Brand Communities
A brand community refers to “a group of ardent consumers organized around the lifestyle, activities,
and ethos of the brand” (Fournier & Lee, 2009). Strong brand communities are formed on the basis of
understanding the individual and social needs of consumers, and connect consumers along these lines
through affiliation with the brand itself. In order for a brand community to be a success – in that it elicits a
high level of consumer loyalty, marketing efficiency, and brand authenticity – firms must incorporate
brand communities into their overall business strategies, focus on engineering the community rather than
building the brand, and allow community members to manage and control themselves, defining only the
terms of participation (Fournier & Lee, 2009). Brand communities provide a platform through which
consumers can share information and experiences regarding a certain product or service; this in turn
provides marketers with a means for identifying consumer needs and promoting brand loyalty
involvement (Casalo et al., 2008). The effectiveness of a brand community may be measured in terms of
engagement indices, the size of the community, the loyalty garnered from members, and membergenerated
ideas for growing the business. Consumer participation in such virtual brand communities is
positively correlated with affective commitment to the brand itself, thereby providing marketers with a
cost-efficient way to retain customers and strengthen consumer ties