Find the shared interest:A route to community activationand brand buildingReceived (in revised form): 28th March, 2013

David Aaker

DAVID AAKERis the Vice-Chairman of Prophet and professor emeritus at Berkeley-Haas. He has received recognition for

contributions to the science of marketing (the Paul D. Converse award), marketing strategy (the Vijay Mahajan

Av^ard),and the theory and practice of marketing (the Buck Weaver Award). He has published over 100 articles and

15 books, including Building Strong Brands, Spanning Silos and Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant.

His books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into 18 languages. A recognised authority on

brand strategy, David blogs at davidaaker.com and HBR.

AbstractA digital marketing programme designed to communicate a firm or brand will not in most cases get traction. Instead,

it is better to find the customer's sweet spot, discover what customers are interested in — or even passionate

about — and make the brand a partner with this 'shared interest'. Such a shared interest can activate customers and

create a community.The result can elevate a brand by creating energy; enhancing likeability and credibility; and

forming a relationship.The programme can be integrated into an offering, linked to the brand, or a stand-alone

sponsorship. If a shared-interest programme cannot realistically get traction, an option is to attach to an existing

programme.

Keywordsshared interest, digital marketing, social media, customer relationships, customer connection,

digital strategy, customer community

David Aaker,Prophet,One Bush,San Francisco.CA 94105, USA

Tel: +1 415 363 0005E-mail: daaker@prophet.com

INTRODUCTIONHow to connect with customers? What isthe secret to having an engaged, active,'go-to' website with a meaningful audi-ence? How to create an active social com-munity when so many are alreadyestablished? The answer to these questionsinvolves changing the orientation of mar-keting, at least in part, from selling theoffering and firm to finding a sharedinterest with customers, and pursuing thatinterest area as an active partner. The driv-ing logic is that customers will seek out,discuss, and be engaged in what they areinterested in. And, with rare exceptions,offerings or firms do not qualify.

Most marketing, communication strate-gies, websites, and social media strategies aregeared to support the offering, its value

proposition and points of differentiation, orthe firm. The content, as suggested inFigure 1, is designed to flirther these goalsby providing practical information such asspecifications, new product news, andordering details. The problem is that cus-tomers are rarely interested in engaging indiscussions or communities about offeringsor firms. Brand news, in most circum-stances, will not lead to ongoing discussionsand will usually not even break through theclutter.

Focusing on a shared-interest area thatis customer-centred rather than offering-driven, as suggested in Figure 1, is a verydifferent route for marketing to pursue.Such a route, with its own motivation andperspective, has the potential to generate aconnection and engagement that has

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FIND THE SHARED INTEREST

,[ y ^ ^ Communityrelated <• .> . . . ^ , ^ 1 ^ , interest

Community

Current/potential customers

Figure I Creating a brand-customer link

direct and indirect benefits for the mar-keting programme and the brand.

In this paper, after the shared-interestoption is presented, there is a discussion ofexactly how the shared-interest route canpay off. Finally, a process is presented bywhich a shared-interest programme canbe developed and implemented.

THE SHARED-INTEREST ALTERNATIVEA shared interest with customers could beNew York city adventures, healthy living,rock cliinbing, sustainability, a collegefootball team, or anything related to whatis important and involving to customers.It should reflect how customers spendtheir 'thinking and doing' time, theirbeliefs and values, their activities and pas-sions, their possessions, or the places theytreasure. Ideally, it would be a part of, ifnot central to, their self-identity andlifestyle, and reflect a higher-order valueproposition, much beyond the benefitsprovided by the offering.

The focus should be on the shared-interest rather than on brand benefits. If anoâèring is involved at all, it will be tangentialto the shared interest. Two successful efforts.Pampers and Coca-Cola, illustrate this.

Pampers went beyond nappies by'owning' the website Pampers Village,

which provides a 'go-to' place for all issuesrelating to babies and child care and getsover 600,000 unique visitors each month.Its seven sections — pregnancy, new baby,baby development, baby toddler, pre-school, me and family — all have a menuof topics. For example, under baby devel-opment there are 57 articles, 230 forums,and 23 play-and-learn activities. Its onlinecommunity allows mums and soon-to-bemums to connect with each other to sharetheir common experiences, issues andthoughts about how to raise a healthy,happy child. The programme demon-strates that Pampers understands mothers,and works to establish a relationshipbetween the brand and the mother thatwill potentially continue throughout themother's Pampers-buying life.

