Do you love your car, your iPhone, your PC?

Are you part of a brand community? If you are a devout Apple product user and you see someone else using an iPhone or working off their iPad, do you identify with that person and think that you have something in common with them? You may even take it one step further and actively seek out others who covet similar brands, engage in discussion boards, blogs even face to face meetings where you form personal connections with others based on the simple fact that you both own or like the same brand. Strong bonds and actual communal sub-groups can form from brand admirers (Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001).
Since brand communities are not geographically bound and are founded in social relationships that are formed from the affinity for a certain brand (Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001), it’s only natural that these communities should evolve into the social media space (Hollingshead, et al., 2012). Although social media platforms would seem to be a natural place for brand communities to form, Hollingshead, et al. (2008) report neither brand users nor companies have fully utilized social media sites to promote and grow brand communities.
So, I ask you to think about a brand that you like, I mean really, really like. It can be a car, clothing, food or even and organization, like Livestrong. What lengths would you go to show your love for this brand and would you seek out others who also had an affinity for this brand? If, indeed, you do have a brand that influences you, do you wear their message on your body in the form of a t-shirt, hat, wristband? Do you have a sticker on your car that claims your support of a non-profit or a political party? Now, let’s take it one step further. If you do have these things and are proud of the fact that you own or support something, would you or do you engage with others who also support this? If so, you are part of a brand community.

Brand communities act pretty much like other communities, without the taxes. Members of brand communities discuss what the like about products, suggest ways to make products better and some even go so far as to protect and help each other in times of need. Muniz & O’Guinn (2008) tell an interesting story about a member of a Saab brand community. An individual saw a car broken down on a dark highway. He noticed, as he passed, that the car was a Saab and stopped to help the motorist. He reported that if the car had been any other brand, he would’ve kept on driving. That, my friends, is a prime example of a dedicated brand community member. This person put themselves in danger simply because the disabled car was a Saab. Does the helper think Saab drivers can’t be serial killers? Let’s not forget that Saab driver or not, someone needed help, and if it were not for the Saab logo glinting off the brand community member’s headlights, the person in need would have had to wait for someone else to come along – maybe a Ford, Toyota, Nissan or BMW brand community member.

So, if you love a brand or support a cause, I encourage you to seek out others who love it just as much. Start a Facebook page or Twitter account and engage like-mined folk. You might make some friends. You might even be saved from spending a cold, lonely night on a deserted highway.

Muniz, A. M. & O’Guinn, T. C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of Consumer

Research, (27), 412-432.

Hollingshead, A. B., Sanders, W. S., Kim, Y. J., Meng, J., & Pade, C. S. (2012).

Interactivity and social media integration in online brand communities: An

analysis of the top 100 global brands. University of Southern California