We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Culture

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is a Brand Community?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 9,310
Share

Brand community is a community created independently or by a company to express shared interest in a particular product or “brand.” This is literally anything that stirs interest, such as a type of car, computer manufacturer, handheld device, or specific cookware. Community location can be online, or events could be held in the real world where brand enthusiasts can gather together. Company-sponsored events feature activities or engagements likely to be enjoyed by brand enthusiasts.

Throughout history, private individuals have formed enthusiast groups that center around activities or products. In recent years, companies have shown increasing interest in developing brand communities. Many companies do significant research to determine what interests people with brand loyalty share, and then they may create online communities or have events for brand loyalists in order to reinforce interest in the brand. This may create lifetime preferencing of the brand.

People who are loyal to a brand to the point where they would participate in a brand community can become a legion of word of mouth advertisers. They may passionately advocate that friends or family should drive a specific car or use a certain computer, in addition to buying the brand each time they require replacement. The more members of the brand community feel they are cared for by the company and other brand users, the more likely they’ll try to convince others to use the brand, too.

Construction of a brand community depends on the company, and constructions of these communities are not just aimed at passionate adults. X cereal company might build an interactive website to promote Chocolate Oats, which is aimed at children. It could provide access to some of the interests kids share, like a variety of small, easy to play games. To promote brand loyalty with parents, there could be links to nutritional information, parenting tips, etc., so that an entire family hopefully becomes a part of the community. How successful X cereal company is really depends on quality of the website and accuracy with which the company has gauged the interests of its brand loyalists.

Most types of the brand community are established online as part of a company website, but many companies also have events. Apple® Expo brings together brand loyalists with many demonstrations of products or introductions of new ones that can be very exciting to those interested in the brand. On the other hand, it tends to be easier and cheaper to make use of websites, and these can be considered Web 2.0 or interactive.

Some argue that brand community is not truly about brand; it’s about underlying interests. A few people suggest that when people no longer own the brand, they often stay involved in a community because of their connection to others or because the community speaks to underlying interests. This argument posits that loyalty to community becomes more important than loyalty to brand, and if so, company creation of communities doesn’t necessarily result in creating lifetime customers.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-a-brand-community.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.