Building Brand Communities

The assignment content discusses various aspects of brand communities, including the facilitation and implications of creating a brand community. It highlights that aggressive sales tactics should not be used in brand community settings, as the goal is to encourage relations and interaction between consumers. The content also notes that not all brands can attract communities, but innovative marketing methods can still build communities around certain types of products or services. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of recognizing potential negative behaviors associated with a brand community and taking steps to prevent them.

Reading for topic
If you have not already read Solomon et al. 4th or 5th
edition chapters 2, 10-15, please do so after today’s
lecture
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The Contemporary Consumer
Topic #5: Income, age, and culture (family, social class, reference groups, and brand communities) in consumer behaviour
Lecturer: Dr. Jason C. Healy Email:
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Plan and learning objectives
Income
Age
Culture:
Social class
Family
Reference groups
Brand communities
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Income, culture, and social class (2)
These differing consumption patterns are the result of differing cultures, norms, traditions, religions, and legal systems that have existed for centuries.
Such cultural norms both enable and constrain individual consumers when they are making choices. We all consider what other people will think about us if w
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Income, culture, and social class (1)
Both personal (individual) and social (group) conditions and circumstances influence how consumers spend money.
This can manifest itself in various ways. Consider the different ways of dressing in Ireland versus the Middle East. Men and women from these two
Income, culture, and social class (3)
Such cultural norms or class-based-behavioural norms operate at the group level, at the level of society or culture, rather than being the remit of one individ
All consumers contribute to the creation/change/continuation of these cultural norms
All consumers are somewhat enabled and constrained by these cultural norms. We are enabled in that we get ideas from watching others and we have cer
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Income, culture, and social class (4)
An example of how these cultural norms can change. Even if we consider norms of clothing for Irish people now, versus 100 years ago, we can se
Income, culture, and social class (5)
This latter example of the flat cap was very much related to social class, traditionally. The wearing of a flat cap in the UK and Ireland tended to signify that the wearer was not a member of the
During the 20th century, other types of hat also became linked to certain classes within society. E.g. the bowler hat was heavily linked to signifying that the wearer was an urban professional pe
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Income, culture, and social class (6)
As evidenced by the hat discussion, consumers are grouped in social classes that say a lot about where they stand in society and also influence our consumer behav
Actual or desired class influences buyer behaviour. A person’s desire to make a statement about their social class, or the class to which they hope to belong, influenc
Products are frequently bought and displayed as markers of social class; they are valued as status symbols. E.g. do we express our social class in the clothes we we
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Income (1)
Individual’s incomes in Europe increased substantially grown between about 1950-1990. Real per capita income almost doubled between 1960 and 1990. H
1. A shift in women’s roles where more women work now than was the case in the 20th century (which means much higher childcare costs (e.g. today in befo
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Income (2)
Increase in educational attainment where more and more people finish second level education and also go on to get degrees, which increasingly le
Unequal distributions of income (higher earners have seen greater increases than lower earners)
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Work (productivity) and income (1)
“GDP more than doubled and in some EU countries quadrupled between 1980 and 1995” (Solomon et al. 2016 p. 469)
Huge economic growth across Europe was largely enjoyed by companies and by the upper classes. However “this boom was by no
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Work (productivity) and income (2)
While economies grew dramatically only some in society benefitted, with many others seeing only marginal increases in their wages while company profits
This led to huge increases in personal debt, as the majority of people (the squeezed middle and the working classes) across Europe tried to use enormous
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Work (productivity) and income (3)
This type of economic model, high profits, high prices, and low wages, led to high debt levels and an ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor wh
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Income and buying
There is a difference between:
Willingness to buy (do we want to buy something?)
