Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Managing Brands in the Age of DIY-Branding: The COBRA approach

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbuch Techniken der Kommunikation

Part of the book series: Springer Reference Wirtschaft ((SRW))

Abstract

The relatively surge of social media websites has changed the marketing landscape beyond recognition. Consumers are more connected, more active, more informed – more empowered than ever before in the history of our consumer society. Branding in this day and age is unpredictable and complex; managerial control over consumers, effectively DIY brand managers, and what are increasingly also their brands, is an illusion. Hence, persuasion-oriented, essentially one-way marketing communication tools such as advertising are losing their relevance quickly. Brand managers should instead capacitate themselves in inspiring COBRAs – an acronym for consumers’ online brand-related activities. But how does one get one’s consumers to engage in COBRAs? Based on the empirical insights of a qualitative and a quantitative study, this chapter asserts that a deep and comprehensive understanding of the how and the why of consumer brand engagement on social media (i.e., how different behaviors are motivated) are essential to that end. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

This chapter was inspired by the author’s previously published and unpublished academic work, specifically his doctoral dissertation titled Catching COBRAs (2013).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Hyves stopped as a SNS on 2 December 2013 (it continues today as an online gaming platform targeted at children). For a long time, it was the Netherlands’ second largest social networking site – at the time of data collection, it had roughly 12 millions user profiles. Because Hyves’ features were quite similar to those of, say, Facebook, there is no reason to think that the findings reported in this chapter cannot be expected to validly generalize to other SNSs.

References

  • Ainscough, T. L. (1996). The Internet for the rest of us: Marketing on the World Wide Web. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 13(2), 36–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arvidsson, A. (2013). The potential of consumer publics. Ephemera, 13(2), 367–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beard, F. K. (2004). Hard-sell “killers” and soft-sell “poets”. Journalism History, 30(3), 141–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernoff, J. (2012). Living in Facebook’s bizarro world. http://www.marketingpower.com/ResourceLibrary/Publications/MarketingNews/2012/3-31/social%20media.pdf

  • Berthon, R., & Pitt, L. F. (2012). Brands and burlesque: Toward a theory of spoof advertising. AMS Review, (2–4), 88–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthon, P. R., Pitt, L. F., & Campbell, C. (2008). AdLib: When consumers create the ad. California Management Review, 50(4), 6–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthon, P. R., Pitt, L. F., Plangger, K., & Shapiro, D. (2012). Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy. Business Horizons, 55(3), 261–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthon, P. R., & Pitt, L. F. (2012). Brands and burlesque: toward a theory of spoof advertising. AMS review, 2(2), 88–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, J., & Kirshenbaum, R. (1998). Under the radar: Talking to today’s cynical customers. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burmann, C. (2010). A call for user generated branding. Journal of Brand Management, 18(1), 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaffee, S. H., & Metzger, M. (2001). The end of mass communication? Mass Communication and Society, 4(4), 365–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, J. (1982). The asymmetrical society. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cova, B., & Cova, V. (2012). On the road to prosumption: Marketing discourse and the development of consumer competencies. Consumption, Markets and Culture, 15(2), 149–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Economist. (2012). New directions: consumer goods companies hone a cross-channel approach to consumer marketing. http://www.managementthinking.eiu.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Oracle_SalesandMarketing_120207r1.pdf

  • Eisenbeiss, M., Blechschmidt, B., Backhaus, K., & Freund, P. A. (2012). The (real) world is not enough: Motivational drivers and user behavior in virtual worlds. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(1), 4–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fanning, J. (1999). Tell me a story: The future of branding. Irish Marketing Review, 12(2), 3–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fiske, J. (2010). Understanding popular culture (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fournier, S., & Avery, J. (2011). The uninvited brand. Business Horizons, 54(3), 193–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrester Research (2012). Marketing leadership online survey. http://adage.com/datacenter/digitalfamilytrees2012/?agency=501#606

