crowdfunding!platform!s!er!det!nogle!gange!ikke!pga.!pengene.!Det!kan!vre!for!at!se,!hvad!
der!er!af!marked!for!det!her.!Virksomheder!kan!vlge!at!gre!det!for!at!st!i!den!bedre!
forhandlingssituation!over!for!ens!leverandrer.!S!man!gr!den!vej!(crowdfunding)!for!at!g!
den!vej!(leverandrer).!S!hvis!man!ser!sdan!et!business!model!canvas!s!er!man!helt!ude!og!
have!fat!i!kunder!der!ikke!eksisterer,!med!et!produkt!der!ikke!eksisterer!endnu,!men!faktisk!
for!at!st!i!en!bedre!forhandlingssituation!med!ens!partnere!helt!henne!i!den!anden!ende!af!
kanvasset.!S!virksomheder!kan!faktisk!bruge!crowdfunding!til!andet!end!at!f!kapital,!de!kan!
ogs!crowdfunde!sig!til!en!leverandrer!eller!markedsfordele.!!!
!
Tror(du(crowdfunding(er(brugbart(som(et(decideret(markting(vrktj?(
!
Jeg!tror!at!selvom!virksomhederne!bruge!en!masse!energi!og!penge!p!at!lave!kampagnerne,!
s!bliver!det!opvejet!af!den!omtale!de!fr.!Det!er!en!stor!fejl!at!sige!at!det!kun!er!en!form!for!
markedsfring!!jeg!tror!at!hvis!man!kigger!p!sdan!et!canvas!s!er!der!ikke!nogen!af!de!ni!
bokse!man!ikke!kan!blive!pvirket!af!sdan!en!crowdfunding!projekt.!
!
Virksomhederne!kan!faktisk!g!ud!p!i!markedet!med!noget!der!ikke!er!klar!endnu,!s!det!er!
ikke!bare!at!du!fr!det!testet!af!ved!at!f!talt!med!nogle!investorer!eller!venner,!man!kommer!
faktisk!hele!vejen!ud!i!markedet!med!noget!der!ikke!findes!endnu.!Og!rent!marketingsmssigt!
er!det!meget!anderledes!fordi!man!ikke!tester!folk!p!prmissen!hvis!det!her!produkt!for!
100!kr.!ville!du!s!kbe!det.!S!er!det!bedre!at!f!testet!adfrd!og!her!skal!folk!faktisk!have!
penge!op!af!lommen.!!
!
Hvad(s(hvis(kampagnen(mislykkes,(er(det(s(en(fiasko?(
!
Projekter!som!ikke!bliver!funded,!dem!vil!jeg!ikke!kalde!fiaskoer!!og!det!vil!vre!et!strre!
problem!hvis!alt!blev!funded.!Der!er!vi!i!en!fase!lige!nu!hvor!for!meget!bliver!funded!og!at!der!
skal!ske!en!eller!andet!shake!out!i!crowdfunding!branchen.!Vi!skal!som!forbruger!lre!at!
forholde!os!til!crowdfunding!!og!der!vi!ikke!endnu.!S!derfor!er!der!en!masse!lige!nu!som!
bliver!crowdfunded,!som!ikke!skulle!crowdfundes.!!
!

99!