Ability to buy (we cannot all afford everything we want)
Marketers need to consider that target marketing does not just mean targeting consumers who want our products. Target marketing must also consider who
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Discretionary income (1)
Discretionary income = (total after tax income) minus (expenses for standard living)
Many products and services target standard living expenses (e.g. mortgage, rental accommodation, education, healthcare, food, electricity, clothing, travel
Other products/services target discretionary income (e.g. cigarettes, alcohol, luxury food, high fashion clothing, holiday travel industry, music, pay-television
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Discretionary income (2)
Discretionary income = (total after tax income) minus (expenses for standard living)
When total after tax income stays the same, as it has done for many consumers over the past 20 years, or maybe even reduces, as it has done for many consumers particularly over the past d
And/or when expenses for standard living increase
Then the amount of discretionary income available shrinks, probably putting a lot of companies either out of business or at least on very difficult times (e.g. 2007-2015)
However, the line between the two is blurred and often things that were once considered discretionary can migrate to become seen as part of standard living expenses (e.g. Internet providers
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Discussion
Who works in marketing (or wishes to work in marketing) of products that will involve providing products/services that appeal to dis
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Discrimination in pay
In Ireland, the employment equality legislation (Equality Acts 1998 & 2015) provide for equal pay for like work
Unless of course you are a young person (e.g. a young teacher in an Irish 2nd level school)
Or a woman (still earning 17% lower than their male equivalents in full time positions)
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Abandoned youth in the EU (1)
The discretionary incomes of many younger people (under 35) are lower now than would have been the case in the 1990s
“Unemployment rates have soared and are still high in several countries, mainly Spain and Greece [youth unemployment is at 50%, in 2014]” (Solomon et al 2016 p. 470)
Among young people, in Croatia and Italy, youth unemployment is as high as 40%
“It is obvious that such unemployment rates severely influence income and consumption patterns” (ibid)
Which is leading, across Europe to increases in:
Young adults living with their parents for many years, because there is no other option
Disruptive changes in lifestyle including social reclusiveness
The ‘working poor’: “people who are employed but making less than necessary to make ends meet” (ibid)
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Discretionary income: high-end consumers
In Europe…
Income distributions vary between consumers and countries.
Households earning above Euro100k make up less than 5% of families.
But, this 5% of families has over 25% of the EU’s discretionary income
Marketers: these consumers are specifically targeted by many luxury brands such as high end cars, luxury holidays, high priced fashions, jewellery, high en
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Discretionary income and age
Studies show that the highest levels of discretionary income exist for consumers between 30-55years of age
However, older consumers often have high levels of discretionary income too in high pensions, or maybe in savings/investments, o
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Example: Luxury stores
Brown Thomas luxury store in Dublin targets the segment of consumers aged 30-55
This is because this segment of the population is more likely to have the highest discretionary income
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Income, Spending and Consumer confidence
Consumer decisions to buy things also depend upon consumer confidence
Consumer confidence is the extent to which people are optimistic or pessimistic about
the future health of the economy (macro)
how they will fare in the future (micro/individual).
Consumer confidence is a measure of how consumers feel about the future. Consumers who have increasing job security and increasing incomes in a stable general economy have highest le
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Spending? Saving?
Consumer decisions to buy things also depend upon the savings rate.
When consumers are pessimistic about the future of their own situation and/or the economy, they tend to cut back their spending, take on less debt, and save more.
When consumers are optimistic about the future of their own situation and/or the economy, they tend to spend more, take on more debt, and save less.
The overall/individual savings rate is thus influenced by:
Beliefs about personal circumstances
→e.g. fear of being laid off
World and national events
→e.g. the election of a new government or economic crisis
Cultural differences
→e.g. the Japanese have a higher savings rate than Europeans or Americans
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Social class (1)
All societies may be roughly divided into the haves and have-nots
Social equality does not exist and societies have classes
Social class does not just refer to income, but income is important
Social class is determined by a complex set of variables, including income, family background and occupation
The place one occupies in the social structure is an important determinant not only of how much money is spent, but it also influences how it is spent.
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Social class (2)
Theory of the pecking order: in many animal species, the most aggressive/assertive animals have first pick of food, living quarters, and mating partners. Humans are
People’s standing in social class terms determines their access to:
Education
Housing
Consumer goods
Social mobility: Some individuals try to improve their social standing, or status
This desire to improve one’s social status, and let others know when you do it, is at the core of many marketing strategies (e.g. buying a Ferrari to display how wealthy you are).
