Consumer Tribes

by Bernard Cova

Marketing and consumer research has traditionally conceptualized consumers as individuals- who exercise choice in the marketplace as individuals not as a class or a group. However an important new perspective is now emerging that rejects the individualistic view and focuses on the reality that human life is essentially social, and that who we are is an inherently social phenomenon. It is the tribus, the many little groups we belong to, that are fundamental to our experience of life. Tribal Marketing shows that it is not individual consumption of products that defines our lives but rather that this activity actually facilitates meaningful social relationships. The social ‘links’ (social relationships) are more important than the things (brands etc.)

The aim of this book is therefore to offer a systematic overview of the area that has been defined as “cultures of consumption”- consumption microcultures, brand cultures, brand tribes, and brand communities. It is though these that students of marketing and marketing practitioners can begin to genuinely understand the real drivers of consumer behaviour. It will be essential to everyone who needs to understand the new paradigm in consumer research, brand management and communications management.

Genres: Nonfiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2007

Reviews

[Simone Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consumer Tribes is an excellent read for any current or aspiring trend spotter because it offers a very thorough discussion of the power these groups can have over companies, politics, communities, and society at large.

The Consumer Tribes that this book describes are powerful because they are more flexible than subcultures and more creative than brand communities. As the authors explain, "Consumer Tribes rarely consume brands and products- even the most mundane ones- without adding to them, grappling with them, blending them with their own lives and altering them. Consumer Tribes do things. Consumers are people, yes, but people who live in a specific social and historical situation. This places them in a co-dependent relationship with consumer culture, one where industrial and post-industrial information economies create not only things, but critical elements of cultural, social, and self-identity, and where those identities are at both the bottom and the top of the proverbial economic-industrial-political pyramid" (4).

In the years to come, forecasters and businesses alike will have to deal with the increasing influence of Consumer Tribes. Successful companies shall have to learn how to identify new tribes and anticipate their impact, as well as work with these groups without negating their positive influence (or succumbing to their damage). Consumer Tribes provides background, research, and discussions that will help individuals face these challenges successfully.

[Ruthie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting essays. Going off to join the Harry Potter tribe...