Discuss about the Marketing Management for Exploratory Analysis.
A brand can be defined as a product or service that helps in distinguishing from other products and services. A brand community can be defined as a community developed on the basis of attachment to a product (Marzocchi, Morandin, & Bergami, 2013). According to Stratton & Northcote (2014), brand and brand communities play a significant role and is a part of the continuum. The brand communities can be perceived as symbols and this essay attempts to map out the features of brand communities. This essay attempts to address the problems and challenges faced in marketing and general management decisions. The essay is an opportunity to make strategic decision choices based on the conceptual frameworks. The brand community is seen as a social category consisting of customers who feel united as they have common affiliation towards the brands. However, there is a need to differentiate between brand enthusiasts and brand communities. In simple terms, bran community can be defined as a group of people who possess common interests and construct their own language, hierarchy, myths and values (Marzocchi, Morandin, & Bergami, 2013).
A community is built on social networks. According to the sociological theory of brand community, there are social interactions that remove stress, classify opinion of people and attract sympathy (Hur, Ahn, & Kim, 2011). There are different reasons why people would want to join a brand community. Apple, a multinational technology company does not behave like a social company who develops marketing strategies on Twitter or Facebook. However, the company has successfully created a brand community and lives by its slogan ‘Think Different’ (Stratton & Northcote, 2014). The company has brought together a group of people who feel a sense of belonging when they consume Apple products (Businessinsider.com, 2016). Historically, Apple has several failed products but the advertisements with the slogan ‘‘I’m a Mac’’ that was endorsed by Justin Long, a Hollywood actor added to Apple’s success. Apple has grown as a brand community and created social positioning. The brand addressed the resistance that was associated with Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez and the Dalai Lama and created hedonic experiences and sought technological innovation (Stratton & Northcote, 2014).
According to the Brand Community Triad, customers are the central component of brand communities. There are several relations that are considered by the brand community: between customer and another customer, customer and product, customer and brand, and customer and marketer (Lee & Kang, 2013). Firstly, as customer-customer relation, brand communities help in bringing people together and it is important for a community to create a connection between customers if they interest in a specific brand. Secondly, as customer- product relation, the customers share their extraordinary experiences of the product with the company. Thirdly, as customer-brand relation, the brand communities are formed because of specific brand interest. Lastly, as customer-marketer relations, the employers of other companies may participate in community building by creating campaigns, festivals and meetings (Lee & Kang, 2013). In reality, a brand community is a business strategy and not a marketing strategy. The companies often commit a mistake of isolating their community building functions. For example, Harley Davidson motorcycle is metonymic rather than definitive. In the year 1985, Harley-Davidson experienced buyback which helped in saving the company from the Japanese competition (Stratton & Northcote, 2014). The management formulated the brand community tool as a competitive strategy that helped them in sustaining in the market. Harley has been building a strong brand community based on people’s lifestyle, taste and ethos. Currently, there are over a million members who believe in the strength of the company. The company provided a radical redesign and addressed the demand, produce and support for the community (Stratton & Northcote, 2014).
According to the consumer culture theory, the customers play a role in co-creating value, competition and become active collaborators in the innovation process of an organization. There are various co-productive activities based on lifestyle, brand, web-communication and brand fests (Stratton & Northcote, 2014). With the organizational efforts, the brand users become fans, and fans become devotees. Lomo, a Russian camera company with few adjustable options and inexpensive lenses have undertaken the brand community. The company has become the iconic of experimental analog cameras. The community merged with Holga to create on dual-brand community (Kuo & Feng, 2013). Both the users of companies were encouraging each other to continue their effect trials. The products are sold at an expensive price on online sites by the resale of toy cameras. The company has developed its online posting styles over the years. The users of Lomo post their galleries of lomography demonstrating the technological sophistication of the cameras. Every brand must believe in itself. BMW automobile confers itself and has a strong psychological connection with the consumers as they believe in themselves. Other niche companies such as Nike, Porsche and Microsoft have a tendency to underdog the other corporate giants. The owners of BMW are primarily interested in the status and distinctiveness of the brand. In the earlier days, the company was in debt and was losing money. They had an economic downfall and the cars were not sold. However, the company organized various club events (Skålén, Pace, & Cova, 2015).