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Social class (3)
Birds of a feather flock together: Social class affects tastes and lifestyles. People in each social class/group tend to socialize with one other, share many
Consumers will usually mimic those with whom they identify as part of their same social class – the products/services/brands they consume and how they c
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Social class and divisions in society
These divisions can be based on many things such as skin colour (racism), religion, wealth, income, education, family history, job, place of birth/home, political beliefs
These divisions can manifest themselves in unequal access to scarce and valuable resources. These resources (e.g. money) can thus be distributed favourably t
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Social status and mobility (1)
Social status may be achieved or ascribed
Achieved status is earned through hard work or diligence (e.g., working hard, studying for a degree, then earning a good job with a good salary).
Ascribed status describes individuals who are born into a social class. At birth, we may be born into a working class family who have little wealth, or we may be born into an upper class wealthy family. Suc
Social mobility refers to situations where individuals move from one class to another. E.g. an upper class person may spend all their money and in-turn find themselves in a lower class, or a lower class p
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Social status and mobility (2)
Many consumers may not achieve a higher actual status (e.g. higher income), but may consume in a way so as to project/communicate a higher status (e.g. many cons
Status mobility: some cultures offer greater levels of status mobility than others (e.g. USA vs India’s caste-system)
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Social status and consumption
Thorstein Veblen (1899) put forth a theory that some consumers consume for the sake of consuming, often so that others can see (showing off).
Thorstein Veblen concluded that:
In order to communicate higher social status individuals engage in
conspicuous consumption
Conspicuous consumption refers to the desire of individuals to provide prominent visible evidence of their ability to afford luxury goods
Products and consumption processes are used for invidious
distinction purposes – they are used to inspire envy in others through display of power
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Income and social class statistics
Look at cso.ie and census data for starters if you wish to find facts and figures that can be used to segment and target various mar
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Consumer groups: families (1)
Marketers need to understand consumers’ behaviour (plural) rather than just consumer behaviour (singular) because in many cases more than one person decides w
Collective decision-making occurs whenever two or more people are involved in evaluating, selecting or using a product or service. Such decision making often occur
“90 per cent of respondents in one recent survey confirmed that family life was one of the most important things to them” (Solomon et al 2016 p. 43
So, if family is so important to consumers, it is clearly important to consumer behaviour
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Consumer groups: families (4)
Marketing implications:
Marketers need to consider multiple consumers with various transactions and not just one individual buyer (e.g. a family holiday, a family car, tv services like Sky).
When selling such ‘group consumed’ products/services, it is essential that the marketer designs the offering to appeal to the various different consumers and that this
1. the parent who buys the toy and will want a fair price and a safety-
tested toy for their child
2. the child who will want the toy if it appeals to them in some way
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Consumer groups: families (2)
Many consumption decisions are based on group consumption (e.g. consumers often choose products/services while considering how more than one consumer will c
Buying for others: similarly many consumers buy items that will actually be consumed by others and not by the buyer (gifts, clothing for family members, food etc)
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Consumer groups: families (3)
Family influence: Families can influence our consumption in many ways.
We often make purchases on the recommendation of others [including our family] (e.g. which college to attend, which car to buy).
Children learn what and how to consume by watching, listening to, mimicking, and learning from their family (e.g. siblings, parents).
This can be a two way process, where children can also influence parents (e.g. which mobile phone to buy? Which internet provider to use? Which food to eat?).
Children are increasingly influential in overall family decision making. Often-times, children will not earn much/any of the family’s money, but the children can have a disproportionately large input in family spe
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Age and consumer behaviour (1)
As people (and families) grow older, their preferences for products and services change (e.g. a 1 year may need nappies, but a 5 year old will no
e.g. a teenager will not be interested in pensions/investments, while a person over 30 will)
As we age, income levels tend to rise (until retirement). (e.g. a 40 year old sales employee with lots of experience will usually get a higher income
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Age and consumer behaviour (2)
As with any reference group, people of about the same age tend to consume similarly.
People in their 20s will consume differently to people in their teenage years and differently to people in their 60s
We often have similar situations to people who are of a similar age (resources, career stages, levels of independence, family circumstances, societal expectations) and we tend to behave in s
Marketing implications: A key segmentation variable in target marketing is to consider the age of the target market when designing products but also in other marketing mix considerations (pri
Let us consider children (next slide)
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Children as decision-makers: consumers-in-training
Children and teens are a huge market (teens have an estimated spending power of over 61 billion euros in Europe)
They often rely on their family (parents, siblings) to enable them to buy products and services.
