Online Brand Communities: -a Theoretical Approach to the Opportunities and Benefits from a Company Perspective

This bachelor thesis is a purely theoretical assessment of the concept of online brand communities and the opportunities and benefits in store for companies, when tending to and maintaining online communities centered around its brand. The study employs real life examples of current online brand communities, such as Alienware, Star Trek and Rubik's Cube. The report is governed by four main perspectives concerning the activities and interactions taking place on online brand communities. These are conpany-consumer communication, consumer-consumer knowledge exchange, reinforcement of the brand, and social interaction and consumer bonding. Finally, the report introduces a model which provides an overview of the different activities and practices and the opportunities and benefits these entail.