second , the brand must live its core values, outside and in-including inside the Twitterverse.
For instance, when-after supporting the gay marriage bill-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz responded to a complaining shareholder in clear terms by saying "sell your shares if you want; we stand for diversity," it was a statement of living the brand (Stuart,2013)McDonald's is cool and people love the brand,but because it is likely the most successful purveyor of deeply satisfying junk food, its attempt to portray young families eating salad and non-dripping burgers is viewed as inauthentic on Twitter.
Attributions of authenticity (with 'fakeness'as an antonym) should not be confused with the grounded -versus-pretentious dichotomy. Brands can be authentically grounded or authentically pretentious,as long as they live their core values without apology. For instance, Whole Foods is entitled and authentically pretentious,or cosmopolitan. It unabashedly embraces its identity:more city than country; more European import than F150;more hemp and pastels than polyester; more 'leat exotictofu ' than greasy spoon;more 'I am not really a victim of famine,I just look one'; and less Hostess cupcakes and XXL. No real person may fit this caricature,but among other things? Whole Foods ' refusal to disguise or mislabel genetically modified foods suggests the company live its values , and unapologetically so (e.g.,"Whole Foods,"2013)Conversely , Sony's appeal,"please take me seriously; I can also do what Apple does "is viewed mostly as an apology.
4. Why do some Twitter users entify brand?
Not all Twitter users are equally prone to entificatory attributions;some are more indifferent than others. While many cases may underline this motivation,we can identify two characteristics that are innate to users likely to entify brands. First, Twitter users more afflicted with the fear of missing out,or FOMO, seem likelier to interact with and entity brands.
The dreadful fear that something interesting is going on the Twitterverse -that someone else may have something critically important to share, which may hold tantalizing potential for entertainment or connectedness to others-is a factor that drives relentless Twitter usage. Among some of our students, Twitter doesn't interfere with life, life interrupts Twitter usage. Second, Twitter users more afflicted with the fear of being ignored,or FONI,seem likelier to interact with and entify brands. Some Twitter users fear they will not matter to anyone If they have nothing to say on Twitter" if I do not tweet,am not " Marantz Henig and Henig (2013)write about a person active on social networks,who upon discovering something smart to say immediately wishes for access to Twitter so that her intelligence can be shared.Tweeting expressions of love often reserved for celebrities emerges as a convenient, easy way of alleviating the FOMO and FOBI that heavy Twitter users likely feel.
5. Consequences of entification
We can identify two consequences of entification that are likely to interest brand managers .
First,users seem to censor their negative comments about entified brands; they don't want a celebrity with whom they have a personal relationship to think poorly of them.Users may mock buyers of Starbucks coffee, but rarely Starbucks itself.Users mock whole foods, but with mild rather than vicious critique.For instance,on March 19,2014 a follower tweeted: whole Foods should sell a lifestyle magazine called "congratulations, you can Afford This "In a similar vein,on March 18,2014, a follower tweeted:sometimes I'm scared a lady in a nice pant suit will beat me up in the Whole Foods parking lot.Another follower, on March 19,2013, tweeted:there are some great deals to be had at whole Foods. This week only you can finance an avocado with no money down.this type of Twitter chatter is characteristic of an entified brand. Users are bound to the community of people following the brand in ways that the colluded,if implicitly, to say positive things:"Because you are entified, we are reluctant to lash out against you." Speaking ill of an entified brand products the same anxiety as speaking ill of a person of exalted status: it produces embarrassment. Our focus group participants noted:
I definitely wouldn't want them [the brand] to see it if I said something bad about them;I'd be embarrassed.
If I said something bad about them [referring to an entified brand], I would be embarrassed
Users don't want the brand to know they do not like them : if I wanted to complain, I definitely would not put their Twitter name in it or hashtag them .
I would not use the brand 's handle unless there was a special reason l wanted them to see it or it was super awesome
I didn't hashtag them . I didn't hit that @symbol, like actually tweeted their account. I just mentioned them. I guess I wasn't really expecting them to answer.i was venting. I wish they hadn't read it, because it