This requires the child influencing the family member
Parental yielding occurs when a parental decision maker is influenced by a child’s request and ‘surrenders’.
Some parents may be more strict than others, or may have more or less access to resources to fund their children’s desires
There is increasing evidence of interdependence between adult children and their parents with financial resources often going one direction or the other in order to provide funding for consum
This kind of interdependence for consumption often continues into third level education funding for many young adults
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Don’t forget the increasingly powerful and wealthy grey market (pensioners)
Few debts, no mortgage
No kids at home
Have not got the expenses of dressing for work or going to work
Growth in occupational pensions
Investments
Discount schemes reductions for 65+ (e.g. free travel in Ireland)
High property ownership in Ireland
Appreciation in property value?
Interest rates over the last 20 yrs
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REFERENCE GROUPS
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Reference Group: Definition
A reference group is ‘an actual or imaginary individual or group that has a significant impact upon an individual’s
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The importance of groups in consumption (1)
Any consumers’ reference groups contain individuals or groups whose opinions or behaviour are particularly important. The more influential refere
Opinion leaders are “those people who are knowledgeable about products and who are frequently able to influence others’ attitudes or behaviours
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The importance of groups in consumption (2)
Reference groups can influence member’s behaviour. Reference groups may be formal (e.g. member of the local GAA club) or info
This influence depends on:
conspicuousness of the product
and the relevance of the reference group for a particular purchase
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The importance of groups in consumption (3)
We seek out others who share our interests
in products and services.
We are motivated to buy or use products in order to be consistent with what other people do.
Word of mouth vs adverts: The things that other consumers tell us about products (good and bad) are often more influential than th
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The importance of groups in consumption (4)
Online technologies are accelerating the impact of word-of-mouth communication.
Social networking is changing the way companies and consumers interact.
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Virtual group influence
The Internet has led to a vast extension of the potential to connect up with, influence, and be influenced by other consumers and consumer groups (e.g. Facebook, on
A virtual community of consumption is a collective of people who interact online to share their enthusiasm for and knowledge of a specific consumption activity (Solom
For example, consumers may form groups online about being a parent, surfing, car ownership, electronics, computers, music, sport, travel, fashion, food etc
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Different forms of virtual communities
Multi-user dungeons (MUD) – Any computer-generated environment where people interact socially through the structured format of role- and game-playing (e.g. World of Warcraft)
Rooms, rings and lists – These include internet relay chat (chat rooms), organizations (rings) of related home pages and groups of people on a single mailing list who share information.
Boards – online communities can be organized around interest- specific electronic bulletin boards. (e.g. boards.ie)
Blogs – The weblog. These are personal journals of users who like to share a few random thoughts, post them on a Website and read similar musings by others. There are also examples of p
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Types of virtual community members (1)
Kozinets (1999) identifies 4 main types of VC members based on 2 main criteria
1. The centrality/importance of the consumption
activity/topic to the member’s self-concept (the higher, the more interested/devoted the member will be)
2. The intensity of social relationships the person
forms with other members of the VC (the stronger/more intense the relationships, the more interested/devoted the member will be)
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Types of virtual community members (2)
Kozinets’ (1999) 4 main types of VC members are:
1. Tourists lack strong social ties to the group, and
maintain only a passing interest in the activity
2. Minglers maintain strong ties but are not very interested in the central consumption activity.
3. Devotees express strong interest in the activity but
have few social attachments to the group.
4. Insiders exhibit strong social ties and strong interest in the activity.
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Types of virtual community members (3)
Figure 10.1 Virtual communities
Source: Adapted from Robert V. Kozinets, ‘E-tribalized marketing: the strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption’, European Management Journal 17(3) (June 1999): 252–64
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Conform or deviate?
Whether formal or informal, reference groups will often have varying degrees of power and influence over those associated with the group.
Some members will conform and embrace the
norms, power, and influence of the group.
Other members will deviate and resist the norms, power, and influence of the group
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Reasons for conformity
Cultural pressures – people tend to ‘follow the crowd’.
Fear of deviance – the group applies penalties to ‘rule violators’.
Commitment – the greater one’s dedication, the stronger the follower.
Group unanimity, size and expertise – the ‘law of large numbers’. As groups gain power, compliance increases
Susceptibility to interpersonal influence – the individual’s need to have others think highly of him/her.
