By focusing on brand communities metaphor gives branding new meaning. A brand audience is often referred to when speaking about the customers and prospects associated with a specific product, service or business. The fundamental fault with this reference to an audience is the assumption that these individuals are passively awaiting your brand to market to them.
A more accurate assumption would be that these individuals are regularly interacting with either your brand or that of your competitors as they go about their daily lives. They are a community of people that interact with your brand and with each other. Why else do you think word-of-mouth marketing and social networking are effective means of promoting your brand? Its because members of a brand community, be it formal or informal, are actively engaged with one another as they are addressing issues in their everyday lives.
These issues can be as simple as, what product to use when washing their clothes or as complex as, what approach to take when turning their business around. Ultimately a decision is arrived at when the individual is actively seeking a solution or when discussing the issue with a friend or colleague. The point is that these interactions are the basis for defining a community around your brand.
For new business inquiries:
contact Suzanne Beane, svp, chief strategy officer at:
513.723.0290 or 1.877.723.6382
