Would you or have you hunted with an outfitter because of a “Hunting Celebrity” or Influencer?

3chunter said:

No. The opposite. I want to hunt at a place before it blows up into high status. lol
I don’t want 5 star lodge and a place that will house a lot of people.
I also prefer to hunt at places which don’t spend thousands of dollars on shows travel,etc either.
The more of that stuff they have the less likely you are going to get a custom personal experience in my opinion.

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Sabre said:

I am extra skeptical when looking up outfitters recommended on hunting shows. I wouldn't book a hunt just because they were recommended on a hunting show. Multiple times I have looked up reviews for outfitters I saw on hunting shows and saw many people say that they had terrible times and felt like they only rolled out the red carpet and put in a lot of effort for famous clients.

I have ended up hunting a few places where "famous hunters" had gone the same year or previous year or were coming right after me. All of those were good experiences with good outfitters I had researched independently. It has also been fun seeing the same places I hunted on TV shows or in videos I liked. But it wouldn't even make a 1% difference to me when I'm researching places to book.

The opinion of people whose opinion can be bought, has negative equity to me.

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VertigoBE said:

Do our “local” AH hunting celebrities count?

If yes I’m guilty as charged

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Mtn_Infantry said:

Saw @375 Ruger Fan post in another thread and thought this would make a good topic.

Would you, or have you ever made a decision to hunt with an outfitter because of a “Hunting Celebrity” or “Hunting Influencer”?

I love watching hunting shows just like the next guy, but personally, I put very little credibility in “Hunting Celebrity” endorsements and even less in the current world of Influencer endorsements. I’ll actually go so far as to say if I see “Hunting Influencer” endorsements I run the other way. Hunting Celebrities have definitely influenced me on wanting to hunt somewhere or something, but never been the reason I reached out to Outfitters XYZ. It might’ve helped narrow down a country or location like NWT over BC, Alaska, or the Yukon but the decision was made based on talking to all the outfitters in each area, and their average joe references.

I completely understand the marketing tactic behind it, but I personally avoid them. Working in Sales & Marketing I see how most celebrities and almost all “influencers” are aren’t loyal to a product or brand, they’re just loyal to the paycheck from a brand (regardless of industry). I’m sure I’m painting with a fairly broad brush but IMO if an outfitter was so good, he/she wouldn’t need to give away or discount a hunt, to get his/her operation on TV or onto the internet. They’d have a fairly long waiting list and be booked a year or two out. There are a couple “celebrities” that I’ve met over the years who’s endorsement I give a little more value to, but I’d never go on a hunt based solely on their endorsement of let their endorsement sway me.

Now an operator who works with a videographer to film and publish different clients hunts I view a bit differently. An example of this would be Dalton & York working with Andy Buchanan of TIA, or Vaughan Vosloo of Untamed.

What are your thoughts? Do celebrity endorsements sway your decision? Do the T&A endorsements of influencers make you look into a product or service?

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Mtn_Infantry said:

Saw @375 Ruger Fan post in another thread and thought this would make a good topic.

Would you, or have you ever made a decision to hunt with an outfitter because of a “Hunting Celebrity” or “Hunting Influencer”?

I love watching hunting shows just like the next guy, but personally, I put very little credibility in “Hunting Celebrity” endorsements and even less in the current world of Influencer endorsements. I’ll actually go so far as to say if I see “Hunting Influencer” endorsements I run the other way. Hunting Celebrities have definitely influenced me on wanting to hunt somewhere or something, but never been the reason I reached out to Outfitters XYZ. It might’ve helped narrow down a country or location like NWT over BC, Alaska, or the Yukon but the decision was made based on talking to all the outfitters in each area, and their average joe references.

I completely understand the marketing tactic behind it, but I personally avoid them. Working in Sales & Marketing I see how most celebrities and almost all “influencers” are aren’t loyal to a product or brand, they’re just loyal to the paycheck from a brand (regardless of industry). I’m sure I’m painting with a fairly broad brush but IMO if an outfitter was so good, he/she wouldn’t need to give away or discount a hunt, to get his/her operation on TV or onto the internet. They’d have a fairly long waiting list and be booked a year or two out. There are a couple “celebrities” that I’ve met over the years who’s endorsement I give a little more value to, but I’d never go on a hunt based solely on their endorsement of let their endorsement sway me.

Now an operator who works with a videographer to film and publish different clients hunts I view a bit differently. An example of this would be Dalton & York working with Andy Buchanan of TIA, or Vaughan Vosloo of Untamed.

What are your thoughts? Do celebrity endorsements sway your decision? Do the T&A endorsements of influencers make you look into a product or service?

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Ontario Hunter said:

No and no. I prefer to hunt alone. And most who have hunted with me preferred that I hunt alone.

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