Store!virksomheder!burde!ikke!f!lov!til!at!crowdfunde,!ligesom!sm!ligegyldige!kampagner!
ikke!brude!kunne!crowdfundes.!Om!det!er!grdighed,!eller!tonedvhed!fra!virksomhederne!
om,!hvad!der!foregr!p!platformene!det!ved!jeg!ikke.!Men!hvis!man!bare!kommer!ind!fra!
hjre!med!en!corporate!hat!p!og!tankegang!s!tror!jeg!slet!ikke!man!fr!tunet!sig!ind!p!hvad!
det!er!for!noget!og!hvordan!det!fungerer.!!
!
Virksomheder,!som!benytter!crowdfunding!str!p!ml!for!enormt!meget!nr!de!vlger!at!g!
ud!p!platforme.!Lige!pludselig!s!ved!alle!dem,!om!de!er!forsinket!eller!nr!noget!gr!galt.!
Hvis!virksomheder!benytter!traditionelle!lnemuligheder!ssom!banker!etc.!s!er!det!kun!
banken!og!bestyrelsen!som!ved!at!man!er!forsinket.!S!som!jeg!siger,!hvis!ikke!man!kan!g!p!
line!og!tygge!tyggegummi!p!samme!tid!i!hvert!fald!sdan!rent!
markedskommunikationsmssigt!s!skal!man!i!hvert!fald!passe!p!med!at!crowdfunde.!Man!
skal!vide!hvordan!man!takler!sdan!nogle!ting.!Du!skal!have!en!erfaring!eller!nogen!der!
forstr!at!takle!sdan!nogle!ting!i!medierne!og!i!direkte!kommunikation!med!alle!de!her!
backers.!S!der!er!rigtig!meget!arbejde!i!det!og!det!er!en!strre!mundfuld!end!de!fleste!regner!
med.!
!
Virksomheder!som!allerede!har!en!brandvrdi!og!allerede!har!en!kundebase!etc.!de!skal!
overveje,!hvad!de!egentlig!vil!opnr.!I!virkeligheden!er!crowdfunding!forstadiet!til!
virksomheder!eller!startAup!som!ikke!har!nogen!kapital.!Men!for!virksomheder!som!er!ovre!
the!valley!of!death!de!skal!nok!vre!ppasselige!med!at!crowdfunde,!fordi!virksomhederne!
nemt!kan!blive!ramt!af!mistillid!eller!mister!deres!legitimitet.!
!
Hvordan(ser(du(crowdfunding(som(en(customer(engagement(channel?(
!
Jeg!er!sikker!p!at!man!har!sine!backers!i!lang!tid!efter!og!jeg!tror!du!kan!bruge!dem!til!mange!
ting,!eller!en!god!del!af!dem!til!mange!ting.!Der!er!selvflgelig!nogen!som!bare!vil!have!det!der!
produkt!s!hurtig!som!muligt,!og!som!ikke!har!den!helt!store!interesse,!men!jeg!tror!der!er!
mange!af!de!der!backers,!som!vi!snakkede!om,!hvorfor!er!det!de!er!backers!og!at!den!der!
emotionelle!del!af!den!her!transaktion!at!den!ikke!forsvinder!nr!den!transaktion!er!overstet,!
den!forstter,!og!at!det!er!det!man!kan!bruge!til!noget.!Jeg!tror!ogs!der!ligger!et!noget!strre!
og!mere!direkte!engagement!hos!en!backer!end!hos!fx.!en!Facebook!follower.!Det!er!baseret!

100!

p!adfrd!og!ikke!intentioner!og!folk!skal!have!penge!op!af!lommen!uden!at!f!noget!for!dem!
lige!her!og!nu.!P!den!mde!er!crowdfunding!en!form!for!sortering!mekanisme!der!giver!
adgang!til!en!didikeret!gruppe!(mske!ikke!den!eneste)!af!kunder.!Der!er!umdelig!mange!
muligheder!for!at!udnytte!den!adgang.!Og!virksomheder!som!allerede!har!en!fan!base!med!
gte!fans!kan!bruge!crowdfunding!til!netop!at!f!flere!gte!fans.!Dine!kunder!som!bare!
kan!lide!dig!har!lige!pludselig!en!chance!for!at!blive!en!del!af!din!virksomhed!fordi!de!ser!
deres!bidrag!som!et!jeg!hjalp!dig!support.!!Efter!en!crowdfunding!kampagne!er!dit!crowd!
stadig!det!vigtigste!aktiv!du!fr!ud!af!en!succesful!kampagne.!Dit!crowd!er!nu!blevet!en!del!af!
din!markedsfring!og!promoverings!team.!De!er!blevet!en!slags!brand!advocates,!som!kan!ge!
din!brand!awareness!ved!at!dele!information!ved!for!eksempel!wordAofAmouth.!De!vil!blive!en!
vigtig!del!af!dit!product!og!service!team,!som!kan!hjlpe!dig!med!markeds!validering!og!proof!
of!concept.!!!!!
!
!
Hvad(skal(man(vre(opmrksom(p,(hvis(man(som(virksomhed(vlge(at(benytte(sig(af(
crowdfunding?(
!
Hvis!man!som!virksomhed!vlger!at!crowdfunde,!enten!om!man!gr!det!p!en!crowdfunding!
platform!eller!p!sin!egen!hjemmeside,!skal!man!g!igennem!alle!de!samme!faser,!som!startA
up!virksomhederne!gr!p!en!crowdfunding!platform.!Alle!de!samme!regler!glder.!Det!skal!
vre!mellem!30!til!60!dage,!der!skal!vre!det!der!urgency!for!det!man!nsker!funded,!der!skal!
de!der!kategorier!hvor!man!kan!engage!p!de!der!forskellige!kategorier,!der!skal!vre!nogle!
nyheder!undervejs,!der!skal!komme!noget!nyt!undervejs.!Man!siger!at!man!fr!1/3!i!de!frste!
3!dage.!Den!tredjedel,!nr!der!er!get!2!uger,!!s!skal!man!have!fat!i!dem!igen.!Fordi,!der!er!
nogle!mennesker!som!helst!vil!bruge!mange!penge!i!stedet!for!lidt!penge.!Og!hvis!ikke!de!ikke!
har!haft!mulighed!for!at!bruge!nok,!hvorfor!s!ikke!tage!fat!i!dem!og!f!dem!til!at!bruge!noget!
mere!halvejs!igennem!en!crowdfunding!proces.!Ogs!nr!crowdfunding!perioden!er!ovre!s!
skal!alle!have!af!vide!hvor!mange!er!vi,!og!hvor!meget!har!vi!crowdfunded.!Men!man!skal!vre!
opmrksom!p!at!alle!regler!glder!lige!meget!hvem!man!er,!hvor!man!gr!det!eller!hvilket!
forml!man!her.!!
!