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Deviance: Resistance to influence (1)
Many consumers take pride in our individualism and uniqueness or in our ability to resist the best sales efforts of salespeople and advertisers or to stand apart from th
In the study of consumer behaviour it is important to distinguish between independence and anti-conformity (where defiance is the actual object of behaviour). The ‘in
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Deviance: Resistance to influence (2)
People have a deep-seated need to preserve freedom of choice.
Reactance and the need for uniqueness:
When individuals are threatened with a loss of freedom, they try to reassert this freedom. For example, when something is censore
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Word of mouth
A major way reference groups influence us is through word of mouth
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(2)
Word-of-Mouth
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Earlier in the module, we said (1):
Word of mouth is product information that consumers transmit to other consumers on an informal basis (e.g. in-person conversations, other kinds of convers
Consumers tend to trust and rely on consumer word of mouth more than they trust advertising (Arndt 1967)
“80 per cent of all buying decisions are influenced by someone’s direct recommendations” (Advertising executive quoted in Solomon et al. 2010 pp. 401-2)
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Earlier in the module, we said (2):
We discussed Hype vs Buzz at length and discussed the marketing implications of buzz building. But it is worth noting that not all word of mouth is good. Th
Marketing implication: marketers must respond to negative WOM in order to fix the problem for the consumer and to prevent further negative W
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Word-of-mouth: Definition
Word-of-mouth refers to casual conversations between people about the world
WOM may be positive or negative, but negative WOM is considered more powerful/influential
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Viral marketing
Refers to the strategy of getting customers to sell a product on behalf of the company that creates it.
Particularly well suited to the web
Common examples tend to be youtube videos (sometimes made by companies) that are interesting or funny and go viral because web users continuously share them with one another via email, facebook, twitter, etc.
Companies have a choice, either produce traditional boring ads and pay a fortune to FORCE people to watch them, or produce funny, awe inspiring, interesting, emotional, or interesting ads, and allow consumers to share them
E.g., with 29million views (all free): https://
E.g, with 17million views (all free):
https://
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Efficiency of WOM in general (1)
WOM is powerful in cases where the consumer is relatively unfamiliar with the product category
- Buying a laptop for the first time (might ask friends
for assistance)
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Efficiency of WOM in general (2)
WOM can be quite rapid, effective (trusted), and free. E.g. The producers of the film Batman attempted to counteract potential negative publicity surrounding the casti
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Negative WOM
Word-of-mouth is a two-edged sword that can cut both ways for marketers
Informal discussions among consumers can make or break a product or store
Further, negative WOM is weighted more heavily by consumers in many cases (especially where the consumer actually knows the other consumer, but it is
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Consequences of the negative WOM
Solomon et al (2010):
90% of unhappy customers will not do business with a company again
Each of these people is likely to share their grievance with at least 9 other people
13% of these disgruntled customers will go on to tell more than 30 people of their negative experience
These numbers are clearly growing in a world where one negative tweet or facebook post or tripadvisor review can reach hundreds, thousands or millions
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Reasons for negative WOM
Some dissatisfied consumers use negative WOM in order to restore their own personal self-image
That is, they prefer not to blame themselves for misjudgement because this would harm their self- images of rationality and being in control
Instead, such consumers speak negatively about the store where they have bought the product
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Rumours
WOM often causes rumours
Rumours take place when, being transmitted among many consumers, the resulting message ceases to resemble the original
Equally, a rumour could be just made up by someone
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Brand Community
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Example: Nestle in Indonesia
Nestle in Indonesia have been damaged by rumours that their foods contain pork, which is prohibited to the Muslim population
Islamic preachers responded to these rumours by warning consumers not to buy products that might be tainted with pork fat
Nestle spent more than 250000 USD on an ad campaign to counteract these rumours
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Marketing implications of WOM
Encourage positive WOM: buzz building
Respond to negative WOM to turn dissatisfaction into satisfaction
Learn from WOM: what the company is doing well and what the company is doing badly. Respond to what is learned
Control and respond to rumours
Viral marketing is a good way of getting consumers to communicate your message for you, especially online, for free
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Definition
Muniz & O’Guinn (2001) introduced the concept of brand communities
Muniz & O’Guinn (2001 p. 421) define a brand community as “a specialised, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relationships among users of a brand”
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Brand communities
Aside from more traditional reference groups (e.g. family, friends, colleagues, clubs/associations we are members of), or even virtual groups, we can identify a growin
A brand community is a set of consumers who share a set of social relationships based upon usage of or interest in a brand (Muniz & O’Guinn 2001).
