The use of brand communities have been hailed as an effective tool for marketers to develop relationships between their brands and consumers, with the ultimate goal to create and sustain brand loyalty. The majority of theoretical assertions regarding brand communities are underpinned by the use of social identity theory (Tajfel, 1982). Social identity theory posits that individuals have a need to construct and display a ‘self-concept’ and a strategy to communicate this is the process of identification with groups. As the focus of a brand community is the brand itself it is clear that brand community identification and brand identification must be correlated, but little research has explored this relationship or its effects. This study aimed to fill a gap within the knowledge by further exploring the relationship between brand identification and brand community identification by providing more insight into the role which an individuals’ identification with a brand community (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001) has within their relationship with the focal brand and their loyalty to that brand. Specifically, this research aimed to gain a greater understanding of the different effect brand community identification had upon the relationship between brand identification and both public and private brand loyalty. This was explored through the utilisation of a survey of fans of a professional basketball team within the UK (n=298). The data and subsequent analysis supported the hypotheses that individuals’ brand community identification has a positive relationship with both public and private forms of brand loyalty. More importantly it also presented brand community identification as a mediator in the relationship between brand identification and public brand loyalty. Therefore, this study is the first to present brand community identification as critical within consumers’ development of publicly displayed brand loyalty. Managerially this understanding provides support for the proactive utilisation of brand communities by marketers. It also provides guidance for the context in which brand communities are critical for the success of the brand. This research delivers support for marketers, to utilise brand communities proactively when trying to motivate consumers to participate in publicly displayed pro-brand behaviour. This guides the re-allocation of budget away from pure brand identification activities to brand community engagement strategies.

• Mark Mills(Leeds University Business School, UK)
• Magnus Hultman(Leeds University Business School, UK)
• Aristeidis Theotokis(Leeds University Business School, UK)