101!

Ser(du(nogle(fare(ved(forbundet(med(at(etablerede(virksomheder(benytter(
crowdfunding?(
!
Ja,!der!er!i!hvert!fald!en!fare!ved!at!udstrle!en!form!for!tiggeri,!hvis!man!gr!ud!p!en!
crowdfunding!platform.!Specielt!hvis!du!allerede!er!en!etableret!virksomhed.!Du!kan!gre!det!
klart!at!du!virkelig!vil!involverer!dine!fans,!og!jeg!tror!at!hvis!du!allerede!har!en!fanskare,!og!
du!nsker!at!engagere!sig!med!dine!kunder,!kan!du!nemt!lave!din!egen!crowdfunding!
kampagne!p!din!egen!sociale!medie!platforme.!P!den!mde!ligner!det!mindre!tiggeri,!og!du!
kan!opn!de!samme!resultater.!Jeg!tror,!at!hvis!du!vil!crowdfunde,!er!du!bliver!ndt!til!at!flge!
alle!reglerne!i!crowdfunding.!
!
Debriefing:(
Tak!for!tiden,!og!de!input!som!han!gav.!En!lille!samtale!om!lst!og!fast.!
!

102!

Appendix)III)^)Interview)With)Dennis)Hrmann)(2014))
(
bning:(
Kort!introduktion!af!mit!speciale!og!en!forklaring!om!formlet!med!mdet.!
(
Sprgsml:(
(
Hvad(er(for(dig(det(vigtigste(som(crowdfunding(kan(bruges(til(i(forhold(til(traditionel(
fundraising?(
!
Traditionel!fundraising!i!Danmark!er!absolut!ogs!p!vegne!af!virksomheder,!som!str!og!
mangler!penge!til!udvikling!af!nye!produkter!osv.,!og!crowdfunding!er!bare!kommet!ind!over!
sidelinjen!p!en!eller!anden!mde.!!Jo!vi!har!da!prvet!det!af!p!nuvrende!tidspunkt,!men!det!
er!ikke!vores!hovedfokus!omrde,!men!vi!har!da!en!klar!mening!om!det!!for!vi!kan!se!de!ting,!
som!virker,!men!endnu!vigtigere,!de!ting,!som!ikke!virker.!Og!det!er!det!vi!interesseret!i,!ogs!
nr!vi!er!ude!og!snakke!almindelig!fundraising,!s!er!vi!mere!interesseret!i!hvorfor!fr!folk!
afslag!i!stedet!for!hvorfor!fr!de!bevilling!!fr!det!er!derinde,!der!ligger!mange!guldkorn!til!
hvordan!man!kan!give!gode!rd!videre!til!folk.!Og!der!kan!man!helt!klart!godt!drage!nogle!
paralleller!mellem!traditionel!fundraising!og!crowdfunding.!!
!
Den(forbundenhed(du(ser(mellem(traditionel(fundraising(og(crowdfunding,(hvordan(
kan(det(bruges(til(at(rdgive(virksomheder,(som(mangler(penge?(
!
Man!kan!sige,!hvis!du!crowdfunder!s!forventer!man!som!backer!at!f!noget!igen.!Der!er!
modydelser,!at!man!bliver!taget!med!i!udviklingsfasen,!at!man!bliver!hrt,!at!man!fr!en!gratis!
kopi,!at!man!bliver!nvnt!!der!er!mange!ting.!Den!modydelse!!den!eksistere!jo!ogs!i!
vsentlig!omfang!hos!fonde!og!puljer!osv.!Det!er!de!frreste!i!dag,!som!bare!giver!penge!for!
100!%!filantropi.!Hvis!det!er!fondene!s!vil!man!mske!gerne!have!noget!eksponering!i!de!
projekter,!der!fr!sttte.!Man!skal!i!hvert!fald!vide,!hvem!som!har!givet!sttte.!S!der!skal!vre!
en!eller!anden!form!for!associering.!Det!kan!vre!alt!fra!de!helt!traditionelle!messingplader,!
til!at!blive!nvnt,!til!at!klippe!det!rde!bnd!over!osv.!Og!s!er!det!selvflgelig!ogs!
projekternes!indhold.!Vi!har!mange!fonde!i!Danmark!!bl.a.!nogle!af!de!strste!i!Europa!for!