Sometimes consumers of brands feel connected to fellow consumers of the same brand and hence seek to bond with other brand community members through, for e
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The brand community (1)
Products, services, ideas, brands, and consumption of all of these often inspires people to congregate together online and offline in order to share
This can be seen when people attend a bar together, when people attend a concert together, when people attend a sports event together, when p
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The brand community (2)
A major component of the human condition is to socialise with members of our community
These communities are not just based on geographical location
These communities can involve shared consumption of products/services/brands or love for or interest in products/services/brands
Facebook is a service that users consume together
Music is often consumed socially or as part of a community
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The brand community (3)
People/consumers often develop relationships with other people (temporary or lasting relationships) based on shared bonds with a brand or a con
Sometimes consumers form more formal communities around their consumption such as fan clubs
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The brand community (4)
The Sacramento Jaguar Club is introduced on its website as:
“we are a group of people who enjoy the company of other Jaguar enthusiasts. We enjoy dining together, driving our cars together and attending v
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The brand community (5)
Similarly, if you google “Apple user group” there are over 1 million hits, indicating the enormous interest consumers have in sharing their experie
Consumers form communities around brands: brand communities
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The brand community (6)
In a brand community, a brand is the focal point of social interaction among passionate consumers (Muniz & O’Guinn 2001)
These consumers use the brand community to share their brand experiences and brand stories
Brand communities may rest entirely on consumer interaction (e.g. an unofficial online forum dedicated to a music band), while others are more or
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The brand community (7)
Brand communities can exist for any type of brand, but they tend to be most common for older brands with interesting histories and high involveme
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The brand community (8)
Brand communities can create/change brand value
The meaning found in the social engagement in brand communities adds significantly to what the brand has to offer
The value brand communities create is often created entirely in isolation to the marketer (e.g. consumers exchanging brand stories or advice online in an Apple Mac o
E.g., one of the main attractions for consumers who attend a concert or a football match is actually the atmosphere being created by other consumers. Hence, what is
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The brand community (9)
Here are some examples of how brand communities come together to create brand value:
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The brand community (10)
There are many examples of how consumers themselves create brand value through their involvements with and interactions in brand communities:
The “fun, feasting, and general merriment” created by Jaguar
owners in Jaguar Clubs
The user tips that Apple user groups provide for each other
The pictures, videos, and stories that music fans share with
one another on band forums online
The sharing amongst facebook users of life stories, jokes, photos, videos, music, and much more
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Brand community interaction, meaning, and value creation (1)
Muniz & O’Guinn (2001 p. 418) say that “brand communities are social entities”
For a brand community to exist, interaction between consumers themselves (connected by a shared bond with a brand) is a prerequisite
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Brand community interaction, meaning, and value creation (2)
According to Brown et al. (2003 p. 31):
“[brands] are social entities experienced, shaped and changed in communities. Therefore, although brand meaning might be ascribed and communicated to
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The internet as a hotbed for brand communities
Consumers can associate with one another online on websites, chat rooms, web forums, facebook pages, and other locations, in order to talk about brands
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Brand communities encourage loyalty
Because one of the most valuable things for many brand community members is actually the social interaction with other brand enthusiasts (as opposed to
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Brand communities can love the brand and brand community but hate the company
Liverpool Football Club fans rejected the club owners’ strategy for the club between 2007-2010, when the owners were Tom Hicks and George Gillett. These fans got together on
This shows how brand community members can love the brand while hating the company behind it, if that company is judged to be behaving in a way that the brand community d

Brand communities competing with the brand
You can see the similarities between the official jersey (right) and the unofficial fan- created one, on the previous slide. Fans used symbols from the real one and twisted them so that the altern
Brand hijack (1)
Another example are Apple Newton users (Apple Newton is a PDA computer, not entirely unlike a tablet computer [albeit one from 1993])
In 1998, Apple chose to discontinue the Newton and take the Apple brand in new directions focusing on the iMac and the iPod
Apple Newton users were not happy about this. So, as a community they decided to continue using their Newtons and today they keep the brand alive, entirely in isol
