We had the pleasure of talking to Pelle Hvenegaard and delving into life as an influencer, both good and bad.
When did you start doing collaborations through your social media?
In reality, I created my Instagram in protest. I created a TV show about how famous people could use their networks and followers on social media to solve some problems. And then I just thought I had to know what the hell it was. I didn't even use Facebook much at the time, and I've never really grown into it and didn't want it in my life - and then I just became an old grumpy man who thought if I didn't know what it was, then it probably wasn't cool.
But somehow it was pretty smart to find out what it was, now that I had to work with it. So I sat in a meeting with the production and created my Instagram profile, and in no time I got a lot of followers. Then it wasn't long before I started getting the first inquiries from companies wanting to collaborate and that's kind of how it started.
One of the very first things I did was with Simple Feast, and I just thought, “what a great, great concept and it’s free food,” I never thought it would be like that. So I actually kind of stumbled into social media.
You let your followers in on your personal life a lot. How do you feel about sharing so much of your life?
I've always been pretty open about myself. Of course there's a sorting mechanism, but it's not a calculating one that I use. In reality, I think I'm very private about my innermost feelings for the most part, but how I live my life and stuff, I've always been incredibly open about that.
What is the reason for this?
I have never had the need to hide or be mysterious or think about how to position myself in relation to what kind of image I want to have. I have always been completely indifferent and people can think and think whatever they want. Then there have been times when it has made a lot of sense to talk about specific topics.
If I've been able to share my story and through that give something to others, then that's also where I think openness can really do something. So I really think that's what my social media can do - it's suddenly me who can tell the story and the image people get is not some angle or trying to show a special side of me. My social media has given me the opportunity to show a more complete picture of myself - that's what social media can do - you suddenly have control over what comes out, and that's a huge advantage and a huge power in reality.
But then you can turn it around and say, how do you use that power? In reality, you can portray yourself as something you might not be, right?
Yeah, definitely, but I've never really done that. I've never really thought about image and you could say if I was really interested in career, I could have shaped my career in some way, but that's never been in my interest and on my social media, I'm just myself.
What considerations do you make when entering into a collaboration?
I'm not necessarily born to, and I don't want to, make sure that companies just sell a lot. I think it's fine, and I'm not against advertising, that's how the world is, but by God there are also things that are more worth promoting than others and there are different degrees of what it can do.
So I was really happy to collaborate with Simple Feast. I think their concept makes a lot of sense and what they do and I really want to promote that. So my considerations are a lot about whether it's something I already use or want to use and that I can stand behind. It's also about credibility. I've said no to a lot and really also said no to a lot of money, but if it's not something I can stand behind, then I lose my credibility, then I just become an advertiser and I don't want that, it's also too much.
Can you name some collaborations that you think were super successful and why you think these were successful collaborations?
I think it's fun where I've been given some freedom - something where I can get my own ideas out and I actually think there are some really fun creative challenges in that pretty much every time. There are some who come with very conceptualized frameworks and then it's like you can do something within that, but fortunately most people have also gradually understood that it gives the best results with freedom and where creativity can run free.
For example, I did a major collaboration with Coop who wanted to promote their scan and pay app. I then asked if I couldn't do something where I stopped random people and asked if they had the app and if they didn't, I got them to install it and then I paid for their purchases, because it's fucking fun to see what the handyman who stops on his electric scooter and just wants to have some lunch buys if he gets 2000 kr. to buy for. That way, I try to make it interesting and fun, where there's a little more to it than just that.
The thing about trying to find some creative challenges that make it fun. For me, I feel like I want to do something new every time and that's where the challenge lies and that's also what makes it fun - because I actually think it's fun to do. You could say, of course I think it's good if there are good reactions and I know I have to concentrate on that because it has a certain importance, but what matters most to me is whether it's something I can stand by and have I made something I'm happy with or proud of and then of course also whether the customer is happy.
That's also why I sometimes develop a concept or an idea myself and then go from there and try to find partners. An example of that would be 3likehome. I've always had 3likehome and think it works brilliantly, so when we started the podcast I thought I simply had to get in touch with them and hear if they wanted to collaborate as it could be relevant for them too. And I really think it all comes together there. I think it's really cool where it's almost the creative or the idea that comes first and the collaboration is created from that.
Which platforms do you find the most fun to work with?
I think platforms are connected in some way. It's just different forms of expression and actually more possibilities. I think it's an interaction and I don't think any of them stand alone. You could say our whole travel podcast and traveling is just as much functional on Instagram as it is in our podcast when we're away. So in that way I think things are connected.
What do you find fun about collaborating through your social media? What is the driver of what you do?
By using my social media, I get the opportunity to do what I love the most and what I find most fun, which is travel. I think it gives me the opportunity to live the life I want and do the things I want instead of having to live up to a direction a TV channel has right now or a radio channel that wants to do a travel show.
By using your own channels, you don't have to wait, you can just make your own travel podcast. So basically it's probably about freedom. I've done a lot of TV, especially on commercial channels, and they also put in commercial breaks, so basically it's a bit of the same concept, now I can just choose who I want to collaborate with and I can control which brands are exposed, so I actually think I've just been given a huge amount of freedom, which gives me the opportunity to collaborate with the companies that I personally think are cool and want to promote.
Do you think influencer marketing is here to stay?
Yes, definitely. It's going to run until something new comes along that catches people's attention, then the money moves over there. I mean, I, and many others, predicted many years ago that TV advertising was going to have a hard time because you have streaming services and so on. Social media just does something completely different - you get a completely different kind of attention to it and I think that's super cool, so I think it's definitely here to stay.
I'll end with one last question. How do you think Sheer has helped you in your collaborations?
Sheer makes it much easier for me to report on my campaigns. In my collaboration with 3, they can go in and retrieve all the data directly from Sheer, rather than me having to compile it and send it to them.
We thank Pelle many times for wanting to give us an insight into what life as an influencer is like when your name is Pelle Hvenegaard.
If you, like us, think that Pelle is a super inspiring and honest person and would like to see what a collaboration with Pelle could look like, then contact Sheer here.
Social:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pellehvenegaard/
Podcast: Children in the Baggage