103!

anlg,!som!sttter!opfrelser!af!nye!kulturcentre!og!alt!muligt!andet,!innovativt!byggeri.!Og!
det!er!klart!at!de!tnker!!vi!har!helt!klart!en!mening!om!hvordan!det!her!byggeri!skal!se!ud!
her!A!s!der!er!fondene!faktisk!get!hen!og!blevet!mere!en!sparringspartner!mere!end!de!er!en!
donor!!og!det!er!jo!det!som!ogs!sker!i!crowdfunding!!der!er!backerne!heller!ikke!blot!en!
donor,!men!ogs!en!sparingspartner!!fordi!folk!kan!f!deres!crowd!til!at!udvikle!produkterne!
i!den!rigtige!retning,!hvilket!er!super!interessant.!S!man!kan!sige!er!en!crowdfunding!
kampagne!mislykket!fordi!den!ikke!opnr!funding!den!skal?!!nppe,!der!kan!lgge!rigtig!
mange!gode!ting!gemt!i!dialogen!med!dit!crowd,!som!du!kan!bruge!fremadrettet!!det!kan!
vre!du!har!trykket!p!den!forkerte!knap!og!har!igangsat!noget!som!der!bare!ikke!var!
kbekraft!eller!interesse!for.!Det!er!meget!interessant!at!man!kan!bruge!det!som!
kvalitetssikring!p!den!mde.!Og!s!tror!jeg!den!anden!parallel!er,!at!du!skal!vide!hvad!du!
laver!!folk!har!nemlig!den!overbevisning!at!det!er!bare!lige!fire!fotografier!og!s!lige!en!video!
vi!skyder!efter!fyraften!og!s!er!det!det.!Folk!har!ofte!ikke!en!ide!om!det!arbejde,!som!skal!til!
for!at!fundraise!eller!crowdfunde.!I!vores!verden!der!hnger!det!ogs!samme!med!at!folk!bare!
bruger!copyApaste!!jo!flere!vi!smider!ud!til!jo!strre!sandsynlighed!er!der!for!at!kommer!et!
eller!andet!hjem.!Intet!kan!vre!mere!forkert!!alle!fonde!snakker!samme!i!en!eller!andet!
omfang.!De!har!deres!eget!netvrk!!hvis!du!ikke!er!ben!og!rlig!om!hvad!og!hvor!du!har!
sgt!henne!!s!fr!du!afslag.!Det!smitter!jo!af!nr!du!modtager!en!ansgning!i!den!anden!ende!
og!kan!se,!at!det!er!der!ikke!brugt!mange!minutter!p!!og!det!er!ikke!engang!adresseret!til!os.!
Det!kan!vre!de!ikke!har!skrevet!navnet!rigtig!!og!det!er!jo!fatalt.!S!man!kan!sige!input!er!
lig!med!output.!S!hvis!man!bruger!mere!tid!p!det!fr!man!ogs!mere!ud!af!det.!Derfor!
oplever!vi!ogs!at!flere!og!flere!foresprgsler!inden!virksomheder!laver!en!masse.!Det!vil!sige!
at!man!stter!en!masse!skibe!i!sen!for!at!prve!at!finde!ud!af!om!er!der!overhovedet!en!
interesse!omkring!det!her!projekt.!Prver!at!bygget!noget!op.!Det!betyder!at!inden!man!
mske!brndte!en!masse!kort!p!hnden!!gr!man!noget!lidt!mere!hndgribeligt!i!det!sm,!
fr!nogle!erfaringer!med!det,!inden!man!gr!det!store.!Og!man!prver!ogs!at!undersge!om!
der!er!et!behov!for!det!her.!Og!det!behver!man!ikke!en!crowdfunding!platform!til!frst!!der!
er!mange,!som!gerne!vil!give!dig!svar!p!noget!hvis!du!bare!lgger!det!ud!p!de!sociale!medier!
og!andre!steder.!Man!kan!sige!at!crowdfunding!og!marketing!er!fobundet,!handler!om!ikke!at!
s!grs!ved!at!kigge!p.!Man!at!man!skal!gde!jorden!mange!gange,!og!helst!i!flere!faser.!Der!
er!utrolig!meget!relationship!marketing!i!gang!hele!projektet!igennem.!
!

