The brand meaning co-creation process on Facebook

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework for brand meaning co-creation between brands and fans on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach A case study methodology was applied. Brand posts in the form of text, pictures, videos and fan comments of three brand pages – Nike Run, Mizuno and Jack Daniel’s – were collected and analyzed in a netnographic manner. Seven influential fans of the Nike Run brand page, who were identified in the data, and one marketing manager of each brand were interviewed. Findings This paper shows how brand meanings are orchestrated by brand managers and co-created through a process in which the brand leads the dialog through several types of brand actions. It also shows how fans engage in this dialog through multiple forms of reactions. A brand page’s content should be curated by its manager based on the role of the content on fans’ lives and their potential reactions and not merely on the meanings that the brand desires to communicate. Research limitations/implications This paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding brand meaning co-creation at the micro-level of brand-fans daily interactions. Nevertheless, this study analyzed only three brand pages in two product categories – alcoholic beverages and running. Therefore, the authors do not claim that one can extrapolate from their findings. Practical implications The brand meaning co-creation process that is identified here provides a useful frame of reference for brand managers who seek to understand how they can best influence fans to co-create brand meanings in directions that benefit their companies. Originality/value This paper evolves with the co-creation of brand meanings literature by proposing a framework of brand meaning co-creation on Facebook. This framework can help brand managers to fine tune their content strategy in social media.

Negative brand meaning co‐creation in social media brand communities: A laddering approach using NVivo

“…Rosenthal, Pereira, and Brito () put forward a brand meaning co‐creation framework between brands and fans on Facebook by applying a case study methodology, with a view to identifying how brand communities may be curated by its managers. Their framework was based on the role content performs in fans’ lives and their potential reactions, over and above the projected brand meaning.…”

“…“Managers may evaluate whether the interactions on their brand pages are embedding brand meanings in a manner that is consistent with brand objectives. Managers can fine‐tune the content that is posted on their brand pages to obtain desired meanings” (Rosenthal et al, ).…”

Is Co-Creation Actionable in Marketing 3.0 a Review and Future Directions Perspective.

“…Co-creative base strategy can easily implement if there are mutual understanding between the various parties. A business organization need to understand that the co-creation can be meaningful on the basis of fans" participation if the paramount importance to organization in which the multiplicity of contents caused the organic reach of brands to significantly fall, (Rosenthal et. al, 2017).…”

“…By engaging with modern co-creation strategy, business companies regularly succeed in producing valuable, meaningful insights that allow for active enterprise learning and a direct integration of consumer experience and product preference. (Rosenthal et. al 2017).…”

What is happening to the brand?

“…The opening of the brand to social interactions inevitably leads to a loss of control: "the well-established and predominantly shared control-centric mindset of brand management, manifested through practices attempting to direct stakeholders on the 'right' ways of interpreting intended brand-related manifestations, needs to be disrupted" (Wider et al, 2018, p. 3). Branding should no longer be centred on the dogmas of control and persuasion but instead on the direction of orchestration of social interactions in a twofold meaning -on the one hand, in terms of influence with an aim (Fournier andAvery, 2011, Rosenthal andBrito, 2017), and on other hand, in terms of free reciprocity. In this new managerial mindset, the logic of improvisation should also be welcomed (Singh and Sonnenburg, 2012), along with the greater importance assigned to execution with respect to planning (Fournier and Avery, 2011).…”