For Better or for Worse? - A qualitative study of the connection between a sole proprietor and its respective brand.

Abstract: The emergence of influencers establishing their own brand has become a common phenomenon today as a result of the benefits that brands can leverage through influencer credibility. This study aims to investigate the connection between the sole proprietor and its respective brand during the time of a scandal caused by one of the parties. This study provides insights from three different cases namely, Paolo Roberto (Paolos), Bianca Ingrosso (Caia Cosmetics), and Katrin Zytomeirska (Clean Eating). To obtain insights for the report, a qualitative study was conducted. Firstly, two interviews were conducted with a sole proprietor that has been a part of a scandal, as well as a brand expert. Secondly, third-party data was gathered through the usage of the platform Meltwater. Meltwater provided a data collection of different measures related to mentionings of search words during the time of the scandals. As a result of the two qualitative methods, insights into the relationship between a sole proprietor and its brand during a scandal were revealed. According to our data collection, the mentionings related to the sole proprietor and the brand were similar, and the trend mentionings carried a relation between the use of the sole proprietor and the brand. Moreover, the interviews provided additional insights that further deepened the understanding of the connection.