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Nr(du(siger(relationship(marketing,(hvordan(vil(du(s(vurdere(hvordan(man(bedst(
kickstarter(sit(community?(
!
Det!er!ingen!tvivl!om!at!du!blotter!dig!selv!som!virksomhed,!som!person!!alts!som!individ!!
og!s!sandelig!ogs!rent!idemssigt.!Mange!gange!er!der!ikke!noget!som!patenter!og!
varebeskyttelse!eller!andet!lovmssigt.!Ofte!er!det!jo!bare!en!ide,!som!kan!g!hen!og!blive!til!
noget.!S!det!er!ogs!et!spndende!forum!at!komme!ind!i,!hvis!man!selv!vil!benchmarke.!Alts!
der!er!mange,!som!ser!det!som!en!benchmarking!platform!i!forhold!til!at!udvikle!egne!ideer!og!
produkter.!Her!har!du!lige!pludselig!en!portal!hvor!du!kan!udvikle!egne!kompetencer!ved!at!
hoppe!p!et!andet!projekt.!!
!
(Ls!snak!!og!telefon!som!ringer)!
!
Nr!det!nu!er!sdan!et!community!man!skal!prve!at!aktivere!p!en!eller!anden!mde!s!er!
man!ndt!til!at!vre!rigtig!god!til!at!gre!det!!og!s!hjlpe!det!ofte!ikke!s!meget!blot!at!give!
dem!et!gratis!produkt.!Man!bliver!ndt!til!at!tage!andre!tiltag!i!brug!og!tnke!mere!kreativt.!
Mske!skal!man!som!virksomhed!lave!sdan!en!aktiv!slagstyrke!efter!kampagnen.!Mange!af!
dem!som!sidder!p!crowdfunding!platforme!skriver!sikkert!reviews!eller!agerer!p!andre!
platforme.!Kan!man!f!de!personer!aktiveret!yderligere!i!forhold!til!produktet!sdan!at!de!kan!
skabe!interesse!og!eftersprgsel!p!andre!niveauer.!For!ellers!er!det!jo!ofte!forbeholdt!dem!
som!sidder!p!den!crowdfunding!platform!!det!er!de!eneste!som!hrer!om!det.!Det!kommer!
ikke!ud!i!andre!led.!Med!mindre!du!har!andre!backers!til!at!gre!det.!Det!er!svrt!at!komme!
med!en!specifik!lsning,!men!mske!man!kunne!gre!det!sdan!at!i!stedet!for!at!f!en!reward!
matchende!med!det!belb!en!backer!giver,!s!kunne!man!rewarde!dem!i!henhold!til!den!hype!
de!kreerer!omkring!produktet.!
!
Hvilke(muligheder(ser(du(i(forhold(til(at(bruge(crowdfunding(til(marketingsaktiviteter?(
(
Det!er!klart!at!det!er!et!spndende!medie!at!benytte!for!virksomheder,!fordi!man!netop!kan!
samle!penge!mens!man!samtidig!udvikler!ens!produkt.!Samtidig!er!det!jo!en!gylden!mulighed!
for!virksomhederne!til!at!promovere!sin!ide!og!forhbentlig!f!en!masse!mennesker!til!at!dele,!
snakke,!og!hype!ideen.!Man!skal!dog!vre!rigtig!ppasselig!med!at!bruge!crowdfunding!hvis!

