Study title

United Kingdom

Event/process

The data gathered for this project comprised in-depth semi structured interviews and a small amount of participant observation. Three different sets of actors were interviewed: (i) influencer relations specialists within organisations; (ii) agency-based influencer relations consultants; and (iii) rankers themselves.We undertook 30 semi-structured 1-2 hour interviews of influencer relations professionals both here in the UK and abroad. The sample was derived from the first phase of research. Interviews covered the specific expertise of those involved within the emerging professional group, their views and experiences around the role, the use of existing practices and tools to collect information on rankings, and any issues they face when doing so, etc. These discussions were digitally recorded and fully transcribed according to normal academic standards and conventions. In terms of the more ethnographic parts of the project, the team made 15 visits to the organisation described in the proposal - theInstitute of Industry Analyst Relations (IIAR) - over the 2-year period to carry out observations and ethnographic interviews. We l generate transcriptions and a researcher diary from the monthly‘events’ held at the IIAR. These events are normally presentations (of up to 1 hour in length) given by industry professionals on topics related to the theme of the proposal, typically followed by a question and answer session (approx. 30 minutes) and informal discussions over drinks (approx. 1 hour). Given the location, it was not possible to digitally record all these sessions. For the moreinformal sessions, however, the fieldworker maintained a diary which he completed after (or as soon after) the meetings had finished. We have not attempted full transcriptions of all parts of these meetings as many cover a wide range of themes, only some of which may be relevant to our research questions. The research team has therefore listened to recordings and have transcribed those parts thought to be of potential interest. Physical (paper) diaries were also used during the events. This material was typed up to facilitate its later sharing.