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Brand hijack (2)
The Liverpool and Newton examples show how brand community strength can grow to the point where the brand manager or company can have v
This means that managing a brand community is very difficult
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Brand hijack (3)
In the Newton example, the consumers themselves entirely took over the brand and continued it
In the Liverpool example, fan actions eventually led to a legally forced change of ownership at the club
This consumer power means that brand communities can ‘hijack’ a brand if they believe it is not going in the direction the brand community wants
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Brand hijack (4)
Such hijacking can allow the brand community to endow the brand with meanings that are very far from those intended by the marketer. Brand communities may wish
So, while brand communities can be a source of valuable brand meanings, culture, information, and social interaction, such brand communities are usually autonomo
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Consciousness of kind
Regarding ‘consciousness of kind’, Muniz & O’Guinn (2001
p. 418) find that “members feel an important connection to the brand, but more importantly, they feel a stronger connection toward one another. Members feel that the
This consciousness of kind is based on legitimacy (being members of the brand community for the ‘right’ reasons, rather than the ‘wrong’ reasons) and oppositional b
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Shared rituals and traditions
Shared rituals and traditions refers to “shared consumption experiences with the brand” (Muniz & O’Guinn 2001 p. 421)
These rituals include
special greetings (e.g. Star Trek brand community wave/salute),
a celebration of the history of the brand (e.g. very prevalent
amongst sports fans, such as how Munster rugby fans talk about the famous victory over the All Blacks),
sharing stories of the brand (e.g. people often share stories
about favourite bands). This is a powerful way of maintaining a community; storytelling
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Sense of moral responsibility (1)
A “sense of moral responsibility” “is a sense of duty to the community as a whole, and to the individual members of the community, and it ‘is what produces collective
Group members will display moral systems in that they will help others to become integrated into and retained by the community and also existing members will assis
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Sense of moral responsibility (2)
Similarly community members may get together to celebrate the brand in some way or even to protect the brand, such as through protests or other consumer actions
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Brandfests (1)
The quintessential brand community pivots around an already existing brand and is usually established and run by enthusiastic volunteers (e.g. an online forum set u
However, the three markers of community (consciousness of kind, shared rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility) can also be observed at what are
A brandfest is an event or festival created by a marketer that celebrates a brand and its community (e.g. Arthurs Day for Guinness, a football match, Burning Man sho
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Brandfests (2)
Arthurs Day was successful in building brand awareness and fostering social interaction among people who like the drink/brand Guinness
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However, it had its drawbacks, mainly because of the amount of anti-social behaviour and excessive drinking during the annual event. (the following clip should NOT be viewed if
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Arthurs Day has now been discontinued
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Marketing implications of brand communities (1)
Muniz & O’Guinn (2001 p. 427) argue that:
“a brand with a powerful sense of community would generally have greater value to a marketer than a brand with a weak sense of community. How
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Marketing implications of brand communities: The upside (1)
Brand communities are a source of brand loyalty. Brand community members are highly unlikely to switch brands to a competitor
Brand community members can serve as brand missionaries or ambassadors, promoting the brand to others actively
Brand community members tend to be forgiving of the brand (within reason)
Brand community members will often be quite vocal about the brand and their brand experiences. Hence this can act as valuable feedback for the brand
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Marketing implications of brand communities: The upside (2)
Source of innovation: Brand community members can even engage in ‘grass-roots R&D’ whereby they create and imagine how the brand might develop ne
Consumers will do this because they often have strong emotional bonds to the brand and the community and hence wish the brand to be successful and th
Brand community members will often engage in repeat purchases from the brand and will often buy many different products or services from the brand bec
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Marketing implications of brand communities: The downside (1)
But, brand communities are powerful, can damage the brand (e.g. Arthurs Day) and reject the company so need to be managed carefully
Difficult to control rumours: particularly in computer-mediated environments. If a lot of consumers are talking about a brand, it is possible misinform
Consumers may hijack the brand (e.g. the Apple Newton) and take the brand in directions other than those the marketer had intended (e.g. Liverp
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Managing a brand community (1)
Negotiation with the brand community to keep the community members happy is very important
Two potential roles for marketers (Heding et al. 2009):
Observer of brand communities
Facilitator of brand communities