  • Fox, S. (1985). The mirror makers: A history of American advertising and its creators. New York: Vintage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fransen, M. L., Verlegh, W. J., Kirmani, A., & Smit, E. G. (2015). A typology of consumer strategies for resisting advertising, and a review of mechanisms for countering them. International Journal of Advertising, 34(1), 6–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, R., & Feldwick, P. (2008). Fifty years of using the wrong model of advertising. International Journal of Market Research, 50(1), 29–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., Walsh, G., & Gremler, D. D. (2004). Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the Internet? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(1), 38–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hennig-Thurau, T., Malthouse, E. C., Friege, C., Gensler, S., Lobschat, L., Rangaswamy, A., et al. (2010). The impact of new media on customer relationships. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 311–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollenbaugh, E. E. (2011). Motives for maintaining personal journal blogs. Cyber psychology. Behavior, and Social Networking, (1/2), 13–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, D. B. (2004). How brands become icons: The principles of cultural branding. Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iglesias, O., & Bonet, E. (2012). How managers can influence brand meaning when they are losing control over it. Journal of Organizational Change, 25(2), 251–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable media. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joinson, A. N. (2003). Understanding the psychology of Internet behavior: Virtual worlds, real lives. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, E. (2001). Media effects. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social/behavioral sciences (pp. 9472–9479). Oxford: Elsevier.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1974). Uses of mass communication by the individual. In W. P. Davison & F. T. C. Yu (Eds.), Mass communication research: Major issues and future directions (pp. 11–35). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (1996). Principles of marketing. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, M. R., & Windahl, S. (1985). The concept of audience activity. In K. E. Rosengren et al. (Eds.), Media gratifications research: current perspectives (pp. 109–122). Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovejoy, K., & Saxton, G. D. (2012). Information, community, and action: How nonprofit organizations use social media. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(3), 337–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacLaran, P. (2009). Postmodern marketing and beyond. In E. Parsons & P. MacLaran (Eds.), Contemporary issues in marketing and consumer behaviour (pp. 37–54) Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malone, C., & Fiske, S. T. (2013). The human brand: How we relate to people, products, and companies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manchanda, P., Packard, G., & Pattabhiramaiah, A. (2015). Social dollars: The economic impact of customer participation in a firm-sponsored online customer community. Marketing Science. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1984350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLuhan, M. (1974). At the moment of Sputnik the planet became a global theater in which there are no spectators but only actors. Journal of Communication, 24(1), 48–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLuhan, E., & Zingrone, F. (1997). The essential McLuhan. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • McQuail, D. (2010). Mass communication theory (6th ed.). London: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muntinga, D. G. (2013). Catching COBRAs. Amsterdam: SWOCC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muntinga, D. G. (2014). Merkbeheer: het merkmanagement van de toekomst. Amsterdam: SWOCC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muntinga, D. G., Moorman, M., & Smit, E. G. (2011). Introducing COBRAs: Exploring motivations for brand-related social media use. International Journal of Advertising, 30(1), 13–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nambisan, S., & Baron, R. A. (2009). Virtual customer environments: Testing a model of voluntary participation in value co-creation activities. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 26(4), 388–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuman, W. R., & Guggenheim, L. (2011). The evolution of media effects theory: A six-stage model of cumulative research. Communication Theory, 21(2), 169–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Guinn, T. C. (2007). Advertising, consumption, and welfare. In T. Ambler & G. J. Tellis (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of advertising (pp. 445–460). Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Guinn, T. C., & Muñiz A. M., Jr. (2010). Towards a sociological model of brands. In B. Loken et al. (Eds.), Brands and brand management: Contemporary research perspectives (pp. 133–156). New York: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Reilly, T. (2004). The architecture of participation. http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/articles/architecture_of_participation.html

  • Owyang, J. (2012). Trend: Social media agencies turn to advertising. http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2012/04/14/trend-social-media-agencies-turn-toadverti-sing/

  • Parasuraman, A. (1982). Is a scientist versus technologist research orientation conducive to marketing theory development? In R. A. Bush & S. D. Hunt (Eds.), Marketing theories: Philosophies of science perspectives (pp. 78–79). Chicago: American Marketing Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parent, M., Plangger, K., & Bal, A. (2011). The new WTP: Willingness to participate. Business Horizons, 54(3), 219–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitt, L. F., Berthon, R., Watson, R. T., & Zinkhan, G. M. (2002). The Internet and the birth of real consumer power. Business Horizons, 45(4), 7–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, A. M. (2009). The uses-and-gratifications perspective on media effects. In J. Bryant & M. B. Oliver (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (pp. 165–184). New york: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruggiero, T. E. (2000). Uses and Gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass Communication and Society, 3(1), 3–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon, N. (2007). Consumers’ changing relationship with technologies. Admap, (482), 22–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simonson, I., Rosen, E. (2014). Three long-held concepts every marketer should rethink. Harvard Business Review. http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/01/three-long-held-concepts-every-marketer-should-rethink/

  • Sundar, S. S., & Limperos, A. M. (2013). Uses and grats 2.0: New gratifications for new media. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 57(4), 504–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tadajewski, M. (2009). A history of marketing thought. In E. Parsons & P. MacLaran (Eds.), Contemporary issues in marketing and consumer behaviour (pp. 13–36). Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tapscott, D., & Williams, A. D. (2006). Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything. New York: Portfolio.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tasgal, A. (2003). The science of the brands: Alchemy, advertising and accountancy. International Journal of Market Research, 45(2), 133–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Truong, Y., & Simmons, G. (2010). Perceived intrusiveness in digital advertising: Strategic marketing implications. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 18(3), 239–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trusov, M., Bucklin, R. E., & Pauwels, K. (2009). Effects of word-of-mouth versus traditional marketing: Findings from an Internet social networking site. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 90–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VanBoskirk, S. (2011). US Interactive marketing forecast, 2011 to 2016. http://www.bcama.com/documents/Forrester_interactive_marketing_forecast_2011_to_2016.pdf

  • Venkatesh, A., Dholakia, R. R., & Dholakia, N. (1995). New visions of information technology and postmodernism: Implications for advertising and marketing communications (RITIM Working Paper No. 95–05).

    Google Scholar 

  • Willmott, H. (2010). Creating value beyond the point of production: Branding, financialization and market capitalization. Organization, 17(5), 517–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan, J. (2011). Social media in branding: Fulfilling a need. Journal of Brand Management, 18(9), 688–696.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mensch Creative Agency, Amsterdam, Niederlande

    Daan G. Muntinga

Authors
  1. Daan G. Muntinga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daan G. Muntinga .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany

    Tobias Langner

  2. EBS Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany

    Franz-Rudolf Esch

  3. Universität Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Manfred Bruhn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Muntinga, D.G. (2018). Managing Brands in the Age of DIY-Branding: The COBRA approach. In: Langner, T., Esch, FR., Bruhn, M. (eds) Handbuch Techniken der Kommunikation. Springer Reference Wirtschaft . Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-04653-8_28

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-04653-8_28

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-658-04652-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-658-04653-8

  • eBook Packages: Business and Economics (German Language)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation