Visit this site dedicated to Arsenal Fans (UK Professional Soccer Club) based in the US: http://arsenalamerica.com/. Can relationships with a sports club develop into neo-tribalism, if so, what tribal characteristics and behaviours do sports supporters display? 

Visit http://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-10-most-powerful-brands-2017-2/?r=AU&IR=T. Discuss what sort of brand personalities each of the world’s most powerful brands elicit for you?

Visit http://www.saabsunited.com/ a brand community for Saab enthusiasts. Read the posts and comments and try to identify examples of the four thematic categories of value creation in online brand communities, developed by Schau et al. (2009) and outlined below. Are there any other themes that you can see emerging?

1. social networking, which includes welcoming, empathizing with, and governing each other;

2. impression management, the creation of favourable impressions of the brand

through evangelising and justification;

3. community engagement, for instance staking, which involves specifying particular

domains of interest within the community; milestoning, the communication of standout brand experiences like receipt of a new model or accessory; badging whereby a signifier is created to commemorate a milestone perhaps a certificate or ranking within the community; and documenting, sharing the story with others and constructing a narrative of brand engagement;

4. brand use, which relates to customizing and enhancing the use of the brand and includes grooming, consumer driven suggestions for product care; customizing, the creation of additional product features and accessories by the community; and commoditizing, ensuring the availability of customized resources and advocating for the availability of key resources to the community from the manufacturer.

Schau, H.J., Muñiz, A.M., and Arnould, E.J. (2009), ‘How brand community practices create value,’ Journal of Marketing, 73, 5, 30–51.

Watch one or more of these advertisements:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uhQ1NdrgC8 (Old Spice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82VX9JGSxTU (Happy Family)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9b5jym0ig8 (Gucci)

Explain how human personality characteristics are being associated with each brand.

Read this article: http://theconversation.com/the-healing-power-of-hip-hop-81556

Is hip hop a sub-culture? Discuss how the hip hop sub-culture uses and rejects brands for creativity and self-expression.