Brand community

A brand community is a community formed on the basis of attachment to a product or marque. Recent developments in marketing and in research in consumer behavior result in stressing the connection between brand, individual identity and culture. Among the concepts developed to explain the behavior of consumers, the concept of a brand community focuses on the connections between consumers. A brand community can be defined as an enduring self-selected group of actors sharing a system of values, standards and representations (a culture) and recognizing bonds of membership with each other and with the whole. Brand communities are characterized in shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility.

The term "brand community" was first presented by Albert Muniz Jr. and Thomas C. O'Guinn in a 1995 paper for the Association for Consumer Research Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In a 2001 article titled "Brand community", published in the Journal of Consumer Research (SSCI), they defined the concept as "a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand". This 2001 paper has been acknowledged by Thomson Scientific & Healthcare to be one of the most cited papers in the field of economics and business.

In the advertising and marketing world, "brand community" has become a term used to encompass a brand's customers, fans and advocates. Having a strong and loyal brand community can turn a small brand into a success if it is nurtured and appreciated properly. Ad agency, Blade Creative Branding writes, "The people out in the marketplace who embrace the values of the brand, as customers and/or purchase influencers, are the brand's true "owners"." This philosophy has become especially popular with marketers creating and working on social media campaigns with easier interaction and more opportunities to tap into the brand community to leverage the brand.

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