Coca-Cola partnered with the WorldWildlife Fund, who are engaged in majorinitiatives to conserve water, reducecarbon emissions and save the polar bears.A visible Coke component is an effort tospotlight the polar bears with research(customers can contribute and receive avirtual piece of arctic land from whichthey can monitor bears) and promotionssuch as the Polar Pick-me-up, where aperson can send a Coke to a friend. TheCoke Facebook site, Arctic Home, is thego-to place for the programme, but there

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are also regular postings on the CokeFacebook site, which has well over 55million 'likes'. The community providesCoke with likeability, energy and cus-tomer engagement. It will resonate with asegment important to Coke, which islikely to be different from the segmentthat responds to the humorous videosaround Coke 'happiness'.

WHAT DOES THE SHARED-INTERESTPROGRAMME BUY?Connecting with a shared-interest areaprovides avenues to a relationship muchricher than that of an offering-based rela-tionship, which, for most brands, is drivenby a functional benefit and is relativelyshallow and vulnerable. Among thebrand-building goals of the associatedshared-interest programme are those ofcreating energy and interest; enhancinglikeability and credibihty; supporting afriend, mentor or colleague relationship;and forming and activating a digital com-munity with real substance and traction.

Create brand energy and interestOne of the key challenges for most brandsglobally is to create energy and visibüity.A disturbing and largely unknown fact isthat brands that lack energy throughoutthe world have, for the last decade or so,been losing equity' Energy therefore hasto be a brand priority. For most productsand services, it is not realistic to expectnew offerings to generate energy. Anattractive alternative energy source is ashared-interest programme.

For Avon, for example, new offerings inits cosmetic product line will not realisti-cally create much energy or even interest.In contrast, the Avon Walk for BreastCancer creates involvement, connectswith a shared-interest area that many of

the target audience have passion about,and attaches a higher purpose to the Avonbrand that can lead to respect and liking.Millions of women have participateddirectly or indirectly over two decades,and the programme has raised overUS$600m for cancer research. That isenergy. If you make hot dogs, it is hard tomanufacture energy. But if you focus on ashared interest with kids, namely theirevents and parties, and create the OscarMeyer Wienermobile (or more accuratelyeight of them) to join their parties and setup the hotdoggerblog.com site to track itsadventures, there is real energy.

One brand. Red BuU, which is abouthigh energy, tells its story through theimage of young people excelhng at, orappreciating demanding physical activitiesthat attract attention and even amazement.Red BuU connects to dozens of shared-interest programmes exhibiting energy.There are areas around sports like wake-boarding; competitions Uke the Red BuUAir Race; events like music festivals; ath-letes like Ashley Fiolek (the motocrossstar); and entertainment, video games andconnections to the rock and hip-hopmusic world on their website. Then therewas the ultimate event where 8 miUionpeople watched Felix Baumgartner risemore than 38 km above the New Mexicodesert, jump off the 'Red BuU Stratos' bal-loon, and reach a record 1,335 kph on thedescent. With the pre and post-jump pub-licity, this may have garnered a biUionquality impressions.The Red BuU scope ofshared interest arenas, captured in itsFacebook page — which has 23 millionfans — is overwhelming.

Enhance brand likeability andcredibilityHaving a shared interest and making surethat it has substance raises the brand way

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above the noise emanating from firmsshouting 'my brand is better than yourbrand'. The positive feelings associatedwith the shared-interest area can lead topositive feelings about the brand.Further, people attribute all sorts of goodcharacteristics to brands that they likeand with which they share values andinterests.

The hypothesis that there •wiU be animage boost from a positive, involving,shared-interest programme is supportedby theory and research from psychology,which argues and finds that people have acognitive drive for consistency. The haloeffect, first studied in the 1930s by thepsychologist Edward Thorndike in thecontext ofthe impact of a person's attrac-tiveness on perceptions of other charac-teristics, has been appUed to brands andmarketing.- If one brand association isregarded highly, there is a tendency forothers to be perceived as positive as weU.The halo effect helps explain the positiveimpact of celebrity endorsers and whysuccessful brand extensions enhance abrand image. In this context, there is thesuggestion that a brand's credible involve-ment in a shared interest wiU affect thebrand's likeability and image. BasicaUy, aperson wiU tend to regard favourably anentity that shares his or her values andinterests.

