The contexualisation of brands by communities

This review of our book - (always great that someone is reading us). Meant a great deal to Tomi and I, as its diamond drilling down into our theories was so well done.

Rob Kleine at Digito Society says

I finished reading Ahonen & Moore’s book Communities Dominate Brands the other day. Most intriguing to me is that Ahonen and Moore are exploring the same question I have for the last decade ( here and here ). Striking to me is that they approach the relationship of stuff (brands) and people from a technology perspective. Ahonen & Moore’s book is, at one level, an extended meditation on why the ubiquitious cell phone will be the ultimate tool for connecting individuals (via SMS, voice, IM, and for internet access).

At another level, Ahonen and Moore build the case that “as they parse it” communities dominate brands. My preferred parsing is that communities contextualize brands. Communities - whether you care to call them sub-cultures, social networks, or whatever - provide the context in in which consumption generally, and brands specifically, are contextualized; communities provide a context in which brands do (or don’t) make sense. The reflected appraisal process appears central to connecting communities, stuff (brands), and individuals

Rob gives some of his own highlights of our book. But I suggest you go and read his blog. But he sums up

There’s much more to this book; I’ve but scratched the surface here. But these are the elements that resonated most powerfully with me. More gems are buried in the book. Give it a read. Find them yourself.

Thanks Rob. We really appreciate such critical appraisal.