Learn in the textbookBrand Strategy and Channel Push/Pull Strategies
DefinitionAn opinion leader (オピニオンリーダー) is someone who adopts a new product early on their own judgment and passes their assessment to people around them, influencing what the consumers who follow decide to buy.
ExplanationThe idea of grouping consumers by how early they adopt a new product (イノベーター理論, diffusion of innovations) calls the very small group that adopts first the innovators and the next group the early adopters. Opinion leaders correspond to the early adopters, and their impressions and ways of using the product become the cues the majority who buy later rely on.
AnalogyWhen a new kitchen gadget comes out, the people around a friend known for loving to cook wait to hear how it worked for that friend before deciding whether to buy. That friend is the opinion leader.
Memory hookOpinion means a view someone holds. A friend's view is more believable than a store's advertising, and the opinion leader is the one who tries the product early and gives that view to others.