Hobart, a maker of high-end institu-tional kitchen equipment, switched fromcommunicating the latest product featuresof its inixers, ovens and other appUancesand instead became a thought leader andinformation source in regard to suchissues as finding, training and retaininggood workers; keeping food safe; provid-ing enticing dining experiences; eUminat-ing costs; and reducing shrinkage. Thisprogramme had an effect on perceptionsof the brand and solidified Hobart's lead-ership role that lasted well over a decade

until it was bought and integrated into alarger firm. Consider the contrastbetween a Hobart that talks about itsproducts and incremental innovationsversus the Hobart that focuses on shared-interest customer issues with a series ofsubstantive programmes. Which would beperceived to be the most innovative, thesource of highest quality, and the mostauthentic?

If the shared interest involves an areaclosely related to the offering, there canbe a more specific impact on the credibil-ity of the offering and the firm. The factthat the Pampers brand is so knowledge-able and involved in the larger context ofbaby care means the Pampers organisationis interested in the customer and his orher activities and issues, and thus can betrusted to make dependable, high-quality,innovative products.

A shared-interest programme can alsoframe perceptions about a brand, and indoing so divert attention from a negativeassociation. Distraction theory, from cog-nitive psychology, suggests that when aperson is distracted from a negative fact orevent, that fact or event wiU have areduced effect on the overaU attitude andimage. So if the focus is on the Walmartsustainability programmes, attention willbe drawn away from any negative issuessuch as iU-treatment of employees andsuppUers and sourcing goods from China.When the Walmart brand is cued, theassociations around sustainabiUty have thepotential to compete with the negatives. Itis aU about controUing and framing theconversation.

Form a friend, colleague or mentorbrand relationshipThe concept of a personal relationshipcan be a powerful metaphor in creatingand understanding brand relationships, as

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the work of Susan Fournier and othershas shown.-' The existence of a sharedinterest makes such a metaphor likely tobe applicable. In particular, it can supporta friend, colleague or mentor relationshipwith the customer that goes beyonddelivering the functional product.

A brand that has a strong, substantiveshared interest may be like a friend, some-one you like to be with, who is interesting,helpful, and, of course, shares interests. Ifthe shared interest has a deep connectionto a person's identity and lifestyle, thebrand could even become an intimatefriend. California Casualty, an auto andhome insurance firm that specialises inteacher organisations and other groups,has a 'School Lounge Makeover' pro-gramme to provide US$7,500 to upgradeteacher lounges for schools that make themost compelling case. Only a friendwould take an interest in such a mundanebut important issue area.

The California Casualty brand can alsobe a colleague, sharing goals and pro-grammes. A founding sponsor and partnerin IMPACT, an organisation designed toattack teenage distracted driving throughin-school educational and involvementprogrammes, it acts as a colleague of theschool staff and parents to address a veryreal and neglected problem with tools thatwork.

Finally, the brand can be like a mentor.For example. General Mills, which sharesan interest in gluten-free living with itswebsite GlutenFreely.com, is in a positionto offer advice and encouragement. Thebrand has the knowledge and the com-munity that someone with gluten issuescan turn to.

Stimulate a social networkA social community associated with ashared-interest initiative often has the

potential to have a high level of socialactivity, something that is increasingly dif-ficult in an era of social media fatigue.Focusing on what a person is passionateabout will motivate them to reach out forinformation, to share experience, orexpress an opinion. To see why, considerthe major reasons for being a social partici-pant that were summarised in a pioneer-ing study of word-of-mouth brandcommunication done a half century ago,which is as insightful today as it was then."*

A major sharing motivation is contentinvolvement. One goal is to share infor-mation that is 'newsworthy' because it isintriguing, unlikely to be known, andrelevant to an area of interest. NatureValley, for example, has created TrailViews — 'street-view' style portrayal oftrails in national parks that for some areclose to actually experiencing the hikes.Hikers and nature devotees can beentranced by the films and stimulated toshare it. Another goal might be to relivea meaningful shared-interest experiencesuch as a road trip or book that isespecially relevant to a lifestyle.

