Brand Communities and Consumer Behaviour

For everyday consumers, brands have become an integral and almost necessary part of our daily lives as consumers of products and services. Brand loyalty shows a positive attitude to the products and services in which we all buy and consume. This could mean patronising a favourite restaurant or purchasing a particular type of breakfast cereal that you enjoy. In this blog, my aim is to understand the idea and activity of brand communities. For our purposes, we shall be focusing predominantly on Apple, as a chosen brand community of choice. Additionally, we shall uncover both the negative and positive aspects of brand communities.

Some definitions of brand communities….

According to Muniz and O’Guinn (2001), a brand community is described as “a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand.” The authors  postulate three key characteristics of a brand community: shared consciousness, rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility.

 

For many consumers of electronics products, Apple is a leading, global brand, a culture unto itself in many respects. Very few people have the same level of enthusiasm when taking a trip down to the local supermarket to purchase a packet of cereal or biscuits. What precisely makes Apple stand out or appeal to its customer base, is the promise of delivering quality, cutting-edge products to its global clientele.

 

Why does Apple appeal so much to consumers? 

Brand Community Ideas….

Niche Brands:

Most are niche companies rather than mass-market leaders, e.g. Apple vs. Microsoft, Vans vs. Nike, Porsche vs. BMW. People have a tendency to support an underdog struggling against corporate giants.

Product Focus:

The focus of a brand community is typically on a specific product or service rather than a conglomeration of brands and business units. Brand’s are really the essential ingredient in stimulating the development of a community. The brand can be a specific product or can represent the entire company. In Apple’s case there is a common denominator of computing that underlies all of its hardware and software products.

Communication Networks:

A strong communications network is commonly found in the brand community. Communities use web sites, newsletters, e-mail and meetings to keep communication strong among members. Electronic communication is becoming the key ingredient in building the networks. For global communities and those that are not geographic specific, this is an essential ingredient.

 

What are your opinions or perspectives? 

 

References:

Schiffman, L, O’Cass, A, Paladino, A, Carlson, J, 2014, Consumer Behaviour, 6th edn, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Lee, L., Fournier, S., 2009, Getting Brand Communities Right, Harvard Business Review, 14 May 2016, <http://www.wsuakpsi.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Brand-community-3.pdf&gt;

Mcalexander, J, Schouten J, Koenig H, 2002, Building Brand Community, Journal of Marketing, vol 66, pp38-54

 

Ethical Considerations for Fellow Marketers: A peaceful co-existence or conflict of interest?

What is an ethical marketer? How can one be more ethical in their profession?

Ethics and moral judgement is an essential component for anyone engaging in business activities, in our case, marketing practices. We may often think that ethical guidelines and personal moral compasses are somewhat exempt from business activity and commercial affairs.This could only be further from the truth. My aim is to discuss a variety of different schools of ethical thought and the ways in which they ought to be applied to real-life business scenarios. One main school of thought that shall be discussed is, Utilitarianism. Above all, my intention is not to provide an absolute or orthodox truth about a ‘right’ ethic, rather to provoke thought.

Utilitarian ethics and marketing: 

Lets take a little look at the Utilitarian perspective….

Utilitarians believe that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the amount of good things (such as pleasure and happiness) in the world and decreasing the amount of bad things (such as pain and unhappiness). They reject moral codes or systems that consist of commands or taboos that are based on customs, traditions, or orders given by leaders or supernatural beings. Instead, utilitarians think that what makes a morality be true or justifiable is its positive contribution to human (and perhaps non-human) beings.

“Marketing is human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange process” (Kotler and Turner, 1981).

Does the statement above constitute a Utilitarian perspective of marketing? Here is my perspective, so what are your ideas?

Interestingly, this definition is its almost entirely utilitarian aspect. This characteristic is typical of marketing whose central theme, ever since its very first definitions, has been the satisfaction of the needs of consumers. Since the satisfaction of consumers’ needs is the final objective of marketing, one would be inclined to believe that the ethical approach which dominates is, for the most part, utilitarian.

What about the possibility of ethical consumerism?

References:

Kotler, P, Turner, R. 1981, Marketing Management, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Schiffman, L, O’Cass, A, Paladino, A, Carlson, J, 2014, Consumer Behaviour, 6th edn, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, NSW, AUS.

Arnold, C, 2009, Ethical Marketing and the New Consumer, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, West Essex, UK.

Masters, T and Media, D 2016, Ethical Considerations of Marketing Research, Smallbusiness.chron.com,Viewed 5 May 2016, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethical-considerations-marketing-research-43621.html