ALBERT M. MUÑIZ, JR.DEPAUL UNIVERSITY

YUN MI ANTORINIAARHUS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS,

UNIVERSITY OF AARHUS

ACROCTOBER, 2011 

Collecting the Collectives: Refining and Extending

Brand Community

Conceptual context

After ten+ years of research, what the @#$%! do we know? Lots of interesting work

• Broderick, Maclaran & Ma, 2003; McAlexander, Kim & Roberts, 2003; Algesheimer, Dholakia & Herrmann, 2005; Muñiz & Schau, 2005; Cova & Pace, 2006; Carlson, Suter & Brown 2007; Ouwersloot & Odekerken-Schröder, 2007; Fournier & Lee, 2009; Schau, Muñiz & Arnould, 2009

Still a need for conceptual clarity 1) Over-use of the term 2) politics of competing terms and constructs 3) competing terms too often presented as an all or

nothing sort of thing.

Conceptual context

In search of a multidimensional typology that includes ideal types of community, tribes and subcultures.  Advantages (Lesage & Wechlter, 2007):

helps researchers identify the studies related to their question of research.

helps formalize the fields of research passed and future directions

We contribute to the typology by proposing a preliminary classification for different types of brand community.

The method to our madness

The Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOL) brand community In 1998 the LEGO Group launched the LEGO

Mindstorms RIS

The method to our madness

The Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL) brand community In 1998 the LEGO Group launched the LEGO

Mindstorms RIS Sales data showed that many adult males (not the target

market) bought and used the product. They were also innovating the product, frequently quite

significantly.

The method to our madness

Kekoa Proudfoot (1998), who was among the first to hack the RCX:

“While the RCX is certainly a fun and useful product out-of-box, it is even more exciting under the hood.”

A robot that writes (with a pen/pencil) on common paper tapes made for printing calculators or cash registers. By Mario Ferrari

Easter egg painter. Creator unknown

Plant sprikler, indirect fluid pump. By Mario Ferrari

The RCX turned into a musical instrument capable of playing 36 different notes, while using just a single RCX input port. By D. Sculley

A robot solving the 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube®.By JB Brown

The method to our madness

The Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOL) brand community Mostly men. But more women

are entering the scene. Typically in their 20-40s. Many have a technical/software

related background. TLG estimates that there are

over 70.000 active AFOLs in the world.

Self-declared LEGO purists. Take strong interest in the user

developed creation (the MOC).

The method to our madness

The Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOL) brand community Between 2003 and 2011, we engaged in multi-site,

ethnographic research.

Method Participant Observation Interviews

Conventions and local user groups/events

Online forums and sites

Online membership profiles

Member to member interviews

Face to Face/phone interviews

E-mail interviews

Amount/duration

82 hours2 hours of video 454 photosArtifact file (Belk et al., 1989) that included physical materials produced by AFOLs like for example event programs, posters, streamers, nametags, and T-shirts used at conventions and events.

Purposively sampled online conversation threads (16 in total) that addressed community membership, consumption activities related to the LEGO hobby, style of innovation, and information exchange among the experienced and less experienced builders. At the time of data collection all of the threads were accessible for the public.

Purposively sampled member profiles (24 in total) displayed on AFOL websites.24 informants had a membership profile either on Lugnet.com or Byggepladen.dk. These public accessible profiles provided background information of the informants.

Purposively sampled member to member interviews (10 in total) with high status AFOLs. Collected on a popular and widely read AFOL blog. The interviews were carried out by AFOLs who write for the blog. They provided insights about the style of innovation among “great builders”.

19 interviews46 hoursThe interviews addressed community member-ship, con-sumption activities related to the LEGO hobby, and understandings of the MOC and innovative work in general.

9 interviews*

Pages of text (db. spaced text, Times New Roman)

170 992 24 151 554 118

Toward a typology

Our study underscores the following: A dynamic and evolutionary perspective allows us to

study different forms of community. To drive comprehensiveness and depth, emic/etic

issues should be taken into account. The social and cultural context needs to be taken into

account, too.

An evolutionary perspective

Founding stage First growth stage Midlife stage Second growth stage90s - Late 90s - Around 2005 - Around 2008 -The term AFOL was first used in 1995 (on RTL, Usenet group).

The community consists of a small number of computer literate AFOLs who interacts via Usenet newsgroups.

Large online, regional community sites are established, feature forums that are centered on specialized interests.

Many new LEGO user groups are formed. These activities contribute to driving many AFOLs out of their “dark age”.

LEGO specific interests drive expansion of the community.

Many specialized sub-communities and blogs + photo sharing platforms see the light of the day.

Dramatic worldwide growth. ~70.000 active AFOLs.

Large online, global community sites established. Lots of offline events. Both gather people from all aspects of the hobby. Specialization continues to drive growth . Wide use of digital platforms .

Absence of community structures and organizing principles.

Few, very active, AFOLs drive the many new community initiatives and developments.

Several, very active AFOLs drive new community initiatives and developments. Loose, if any, coordination between the initiatives. User group structures are copied and existing online resources link the community together through shared practice.

A multitude of different and loosely coupled initiatives and developments . User group structures and the use of shared resources continue to link members . Awareness of other members become increasingly imagined.

An evolutionary perspective

Founding stage First growth stage Midlife stage Second growth stage90s - Late 90s - Around 2005 - Around 2008 -“A small, cozy and personal area . The people in there, mostly intellectuals, often quite nerdy, were very happy to find ANYONE who liked LEGO.””

“LEGO is a common language to all AFOLs. Imagine if you were in a foreign country where you couldn’t understand the language. Suddenly you walk around a street corner and find a tavern flying the Danish flag. You walk in, and everyone is speaking Danish. You’d instantly feel “at home”, and would probably feel comfortable walking up to everybody and starting a conversation.”