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man!ikke!ved!hvordan!man!vil!gribe!det!hele!an.!Det!kan!p!den!ene!side!vre!en!virkelig!stor!
succes,!hvor!virksomheden!fr!en!masse!input!og!fr!en!masse!backers,!som!samtidig!deler!
deres!erfaringer!med!andre,!og!i!det!hele!taget!deler!virksomhedens!ideer.!Men!jeg!tror!ogs!
det!kan!f!fatale!konsekvenser.!Alts!hvis!en!virksomhed!vlger!at!benytte!crowdfunding!med!
det!ene!forml!at!f!solgt!en!masse,!s!kan!det!nemt!blive!set!som!grdighed!!og!s!sandelig!
ogs!som!decideret!naivitet.!Man!skal!huske!p!at!de!succeshistorier!som!findes!er!opstet!p!
baggrund!af!enten!et!fantastisk!spndende!produkt,!et!needAtoAhave!produkt,!eller!netop!
fordi!personerne!bag!ideen!har!vret!enormt!omhyggelige!med!at!lave!kampagnen!bde!fr!
under!og!efter.!En!af!de!strste!fejl!vi!oplever!er!at!nr!en!kampagne!mislykkes,!s!er!det!bl.a.!
fordi!produktet!har!vret!misvisende,!det!vil!sige!at!den!vrdi!som!bliver!fortalt!produktet!
skal!give!forbrugeren!er!drlig!kommunikeret.!Men!det!er!langt!hen!ad!vejen!ogs!fordi!
virksomheden!ikke!forml!at!aktivere!og!kommunikere!med!de!folk!som!stiller!sprgsml!
eller!p!anden!mde!giver!deres!besyv!vedrrende!kampagnen.!Det!er!simpelthen!
altafgrende!at!virksomhederne!forstr!omfanget!af!en!crowdfunding!kampagne.!
(
Hvad(s(hvis(man(ikke(nr(mlet?(Er(hypen(omkring(kampagnen(s(dd(eller(hvordan(
finder(man(den(nste(gode(blge(og(ride(p?(
!
En!misset!kampagne!er!ikke!jordens!undergang!!hvis!blot!der!er!lidt!hype!og!f!backers,!s!
skal!man!se!det!som!et!skulderklap.!Man!fr!jo!en!indikation!om!at!interessen!for!netop!dit!
produkt!er!derude.!Du!har!bevist!at!der!er!en!interesse.!Du!har!bevist!at!du!kan!skabe!noget.!
Det!betyder!s!at!du!nu!har!mulighed!for!at!g!andre!veje!!og!gerne!dine!egne!veje!uden!om!
crowdfunding!platformene.!Her!er!det!netop!at!de!mske!1000!backers!kan!komme!ind!over!
og!hjlpe!med!at!promovere!dit!mske!produkt.!Virksomhederne!kan!jo!forsge!at!lave!et!
community!og!give!tilkendegivelser!til!de!backers!som!stttede!kampagnen.!Det!man!ogs!kan!
er!at!alliere!sig!med!folk!i!communityet!!hente!folk!ind!!invitere!dem!om!bord!og!p!den!
mde!forsge!at!gre!dem!til!ambassadrer!for!dig.!Det!er!jo!langt!hen!ad!vejen!anbefalinger!
fra!andre!end!virksomheden!som!skabe!en!succesfuld!virksomhed.!Folk!er!jo!mere!tilbjelige!
til!at!kbe!et!produkt,!hvis!en!ven!eller!et!familiemedlem!har!kbt!det!eller!hvis!en!ven!af!en!
ven!har!kbt!det.!
!
Hvordan(ser(du(crowdfunding(som(en(customer(engagement(channel?(

