How we grewNew West KnifeWorks
Where they were
New West KnifeWorks hand-forges premium knives in Idaho and runs gallery-style stores across the American West. They had never run an influencer program and hired for one on a two to three month trial, with three goals: national awareness, more people walking into the stores, and content worthy of the knives. Premium knives attract creators who expect premium fees, and there was no budget for them.
What I decided
I bet that a beautiful knife is worth more to the right creator than a fee. Every creator chose the knife they actually wanted to cook with, and creators who insisted on payment were thanked and declined. We went where knives get used hard: chefs, pitmasters, BBQ and outdoor cooks, and YouTube cooking channels. Local creators near the Denver, Park City and Napa stores were invited in to film the gallery experience with their own discount codes, and every reel came through one submission form for the brand’s approval before it went live.
What happened
Fifteen months later, 253 creators have published 340 posts and 188 have handed over raw footage the brand can reuse. The posts we track have passed 3.6 million reel views, 17,000 shares and 20,000 saves, and one griller with 4,986 followers reached 133,000 views on a single reel. Fifteen local creators filmed inside the stores. Creator fees so far: none. The two-month trial is still running.
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