Executive summary of “Examining brand communities among children and adolescents: an exploratory study”

Citation

(2014), "Executive summary of “Examining brand communities among children and adolescents: an exploratory study”", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 31 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-03-2014-0893

Executive summary of “Examining brand communities among children and adolescents: an exploratory study”

Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 31, Issue 2

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the material present.The existence of brand communities is well documented in marketing literature. Among the most eminent are those relating to such as Harley Davidson motorcycles and Apple computers. Membership of brand communities appears to have increased along with growth in the number of internet users.

Evidence also points to the development of online communities relating to children’s products. Salient examples here include Lego and Mattel sites where kids are able to communicate and share experiences with others about products associated with these brands. Marketers point out that children function as both current and future consumers, thus increasing the importance of these social communities. To date, however, research into brand communities has placed limited focus on children and teenage consumers.

One view is that brand communities have emerged to fill the gap created by the disappearance of the traditional community. They must therefore demonstrate the “shared consciousness” and “rituals and traditions” typical of the latter, and have the advantage of not being constrained by geographical boundaries. Advances in technology have greatly increased the opportunity to become involved with a brand community.

Researchers argue that brand communities can be either social or psychological in nature. Physical or virtual interaction characterizes the first type, while the latter form relates to how people connect with the brand or other individuals who use it. A brand community has been described as the “strongest psychological construct” indicating an association between consumer and brand. Personal and socio-cultural encounters help create this connection.

Children’s relationships with brands increase in both depth and intensity when they get older. They essentially progress from basic associations formed around seven and eight years-old to recognition of brand personalities when the child gets older. Adolescents perceive brands as being a key part of their identity and connections between self and brand grow in importance. Involvement with social media likewise ensures that brands shape their virtual persona. In these situations where consumption plays a leading role in someone’s psychological concept of self, it becomes likelier that teenagers will identify with and join a brand community.

A major incentive for becoming a member is to engage with other users of the brand who are consequently perceived as being similar to themselves. Affinity of this nature has been described as a “consciousness of kind” by certain scholars. Community members are also typically knowledgeable about the brand and see their relationship with it as strong. Perceiving features of themselves in the brand’s image is another common tendency.

Few attempts have been made to identify distinguishing traits of brand community members. However, some researchers argue against the notion of member homogeneity on the basis that different motives exist for joining a brand community. Some evidence does suggest though that certain individual characteristics might indicate the likelihood of involvement. Specifically, people who are open, outgoing and desire relationships seem likely to join.

How membership of a brand community impacts on the psychological health of adolescent consumers is subject to contrasting opinions. On the one hand, it is claimed that involvement improves quality of life as it functions similarly to membership of a traditional community. Others feel that limited social skills and low self-esteem might be evident among those who join. Anxiety in social situations is common during teenage years and this is evident in discomfort experienced when encountering unfamiliar people and situations. There is likewise a strong desire to impress and be accepted by peers and significant others. One consequence of this is compliance with group norms and customs such as those relating to product preference and purchase decisions. It is pointed out how operating with a virtual environment might help to alleviate these anxieties and fears due to the impersonal nature of interaction.

Although empirical evidence is limited, different researchers purport that adolescent brand community members generally enjoy greater social well-being and satisfaction both as a consumer and with life overall.

Swimberghe et al. selected personal gaming systems (PGS) as being a product category that would prompt children and teenagers to form associations with likeminded others. Statistics showing ownership of gaming consoles and handheld gaming devices is increasing along with time spent on the activity corroborates this choice of product.

Survey data was collected from subjects between 7 and 18 years-old and parents who could advise but not influence their children’s replies. Participants had to own a PGS and 252 usable responses were obtained. Adolescents provided information about a range of issues including materialism, social anxiety, proneness to interpersonal influence, life satisfaction and market knowledge. Questions relating to materialism and indirect influence were aimed at parents, who also provided demographic information and details of time spent by their children on television, internet and gaming activities.

Brand community identification, quality of brand relationship and brand knowledge were used to cluster adolescent subjects into high brand community (HBC), neutral and low brand community groups. The groups respectively had 59, 127 and 66 members. When comparing time spent playing on gaming systems, HBC generally spent the most hours each day followed by neutral and low brand community counterparts.

The authors aim to build a profile of a typical adolescent brand community member and analysis of the data suggested that, compared to those identified as belonging to neutral or low brand community groups, such individuals were prone to:

spend more time shopping and discuss their purchase behavior with parents;

are knowledgeable about market information and regard themselves as market mavens;

be skeptical towards advertising;

seen by their parents as having direct and indirect influence on family purchase decisions; and

hold materialistic values and obtain satisfaction from buying things.

There was no indication that demographic differences influence the likelihood of joining a brand community. The only exception was the prevalence of male HBC teenagers, but Swimberghe et al. attribute that to the product category. A similar conclusion was reached about resource availability and technology usage given that the amount of time spent online or watching television also appeared insignificant. In view of such indications, the authors point out that marketers will have to go beyond population statistics in order to accurately identify adolescent brand community members.

Evidence here suggests that being highly involved in a brand community can increase overall life satisfaction for adolescents. Having the chance to interact with likeminded others is a possible reason for this. The possibility of networks providing “social value” to adolescent members has also been noted in research circles. However, since low self-esteem in adolescents has been linked to materialism the risk of social anxiety and depression bouts is greater than with peers who are less involved. Such individuals may lack the confidence for face-to-face contact, especially in unfamiliar situations. Engaging in brand communities serve as a substitute for in-person interactions and can help play a key role in the socialization process. Virtual brand communities are seen as ideal in this respect.

The exploratory nature of this work is pointed out by Swimberghe et al. Additional research could therefore consider different product categories and investigate the types of brand communities teenagers might join. Determining antecedent and outcome variables of brand community involvement is another area to explore, along with how adolescent membership of such communities impacts on marketing efforts.

To read the full article, enter 10.1108/JCM-08-2013-0685 into your search engine.(A précis of the article “Examining brand communities among children and adolescents: an exploratory study”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)