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(
Som!jeg!ser!det!kan!crowdfunding!vre!den!ultimative!mde!at!skabe!engagement!med!sine!
kunder!da!man!som!virksomhed!har!mulighed!for!at!give!hndgribelige!frynsegoder!til!sine!
kunder!som!tak.!Man!skal!bare!som!virksomhed!vre!meget!bevidst!om!hvordan!man!gr!det,!
hvorfor!man!gr!det!og!om!man!kan!gre!det!s!det!giver!mening.!Man!skal!ogs!vre!i!stand!
til!at!leve!op!til!de!krav!som!forbrugerne!stiller!!og!som!jeg!ser!det!skal!virksomhederne!ikke!
se!sig!blind!p!hvad!de!vil!de!vil!crowdfunde.!Det!er!nok!mest!vrdifuldt!at!benytte!sig!af!
crowdfunding!hvis!det!handler!om!at!udvikle!et!produkt!til!markedet,!og!ikke!s!meget!nr!det!
blot!handler!om!at!f!penge!i!kassen.!!
!
Ser(du(nogle(fare(ved(forbundet(med(at(etablerede(virksomheder(benytter(
crowdfunding?(
(
Ja,!hvis!man!er!en!stor!virksomhed!med!masser!af!penge!og!en!stor!kundebase,!s!kan!
crowdfunding!let!ligne!grdighed.!Det!kan!let!komme!til!at!se!ud!som!om!at!man!blot!benytter!
sig!af!crowdfunding!fordi!man!kan,!og!ikke!fordi!man!er!ndt!til!det.!Der!er!en!stor!forskel!i!
det,!som!jeg!ser!det.!Crowdfunding!er!meget!anvendelig!for!sm!startAups!som!ikke!har!s!
mange!andre!muligheder,!men!for!store!virksomheder,!kan!det!godt!virke!undvendigt!!da!
de!liges!godt!kan!lade!vre!og!bruge!deres!kunder!p!en!anden!mde.!!
!
Kan(du(uddybe(det?(
(
Der!er!uendelig!mange!muligheder!hvorp!du!kan!f!engagerede!kunder.!Som!jeg!nvnte!kan!
man!gennem!sit!sociale!netvrk!jo!bare!sprge!om!forbrugernes!meninger,!lave!konkurrencer!
eller!lave!workshops!etc.!Jeg!ved!ikke!s!meget!om!det,!men!jeg!kan!forestille!mig,!at!
virksomhederne!kan!drage!fordel!af!andre!metoder!end!crowdfunding.!Men!det!er!en!anden!
snak!som!jeg!ikke!kan!tage.!!
!
Debriefing:(
(
Tak!for!tiden,!og!de!input!som!han!gav.!En!lille!samtale!om!lst!og!fast.!
!

107!

Appendix)IV)^)Interview)With)John)Vaskis)(2014))
How(do(you(see(crowdfunding(as(a(marketing(tool(and(as(a(customer(engagement(
channel?(
!!
JV:!Crowdfunding!is!a!valuable!tool!for!entrepreneurs!to!create!awareness!about!their!new!
venture!or!product.!A!crowdfunding!campaign!enables!everybody!with!a!good!idea!to!share!
information!directly!to!existing!and!potential!new!customers!and!if!its!applied!correctly,!
crowdfunding!enables!individuals!to!create!strong!communities,!which!contains!key!
individuals!who!can!associate!themselves!to!the!product.!These!individuals!play!a!vital!role!
throughout!the!campaign!causing!them!to!go!viral,!because!they!share!their!pledges!and/or!
donations!with!their!networks.!
!
How(do(you(see(crowdfunding(as(a(way(to(build(online(communities,(relationships(and(
brand(advocates?(
(
JV:!As!I!see!it!the!first!step!in!sustainable!marketing!is!your!community.!Identify!the!most!
influential!members!and!develop!a!relationship!with!them.!In!doing!so,!youll!maximize!your!
reach!without!any!additional!effort.!You!could!also!compile!a!list!of!popular!bloggers!in!your!
industry!and!contact!them!directly.!If!you!can!have!other!people!writing!about!your!project!in!
an!objectiveAoutsider!style,!your!company!becomes!more!credible.!By!publishing!multimedia!
press!releases!incorporate!a!variety!of!different!elements!to!captivate!your!customers.!Its!
about!informing!your!customers!about!any!big!changes!or!upcoming!events.!By!being!true!to!
your!customers!youll!establish!a!longAlasting!identity!with!your!followers,!and!if!you!involve!
your!readers!every!step!of!the!way,!theyll!never!feel!overwhelmed!by!your!frequent!updates.!
Map!out!a!strategy!and!stick!to!it,!but!try!to!not!be!overly!aggressive!in!your!approach.!
Consistency!and!quality!are!the!most!important!when!it!comes!to!building!genuine!
relationships!online.!Crowdfunding!gives!companies!shortcuts!to!building!at!least!two!of!the!
three!elements!of!brand!equity!namely!brand!awareness!and!brand!loyalty.!It!doesnt!
necessarily!detract!from!the!third,!brand!association.!I!see!the!whole!idea!of!pledging!as!a!way!
to!state!I!helped!make!this!happen.!Working!at!IndieGoGo!I!see!small!businesses!launching!
new!ideas!and!products!on!our!platform!but!almost!50%!of!them!dont!know!how!to!use!our!
platform!correctly.!As!I!see!it,!social!media!is!a!powerful!tool,!but!rarely!properly!used!by!