Another motive is self-involvement.Sharing knowledge or opinions is a way togain attention, show connoisseurship, feellike a pioneer, seek confirmation of aperson's own judgment, or assert superior-ity. With a shared-interest community, therewiU be listeners — others who will appre-ciate knowledge and expertise. Havinglisteners is crucial for self-involvers.Valvoline, for example, has a site that pro-vides NASCAR racing informationincluding 'inside stories' from the trackand its participants. Having such insideinformation, including rumours andgossip, is the knowledge currency neededby a person wanting to enhance a self-image of expertise.

A third motivation is other involvement.A shared-interest group provides a sense of

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a shareainteresi

Develop or find a programme

Existing externalshared-interestbrandedprogramme

New internalshared-interestbranded programme

• A marketplace need?• Can the firm deliver?• Programme traction?• Worthwhile audience?• Brand/programme link?

Figure 2 Creating a shared-interest programme

belonging to a community that shareschaUenges and goals as well as interests.Knowing something usefiil about exercisefood safety, breast cancer runs or healthissues can motivate a person to reach out andshare the information as a way to expressneighbourHness, caring and firiendship.

HOW TO PROCEEDCreating a successful shared-interest pro-gramme involves two steps, as suggestedby Figure 2: identify a shared-interest area,and then find or create a shared-interestprogramme. Each step has substantialuncertainties and challenges.

Step one: Identify a shared interestthat will engage the audienceThe first challenge is to find a sharedinterest in which customers are involvedand interested, if not passionate. It wouldbe desirable for there also to be a naturalconnection to the brand, and for thebrand to add substance, thus being anactive and credible partner.

The search starts with understandingthe target group in depth. What are the'sweet spots' in their lives? How do theyspend their prime time or how wouldthey like to spend it? What activities do

they enjoy and spend time on? Whatpossessions are important to them? Whichactivities and possessions reflect their per-sonaHty and Hfestyle? What places are spe-cial to them? What do they talk about?What issues are absorbing their attention?In what areas do they hold strong opin-ions? What information do they collect,and fi"om what sources?

Clearly, supporting research needs tolook beyond conventional customerresearch focusing on brand preference. Itrather needs to consider macro trends insociety involving issues and lifestyles, butwith the lens of the target segment. Theinsight, for example, that baby care ismore interesting than nappies, or thatpolar bears' pHght is of more concern thanenjoying Coca-Cola led to involvingshared-interest programmes. Anotherstarting point is the brand, its associationsand applications. A brand's use contextcan trigger customer sweet-spot ideas.P&G's Charmin, a toilet tissue brand, hasdeveloped a smart phone app calledSitOrSquat that wül locate the nearesttoilet for some ten countries.

With an understanding of the cus-tomer in hand, there are three on-rampsto the identification of the right shared-interest programme. These are repre-sented by the linking spectrum shown inFigure 3.

Shared interests where the offering is anintegral part

The first on-ramp is to determine if theexisting brand can be repositioned inorder to create a shared interest around ahigher-order purpose than the functionalvalue proposition of the offering. Whenthat works, the offering wiU be fully inte-grated into the shared-value programmeand wiU be seen as a fuU partner that con-tributes assets and substance.

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DisconnectedSponsorship Only

Í tNatural

AssociationIntegratedOffering

•"Fi t ;Weak Strong

Figure 3 Three on-ramps to a shared-interest programme

Very Strong

Kaiser Permanente, for example, repo-sitioned its brand away from a focus onhealthcare (linked to bureaucracy andsickness) to a shared interest in healthylifestyles (associated with control andWellness). The shared-interest programmeinvolves members controlling their ownhealth by accessing a wide array of pre-ventive health programmes online andthrough classes, which include areas suchas weight control, stress management,insomnia, smoking issues, healthy eatingand many others aU supported by 'MyHealth Manager', which can be used torecord and monitor programme participa-tion. These programmes have their ownfocus and objectives very different fi-omselling compassionate staff and clean,effective hospitals.

PowerBar was introduced as a compan-ion to a shared interest in demandingphysical events such as marathons andbiking events. The original PowerBar,positioned as an athletic energy food, wasdistributed at bike shops and events usu-ally involving running or biking.Positioned as an athletic energy food, itwas a partner with those dealing with thechallenge. At events and at bike shops andother suppliers of equipment, PowerBarwould be there and available. This coreidea led to participation in a sharedendeavour and created authenticity forthe brand.