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Marketing implications: Observing brand communities (1)
A marketer can gain a deep insight into what a brand means to its community, why it is valuable to the community (what they like about it), and ho
Observations can provide information on:
What the brand is doing well and should emphasise
What the brand is doing badly and should reduce/remove
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Marketing implications: Observing brand communities (2)
Source of innovations: Community members will often discuss how a brand can improve and what kinds of new products and services the brand c
Fuller et al. (2007) show how fans of clothing and sportswear brands often design potential prototype products themselves using their design skills
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Facilitating brand community through Brandfests (1)
McAlexander et al. (2002) point out that marketers can help to build brand communities, just like consumers can themselves
A proactive marketer can help to foster a brand community to grow
There are various ways to do this such as holding brandfests or events like Arthurs Day
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Facilitating brand community through official offline clubs (1)
Setting up official clubs for the brand (e.g. the Leinster Rugby Official Supporters Club, or the Harley Owners Group (HOG))
Marketing implications: Observing brand communities (3)
Brand managers or researchers should tread very carefully if they are going to start observing brand communities
It is possible that consumers will feel it is an invasion of privacy
Hence it would be beneficial to gather informed consent before engaging in such observations
Be aware that competitors may observe your brand’s community too to understand how to compete with your products/services;
e.g. providing what you are not
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Facilitating brand community through official online brand platforms (1)
Setting up online communities such as Facebook pages or an official online forum where brand users/consumers can interact with one another/other consumers.
E.g. Paddy Power has almost 1.5million likes on facebook and its posts regularly receive thousands of likes, shares, and comments. Users interact with the official employees of the brand and
Marketing implications: Facilitating brand communities (1)
Such measures can help to show brand users/consumers that they are part of a larger broader community of brand users who share certain interests, traditions, likes, dislikes (e.g. Paddy Pow
This also happens at rock concerts and at stadiums for sporting events. This feeling of connectedness and the social interaction it creates can be a source of value for consumers. E.g. a majo
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Marketing implications: Facilitating brand communities (2)
The task for the marketer is to encourage the brand community members to interact with other brand community members wherever possible rath
A real benefit for technology brands like Apple, whose users often join online forums to troubleshoot issues with Apple products, is that it saves Ap
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Marketing implications: Facilitating brand communities (3)
Directly selling to brand community members is a sensitive issue. There are instances where it may go down well (e.g. Arthur’s Day), whe
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Marketing implications: Facilitating brand communities (4)
Aggressive sales tactics should not be used. If you were at a gig, you would find it unusual if band members were encouraging fans to buy their latest T-Shirt. Sel
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Marketing implications: Dangers when facilitating brand communities
When facilitating a brand community it is important to recognise that such communities can often be seen as representing your brand. So, if a brand community behaves badly then other peop
Do NOT watch this video if you are easily offended
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These examples show how brand communities can damage brands and brand value also
An organisation must do what it can to discourage/prevent such bad behaviour and if this is not possible should reconsider the brand community facilitation (e.g. Arthurs Day was cancelled)
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Can all brands attract communities? (1)
Brand communities tend to evolve around brands with a long and interesting history, high-involvement products (e.g. cars, sports teams), brands threatened by comp
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Can all brands attract communities? (2)
However, other brands such as FMCGs can also build communities around their brands using innovative marketing methods
An example are Libresse who manufacture feminine hygiene products. They sell under various names such as BodyForm in the UK and Ireland, Libresse (globally), Nana in France and variou
Libresse decided to build a brand community so they designed web sites dedicated to their consumers that cover many life-issues that go far beyond feminine hygiene products, such as beau
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Can all brands attract communities? (3)
Lots of information is given on these topics for the consumers along with a chat room and horoscopes.
The Australian version of the website even encourages its consumers to become a ‘Libra girl’, and hence join the brand community to chat with other Libra girls and read e-diaries and horosco
This is a simple method to build a brand community for any type of brand
This shows how brand communities can be successfully built around the types of products/services that one may not think of when looking at existing types of brand communities
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Summary
Age
Income
Social Class
Family
Reference groups
Word-of-Mouth
Brand community
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