“The intimacy is gone, although it was nice, the growth is wonderful because new people brings fresh eye and new ideas .”

“As the community grows, groups split off and become isolated from the whole. Groups become more focused (positive), but creates a “us vs. them” point-of-view”

“As to the splitting of the community, this is a topic that has been covered many times in the past. I truly believe that a growth of sites has led to a growth in the number of people involved in the hobby. Yes, it is harder now to know everything that’s happening in the community, but it’s a much larger community .”

“There used to be 50 home sites, now they need to be counted by the 100.000…there are so many impressions, you see so many things that I can’t tell who or what or where I have seen a thing .”

“At Brickworld 2009, the fragmentation of the AFOL online community was the subject of several discussions. This fact seems to be well-known to AFOLs at this point. Even the LEGO Community Team knew about this.”

An etic perspective

RTFM Are the three markers present?

An emic perspective

In members’ words…

Terry: Every fan of LEGO who wants to be part of this community is. No need to post on a website, to have a folder on Brickshelf or be member of BrickLink,a LUG or the FLL... Everyone, even the ones stil ignoring about this community are part of it if they love the product and build with it.

Joe : My thoughts are that there are many aspects of the LEGO community… And the common thread of all of these groups that make an overall community is that each uses the brick, or many of them as the case may be, to communicate in a common language…. Lego is a medium.

Shacklton (on Eurobrick, 2009): I am 36 and I am an AFOL (sounds like we are in a support group). I am proud of my LEGO obsession. We all should be. We get to build and create with one of the most versatile "toys" ever. Our community is made of all ages and walks of life across the globe. I don't ever hesitate to tell people about my LEGO collection.

Steve (on Lugnet 2007): It seems to me that our community is more like comic book or sci-fi fanzine _publishers_ than readers. We actively create something, which requires a lot more effort than consuming the creative work of others.

A context perspective

Founding stage First growth stage Midlife stage Second growth stageTechnological barriers to enter and participate in Usenet groups are very high.

Technological barriers to enter online sites lowers.

Few technological barriers left.

Very few technological barriers left.

LEGO products are hard to come by, especially in the US.

Online distribution of LEGO products and the establishment of online marketplaces improves accessibility.

Distribution and accessibility continues to improve.

AFOL online stores accounts for app. 25% of the sale.

Mass customization options, AFOL created products, crowdingsourcing, special deals forLEGO user groups, etc.

Minimal interaction with the LEGO Group.

Smaller joint projects with the LEGO Group.

Formalized relationships and larger development projects with the LEGO Group.

Direct involvement of AFOLs in NPD projects.

The LEGO brand is perceived as a child’s brand. AFOLs feel they have to hide in “the closet” as non-LEGO people typically don’t understand how adults can have LEGO as a hobby.

The LEGO Group considers AFOLs a legitimate market segment. Through the use of media AFOLs actively engages in changing the perception of the LEGO brand as a child’s brand.

Official media contributes to widening the idea of the LEGO brand as a cultural material beyond the child toy positioning.

A context perspective

Magnus (2008 on Lugnet):

“It’s become a lot easier for me to be accepted as a LEGO builder now than when I was a teen or in my early 20s. Partly that’s because my peers are older and aren't all that concerned about being cool and doing the fashionable thing as they were. But partly, I think it's also that LEGO itself has become a little more accepted than it was before.”

A context perspective

Dave (on EuroBrick 2009):

“My wife and I are 29 and are both AFOL's. …If co-workers or friends ask about our hobbies or what we're into, LEGO is always the first thing that gets brought up. I don't think anyone has ever said anything negative about us being into LEGO. When I tell people at work, they are always intrigued. ”

A typology of brand community types

The Integrated Brand

Community

The DifferentiatedBrand Community

The FragmentedBrand Community

Strong sense of “we’ness”.

Clarity about what people share and what they disagree about.

Disagreements exist, but generally there is consensus throughout and one key goal is assimilation and sense of unity.

Awareness of fellow members but sense of “we’ness” is experienced primarily through sub-interest groups.

Like the integrated community there is clarity about what people share /don’t. However, there is no community-wide consensus, the community is clusters of sub-interest groups centered on a multitude of different experiences.

The relations between these sub-interest groups can be both enhancing, conflicting and independent.

An ad-hoc and situational sense of “we’ness”.

Ambiguity, not clarity is the hallmark of this brand community form.

Issue specific attention to things with no consensus, no central unit, fluctuating.

Multiple, often times contradictory meanings that are simultaneously true and false, paradoxes and ironies thrive.

Exemplifying the typology

The integrated brand community The differentiated brand community

The fragmented brand community

Low High Low High Low HighThe AFOL community during its founding stage

The AFOL community during its first growth stage

The AFOL community during its midlife stage

The AFOL community during its second growth stage

The Bronco and Saab communities (Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001)

The Mini community (Broderick et al., 2003)

The Apple Newton community (Muniz & Schau, 2005)

Schouten & McAlexander (1998)

The Star Trek fan community (Kozinets, 2001)The Macintosh community (Belk & Tumbat, 2005)

Thanks

Photo by Simpson Brothers Photography

Albert Muñiz: amuniz@depaul.eduYun Mi Antorini: yma@asb.dk

Some additional conceptual context

Fournier and Lee (2009) offer interesting ideas on different forms of brand community, but their conceptualizations present some difficulties. a) Their categories are neither exhaustive or exclusive.

Apple could be said to exhibit characteristics of both pools (shared goals and values) and hubs (admiration for an individual via the centrality of Steve Jobs).

b) It is clear whether or not all three of their forms possess the three key markers

c) Still the notion of the source of the unity for the collective is valuable and should be included in any such typology.