Integrating the brand and its offeringinto the shared-interest programme raisesthe risk that the commercial interest of

the brand will be too visible. The everydaysolutions P&G site, for example, offersexpert advice on cleaning and otherareas, but the site is largely a vehicle topromote brands with coupons andadvertisements and has a commercialfeel. As a result, the authenticity of theprogrammes and the brand's motivationmay be in question. The challenge, then,for Kaiser Permanente, PowerBar andothers is to develop a real passion for theshared interest, to support that passionwith real substance, to communicate iteffectively over time, and to turn theconnection into an asset.

Integrating the brand into the shared-interest programme has real advantages.The brand is maximally leveraged toprovide credibility, the firm's assets areaccessed, and there is a strong brand con-nection — a necessary condition forultimate success. So there is always theyin and yan in developing a programme— finding the right trade-off betweenthe authenticity of a brand-aloof pro-gramme versus leveraging the brandassets with a brand-involved programme.

A fit based on a natural associationA second on-ramp is to build or link ashared interest on a brand association thatcan provide a connection and a source ofcredibility. There are a host of bases for fit,such as lifestyle (Zipcars and urban lifestyleliving), an offering application (Harley-Davidson and touring on motorcycles).

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an activity (adidas StreetbaU ChaUenge —a local three-person basketball tourna-ment surrounded by a weekend partywith music, dance etc), a target customer(Pampers and baby care), a country(Hyundai makes and sponsors the KimchiBus, a 400-day effort to spread Koreancuisine), a personal goal (Tanita, a Japanesemaker of weight and body-fat scales, putout a cookbook in 2010 of 500 calorie-healthy meals that sold over 5 miUioncopies), or values (Dove on redefiningbeauty).

The fit should work — the customersshould be comfortable with the brandparticipating in the shared interest. Doesits presence seem natural? It is particularlyimportant to sense whether the brandfeels incongruous or strange, like a personarriving at a party with inappropriateattire or behaviour. Sometimes a fit willfeel forced and the brand wül come off asbeing phony, with a contrived associationlike a partygoer who tries too hard tobelong.

The basis of fit is enhanced if theskills and assets of the brand's firm arevisibly and effectively employed in theshared-interest programme. That wouldnot only potentially make the shared-interest programme more effective byadding substance and credibility, but itwould make the brand's link richer andmore authentic. Hobart was in that cat-egory, as its knowledge and contactsassociated ^vith its industrial kitchenappliances gave it access to informationthat could be leveraged in its shared-interest initiative.

There are no shortages of examples ofshared-interest programmes that enjoybrand-driven credibility enabled by a fitof some kind. The Betty Crocker kitchenand persona provides credibility toBettyCrocker.com and the General MillsGlutenfreely.coni site. The Valvoline

NASCAR information site benefits fromthe fact that Valvoline is Knked to cars andto car racing.

Conversely, the fit elements help cus-tomers make the association of theshared-interest programmes to the brand.Without such a link, the shared-interestprogrammes would not achieve a primarygoal, to enhance the brand.

Disconnected — sponsorship only

A third on-ramp is to find or create ashared interest that has no connectionwith the brand or only a remote connec-tion. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer andthe Red BuU Soapbox Racer video gamehave little relationship with the respectiveofferings. The brand when distinct shouldnot distract or be a liability, of course.

There is an intuitive presumption thatthere needs to be a fit between the brandand the shared-interest programme, inpart because of the heightened challengeto link it to the brand in a way that ismemorable. But brands have overcomethat hurdle and successfully hnked to asponsored team or event that lacks a naturalassociation. They share some characteris-tics. First, they have a long-term com-mitment. The effective Olympic sponsorssuch as VISA and Samsung have sponsor-ships measured in decades. Links buüdover time, and it is hard to do that evenin a few years. Secondly, they surroundthe sponsorship with advertising andcomplementary programmes that involvethe target brand. MasterCard, for exam-ple, supports its World Cup sponsorshipwith a host of promotions and localevents. A major sponsored event becomesan umbrella brand linked to a set ofbrand-building programmes. Thirdly,there are clear brand objectives con-nected to the sponsorship, which justifythe commitment and investment.

