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.

Citation

Rosenthal, B. and Brito, E.P.Z. (2017), "The brand meaning co-creation process on Facebook", Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 35 No. 7, pp. 923-936. https://doi.org/10.1108/MIP-09-2016-0171