Generating brand culture in online brand communities

Dr. Sharon Schembri

The University of Texas – Pan American, USA

s.schembrist@utpa.edu

Lorien Latimer

Griffith University, Queensland Australia

Collective e-brand cultures…?

● Consumers are increasingly performing the role of producers

● Social media

● Online brand communities → e-tribes!

● What does that mean for brand culture?

How do consumers collectively generate

online brand culture?Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Postmodern consumers

● Postmodernism:

● Fragmentation

● Loss of commitment

● Decentering of subject/object

● Reversal of consumption and production(Firat and Venkatesh, 1995; Firat, Dholokia, and Venkatesh, 1995)

● Postmodern consumers

● Multiple selves

● Collage of fragmented representations of selves and preferences

● Consumption is the vehicle that enables consumer to be producers of self

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Symbols for sale (Levy 1959)

● Consumption is the vehicle that enables consumer to be producers of self…

…and symbolic meaning!

● Goods as an extension of self (Belk 1988)

● Consumption objects are polysemic symbolic resources (Holt 1995)

● Consumers form relationships with brands and brands are active relationship partners (Fournier 1998)

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Brand relationships● Brands serve as viable relationship partners

(Fournier 1998)

● Dimensions of brand love (Albert, Merunka, and Valette-Florence 2008; Carroll and Ahuvia 2006)

● Consumers share symbolic stories (Muniz and Shau 2006 )

● Storytelling links to social cohesion (Woodside, Sood, and Miller 2008)

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Brand community and tribalism

● Brand community Muniz and O’Guinn (2001)

McAlexander, Schouten, and Koening (2002)

Cova, Pace, and Park (2007)

Wippenfurth (2005)

Schembri (2009)

● Brand cult (Belk and Tumbat 2005)

● e-tribes (Kozinets 1999)

How do consumers collectively generate

online brand culture?

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Methodological assumptions

● Consumption is a social and cultural phenomenon (Arnould and Thompson 2005)

● Research focus is consumer experience (Thompson, Locander, and Polio 1989)

● Interpretivist approach → netnography (Kozinets 1998, 2002, 2006)

Research context : www.behance.net

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Entering the virtual space

www.behance.net

● An online community for creative industry professionals to interact and share their creative work with fellow professionals, potential employers, top creative companies, and editors Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Netnographic method

● Kozinets (2002)

1. Cultural entrée● 3 weeks of covert observation

● Enables identification of voice, style, structure

2. Clearance as overt researcher● Participant observation began

3. Analysis and interpretation● Sorting and resorting of text

4. Member checks● Hermeneutic nod

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Emergent themes

● Construction of self

● Emotional relationships

o Member-brand relationships

oMember-member relationships

● Storytelling

● Rituals

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Construction of self

“I'm a freelance illustrator and designer from

Malaysia where I was born and raised with

love (for almost 26years). My artworks are

mostly inspired by nature and each of them

are like my journal: they carry some of my

emotions from time to time and have their

own stories to tell :D”

[Malaysian picture book illustrator]

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Emotional relationshipsMember-brand relationships

“I am privileged to be in

Behance. The level of

quality and talent is the best

in the world, there is simply

no better network for

professionals. I view my

own work differently and

aim higher as a result of

being in the network. It's

simply amazing!”

[New York cinematographer]

Member-member relationships

“[Artist’s name] your stuff

is amazing... I’ve been

studying your work for

years. Enjoy it to the

fullest.”

[Californian web designer]Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Storytelling

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

“Big pat on the back...I thought for a minute

'yawn' yet more artistic photography...How

wrong...yet so B******** cool...loving the use

of foodstuffs etc etc!!!!!..Great work!”[Japanese graphic artist]

Ritualistic practices

● Liking and commenting

● Scoring

stars, plus signs, numbers, emoticons

“Respect! Your score: 1000000 points”

“Niceeeee... ++++”

● Daily visits

“[Behance is]…a place we like to wander around

whenever we have a spare second.”

(Romanian web designer)Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Contribution to theory

How do consumers collectively generate

online brand culture?

1. Construction of self● Belk (1988); Schau and Gilly (2003)

2. Emotional relationships● Fournier (1998)

● Cova (1997)

3. Storytelling● Woodside et al. (2008)

4. Ritualistic practices● Cova (1997); Cova et al. (2007); Cova and Dalli (2009)

Schembri and Latimer (2013)

Practical implications

● consumers construct brand culture through member-brand interaction …

…and co-construct brand culture through member-member interaction

● Understanding experiential generation of brand culture is an avenue to authentically strengthen brand experience

Schembri and Latimer (2013)