Another theory is tribal branding in which the marketers can benefit significantly from the consumer devotion to the brands. The neotribes are the ascetic and effervescent group towards the future or in the past. The people of these tribes hold a common wisdom or organic aspect towards the brand (Stratton & Northcote, 2014).. The consumer tribes are tied together with a sense of passion and emotional tie due to the consumption of brand. The consumer tribes are seen as action sets where there are group interactions or activities. A very good example of a consumer tribe is the club or forums. Football has the most loyal fans and it is said that one shall never walk alone according to the Liverpool chant. The football fans have a stereotypical loyalty towards the game and the people are extremely passionate towards it. Having fans fulfils the need of sharing and belonging. Football brands such as Liverpool, Manchester United have a wide number of fans worldwide. Not only Manchester United has a worldwide fan-based sporting team, but the company has extended its limit as a television station namely Manchester United Television (MUTV), soccer school, and Theatre of Dreams leisure complex in Hong Kong (Stratton & Northcote, 2014).. This is why the company has now become an indistinguishable sporting brand community. It is important for them to understand that the best strategy is to understand the direction in which their fans are headed and pursuing those directions shall help in strengthening the brand community. It is admirable that a sporting brand community put so much effort to raise its profile as a sporting brand (Stratton & Northcote, 2014).
According to the attribution theory, people have certain behaviour due to situational or personal characteristics. There are three basic forms of community affiliation- pools, hubs and webs (Kuo & Feng, 2013). The members of pools are united by shared goals such as Apple devotees or democrats. The pools deliver benefits only to a limited community. The web affiliations are based on one-to-one social connections which are considered as the most appropriate and social forms. Nike provides peer-to-peer support by interacting with members and strengthens its pool and hubs. The companies embrace competition and make the brand communities thrive. The strong companies shall reinforce competitive rivalry and engage with its customers (Ewing, Wagstaff, & Powell, 2013). For example, Pepsi gave a tough competition to Coca Cola through its Pepsi Challenge. The brand communities only become stronger by highlighting the limits that define them and not erasing the parameters (Skålén, Pace, & Cova, 2015).
In the current world, social media plays a critical role in giving the organizations a buzz. The online social networks serve as valuable community functions. The transient and shallow nature of social relationships can lead to a weak bond. Companies such as L’oreal follow tactics and strategies such as in-store customer bulletin board and employee volunteerism that helps in building strong communities. Brand communities are a form of controlling illusion. The companies build a design philosophy and balancing the structure. Often people join brand communities to build new relationships and they are interested in creating social links (Brodie et al., 2013).
Conclusively, any brand can form a community strategy but it is not possible for every brand to pull it off. For executing the brand community effectively, there is a need of organization-wide comment and effort to go beyond the functional boundaries. The organizations need to re-examine their company values so that they can meet people to agree on their terms and accept their package. A strong brand community helps in strengthening customer loyalty, decreasing the marketing costs and yielding higher revenue. If the brand community is set right, the benefits gained shall be irrefutable. Brand communities are not necessary for a business to succeed, but a set of passionate customers can be generated due to formation of strong brand communities.
References
Brodie, R., Ilic, A., Juric, B., & Hollebeek, L. (2013). Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis. Journal Of Business Research, 66(1), 105-114. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.029
Businessinsider.com,. (2016). From The ‘Apple Lisa’ To The U2 iPod: Apple Products That Totally Flopped. Businessinsider.com. Retrieved 1 September 2016, from https://www.businessinsider.com/10-old-apple-products-that-totally-failed-2013-11?IR=T#the-power-mac-g4-cube-2000-2001-9
Ewing, M., Wagstaff, P., & Powell, I. (2013). Brand rivalry and community conflict. Journal Of Business Research, 66(1), 4-12. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.017
Hur, W., Ahn, K., & Kim, M. (2011). Building brand loyalty through managing brand community commitment. Management Decision, 49(7), 1194-1213. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00251741111151217
Kuo, Y. & Feng, L. (2013). Relationships among community interaction characteristics, perceived benefits, community commitment, and oppositional brand loyalty in online brand communities.International Journal Of Information Management, 33(6), 948-962. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2013.08.005
Lee & Myung Soo Kang,. (2013). The Effect of Crisis and Consumer Loss Type on Consumer Brand Relationship and Brand Attitude: With a Focus on Recovery Action Type and Brand Personality. Journal Of Consumption Culture, 16(3), 147-167. https://dx.doi.org/10.17053/jcc.2013.16.3.007
Marzocchi, G., Morandin, G., & Bergami, M. (2013). Brand communities: loyal to the community or the brand?. European Journal Of Marketing, 47(1/2), 93-114. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090561311285475
Skålén, P., Pace, S., & Cova, B. (2015). Firm-brand community value co-creation as alignment of practices. European Journal Of Marketing, 49(3/4), 596-620. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ejm-08-2013-0409
Stratton, G. & Northcote, J. (2014). When totems beget clans: The brand symbol as the defining marker of brand communities. Journal Of Consumer Culture, 16(2), 493-509. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1469540514528194.
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