Student questions
1 Under which circumstances does a relationship between a marketer and
multiple consumers exist?
2 Under which circumstances would a brand community exist in the same case?
3 Name some of the appealing qualities of the Apple Newton brand in a brand
community context.
4 How can the Apple Newton brand community affect the Apple brand?
5 What does it take for a brand community to turn into a subculture of
consumption?
6 Which brand perspective does the ethnographic tradition add to brand
management?
7 Which research design would you create for tapping into the shared brand
meaning of an Internet-based community?
8 Which research design would you apply to the study of a car club?
9 How does the Libresse marketer manage to create a brand community around
an FMCG?
References and further reading
Key readings are in bold type.
Algesheimer, R., Dholakia, U. M. and Herrmann, A. (2005) ‘The social influence of brand
community: evidence from European car clubs’, Journal of Marketing, 69 (July): 19–34
Brown, S., Kozinets, R. V. and Sherry, J. F., Jr (2003) ‘Teaching old brands new tricks: retro
branding and the revival of brand meaning’, Journal of Marketing, 67 (July): 19–33
Hackley, C. (2003) Doing Research Projects in Marketing, Management and Consumer
Research,London: Routledge
Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (1994) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 2nd edn,
London: Routledge
Kozinets, R. V. (1997) ‘“I want to believe”: a netnography of the X-philes’ subcultures of
consumption’, Advances in Consumer Research, 24: 470–5
Kozinets, R. V. (2002) ‘The field behind the screen: using netnography for marketing
research in online communities’, Journal of Marketing Research, 39 (February): 61–72
McAlexander, J. H. and Schouten, J. W. (1998) ‘Brandfests: servicescapes for the cultivation
of brand equity’, in J. Sherry, Jr (ed.), ServiceScapes, Chicago: NTC Business Books
McAlexander, J. H., Schouten, J. W. and Koenig, H. F. (2002) ‘Building brand community’,
Journal of Marketing, 66 (January): 38–55
Mariampolski, H. (2006) Ethnography for Marketers: a Guide to Consumer Immersion,
Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications
Muñiz, A. M., Jr, and O’Guinn, T. C. (1995) ‘Brand Community and the Sociology of
Brands’, paper presented to the 1995 Association for Consumer Research annual
conference. Minneapolis MN
Muñiz, A. M. Jr, and O’Guinn, T. C. (2001) ‘Brand community’, Journal of Consumer
Research, 27 (March): 412–31
O’Guinn, T. C. and Muñiz, A. M., Jr. (2005) ‘Communal consumption and the brand’, in S.
Ratneshwar and D. G. Mick (eds) Inside Consumption: Consumer Motives, Goals, and
Desires, London: Routledge
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