108!

entrepreneurs!to!build,!excite,!and!engage!their!crowds.!I!would!say!the!problem!is!not!the!
technology!available,!but!rather!the!internal!culture!of!the!organization.+Building+
relationships!with!your!backers!is!something!you!should!always!have!in!mind,!and!I!
witnessing!entrepreneurs!making!the!mistake!of!simply!think!that!when!they!launch!a!
campaign!thats!it.!To!me!the!funding!part!is!not!the!most!important.!You!have!to!prepare!the!
campaign!beforehand!so!that!the!backers!will!not!only!fund!your!project!but!also!most!
importantly!become!engaged!community!members!during!the!campaign.!Backers!will!also!
play!an!important!part!after!your!campaign!because!you!now!have!the!market!research,!data,!
and!a!market!for!your!product.+!
+
Do(you(see(any(challenges(for(companies(using(crowdfunding(to(engage(with(their(
customers?(
(
To!me!brands!are!focusing!on!collecting!social!media!fans!instead!of!actually!connecting!with!
them.!Companies!are!used!to!focus!on!the!4Ps!or!even!the!7Ps.!In!my!opinion,!companies!
need!to!focus!on!the!3Es:!Engage,!Equip,!and!Empower.!!Engage!!Give!your!fans!the!gift!of!
you.!Engage!with!them.!Listen!to!what!they!are!telling!you.!You!have!to!be!part!of!the!
conversation!about!your!brand,!and!be!a!presence!in!your!fans!lives.!Equip!!give!them!a!
reason!to!talk.!It!can!be!telling!about!be!amazing!products,!great!service,!insider!knowledge,!
social!elevation,!incredible!stories,!unbelievable!facts!or!even!funny!disclosures.!Its!on!you.!It!
really!depends!on!you!understanding!your!consumers!and!what!they!like!about!you!and!
providing!whatever!it!is!they!need!from!you.!Empower!!give!consumers!different!ways!to!
talk!and!share.!Let!them!know!that!they!are!important!to!you!and!that!sharing!their!opinions!
is!important!to!you.!Help!them!find!ways!to!share!with!their!circles!and!find!ways!to!help!
them!move!their!conversations!around!
!
!
!

109!

Appendix)V)^)Mikkellers)Expansion)Time^line)
2010:!Mikkeller!Bar!opens!on!Vesterbro,!Copenhagen!
2012:!Launches!Mikkeller!Spirits!
2012:!Launches!the!annually!returning!beer!festival,!Copenhagen!Beer!Celebration!
2013:!Opens!Mikkeller!&!Friends!on!Nrrebro,!Copenhagen!
2013:!Opens!a!Mikkeller!bar!in!San!Fransisco,!California,!USA!
2014:!Opens!a!Mikkeller!Bar!in!Bangkok,!Thailand!
2014:!Opens!a!Mikkeller!Bar!in!Stockholm,!Sweden!
2015:!Opens!a!Brewpub!in!the!meatpacking!district!on!Vesterbro,!Copenhagen!

!
!

110!