GETTING BRAND COMMUNITIESRIGHT

Group 7 – House BrannistersDeepika l Harsh l Kunika l Rohan l Shubham

BRAND COMMUNITYSOMETHING YOU PARTICIPATE IN

WHAT IS BRAND COMMUNITY

A specialized community of

consumers and employees

whose identification and

activities focus around the

brand

THREE CHARACTERISTICS

Consciousness of a kind

Shared rituals and traditions

A Shared moral responsibility

ADVANTAGES

Customer insight

Increased product

knowledge

Customer satisfaction

Brand loyalty

Customer engagement

CHALLENGES

Funding

and

resource

allocation

Negative

association

Challenges

in brand

extension

Internal

resistance

Synergies

MARKETING LINK

FUNCTIONAL VALUE

ECONOMIC VALUE

EMOTIONAL VALUE

Brand

community

Three types

of value

FINANCIAL BOND

SOCIAL BOND

STRUCTURAL BOND

Brand

Community

Three types of

bonds

MASLOW’S NEED HEIRARCHY

Brand

communities

address the

needs of love

and

belongingnes

s

BRAND RESONANCE MODEL

Community

and active

engagement

part of

resonance

BR

AN

D

CO

MM

UN

ITY

BUSINESS STRATEGY MARKETING STRATEGY BRAND COMMUNITY

BRAND COMMUNITY: Exists to serve the people, not the business

Shared activity/goal/value & loose connection with one another

Strong personal relationships with people having complementary needs

Strong connections to a central figure, weaker associations with each other

Engineer the community, the brand will become stronger!

Brand communities are not love-fests for faithful brand advocates.

Smart companies embrace the conflicts that make communities thrive.

Back-up

Partner

AccountantHistorian

Talent

Scout

AmbassadorSupporter

Performer

Story-teller

CatalystGreeter

Guide

Decision

maker

Celebrity Provider

Mentor

Hero

Learner

Opinion leaders build strong communityCommunities are strongest when everyone plays a role

Online networks are just one tool, not a communication strategy

Tactics vary, but the goal is to connect with the people

Mainstream brand of authority:Heavy TV advertising

Niche brand of authority:Online and face-to-face advertising

Mainstream brand of conversation:Hub figures strengthen brand pool

Niche brand of conversation:Grass root advertising

Successful brand communities are tightly managed and controlledOf and by the people, communities defy managerial control

Smart companies define the terms of their community participation but discard their illusions of control

STEPS TO BUILD A BRAND COMMUNITY

Know Thy Customer

Create a message and positioning

Use positive emotions

Create Unique contentEmpower community members

ELEMENTS OF A STRONG BRAND COMMUNITY

Strong Brand Story/Myth Need for Collaboration

Unique CultureIdentifiable Brand Elements

ORGANIC V/S INORGANIC COMMUNITIES

ORGANIC

• Created by customers• Born out of passion or love for the

brand• Don’t self promote & grow by word of

mouth• No control

INORGANIC

• Created by companies• Born to serve specific purpose

(promote, sell)• Rely on self promotion for their

growth• Focussed and controlled

ONLINE BRAND COMMUNITIES

Increasing use of internet influencing customers to follow brands online.

Non-geographically bounded based on social relationships

Makes easy for brand followers to interact with each other

Followers can interact with more no of people easily

Easy to get additional information on the brand

BRAND COMMUNITIES IN INDIA

• Limited examples of Indian brands with a tribe like following

• The strongest as per Brandz study of Millward Brown :-

V/S

India’s Top Three Global Top Three

• Brand communities help in building an emotional connect with the members

• Can be used as a strategy to build loyalty when faced with increasing competition ex. Nokia’s fall in 2010

BRANDS MAKING A STATEMENT

Creating a sense of belonging and felt connection

BRAND MODI AND THE “BHAKTS” COMMUNITY

• Brand strength – 35.1 Million ‘likes’ on Facebook; 21.6 Million followers on Twitter

• Large, passionate and energized community of supporters

• Continuously engaged through tweets, photos and initiatives like Mann Ki Baat, Chai Pe Charcha etc.

BITSAA – STRENGTHENING BRAND ‘BITS PILANI’

• Started in 2000 and has emerged as one of the strongest alumni networks in India

• Organizes city meets, lectures, seminars for alums to facilitate networking

• A thriving online community with membership of over 30,000 alums across 50+ batches

“The true value of BITSAA is that if you're ever in trouble, 30,000 alums are there to help. This is worth more than anything else this organization can give you .” – Sandeep Arora, BITSAA Founder

OLD MONK – INDIA’S FAVOURITE RUM• Launched in 1954 by Ghaziabad-based

Mohan Meakin

• Sales of 8 million cases in 2008 – highest in IMFL category

• Brand never resorted to any form of advertising; sales driven solely through word of mouth and loyalty of customers

• Its followers have created FB groups where stories are shared and a ‘community’ thrives

• Rumors of the brand shutting operations caused uproar among fans; multiple tribute videos on Youtube

BRANDING RELIGION - HINDUISM

• Religions are probably the most valuable brands in the world, having survived the test of times

• India’s spiritual and religious market estimated to be over $40 Billion *

• 330 Million Gods in India; large no. of followers that are price-inelastic

• Annual donations of 20 largest temples - INR 5000 Crores

• Every organized religion offers three key benefits to its followers :-1. a set of core beliefs and values2. symbols, myths, and rituals3. relationships with members of a like-minded community

Source - Economic Times

These also happen to be the core elements of a brand community