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Even with no visible connection, theright audience can stiU Unk to the brand.When the ad agency Leo Burnett openeda New York office, it started a website'New York Writes Itself, which aUowsNew Yorkers to become scribes and sharestories about city life. Experiences, places,people — everything is in play. The'Chairman', a 'New Yorker' played by anactor, would, among other things, readpoems and short essays on video or inperson throughout the city. Amazingly,there was no connection with LeoBurnett, even in the interviews discussingthe initiative. However, the right peoplein the advertising world knew who wasbehind the effort because it was commonknowledge within the industry. This isknown as the shadow endorser effect.

There are two advantages of having asponsorship-only relationship, which donot rely on any compeUing bases of fit.

First, relaxing the commonly-helddictum that there must be some kind ofbrand fit means that the search for ashared-interest area that customers wiU betruly involved with wiU be unconstrained.Anything is eligible and thus a winningidea is more likely. That advantage shouldnot be underestimated because the task offinding a shared-interest programme thatthe audience wiU value and be engagedwith is difficult, especiaUy when mostinvolving shared-interest areas are alreadyO'wned by others. Finding a shared-inter-est programme that stimulates andinvolves is critical because it is the driverofthe programme objectives. If Avon hadbeen constrained to find a shared-interestprogramme that had a fit with its businessor brand, it might not have come up withthe Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, a hugesuccess that added energy and visibiUty tothe brand.

Secondly, a sponsorship-only model willreduce potential atithenticity problems.

Often there wiU be a tension betweenauthenticity and the desire to promotea brand and offering, which is the naturalmotivation for any marketing activity.When the shared-interest programme isweakly associated with the brand andoffering, the tension is reduced.

Step two: Create or find a programmeto which the brand could connectWith the shared-interest area in mind, thenext step is to create or find a programme.One option is to create an internal,owned programme. The other is to find anexternal, brand programme that is alreadyestablished, and link to it.

Developing a new internal shared-interestprogrannme

An internal, owned shared-interest pro-gramme has compeUing advantages. Inparticular, the substance, evolution andinvestment can be controUed by the firm.However, the advantages need to be bal-anced by the cost and difficulty of estab-lishing a new programme, and risk thatthe motivation of the firm may be sus-pect. The likely feasibility and success ofan internal programme should be testedwith five questions:

• First, is there a need for a new shared-interest

programme? The more attractive ashared-interest area is, the more likelythat others have already entered. Theseentrants might not be competitorbrands, but other organisations. The toprecipe brands FoodNetwork.com andAUrecipes.com, with impressive contentand strong brands, are controUed bymedia companies rather than foodbrands.A key question is whether the existingefforts could be either surpassed with

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something superior or could be neu-trahsed with a niche strategy that ismore focused. Is there room for anothereffort? What is missing? There needs tobe an opportunity for a new entrant.Organisational assets and skills can pro-vide an opening. KraftRecipes.com,with over 80 million visitors in 2011,leverages the credibility of KraftKitchens, its Food and Family magazine,an e-mail list of over 5 million, and itslegacy brands and recipes. Over 10,000of its 30,000 recipes are based on Kraftbrands like Kraft cheese, CoolWhip,Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia creamcheese. Stove Top stuffing mix. MiracleWhip,JeIl-O and others. Kraft also has acapability to research macro trends andcustomer motivations and behaviours,such as what consLimers are buying andcooking that is not within the comfortzone for Allrecipes or theFoodNetwork.Second, can the firm deliver? A shared-interest programme needs to have realsubstance to add value that is in someway unique, whether it be in content orpresentation. It also needs visibility, tobe one of the programmes associatedwith the shared-interest area. Duringthe dotcom bubble, every brand wantedto be the authority on something. Mostdrugstore chains were going to have thego-to health story but had no capabilityof delivering, especially competingagainst the likes of Mayo Clinic andWebMD.Also needed is a commitment to ongo-ing investment to enable the pro-gramme to be dynamic and timely. Astatic programme will usually wither.Success requires an organisational will-ingness to lend support for an extendedtime period beyond the launch inwhich there wiU be challenges setbacksand competing uses of resources. It

helps if the shared-interest programmeis related to or driven by a brand's her-itage or higher value behind a firm'sculture and strategy. Cliff Bar's commit-ment to its ongoing shared-interest pro-gramme around biking and rLmning isbased on is heritage around cycling andrunning. As a result, its programme, theTeam Luna Chix (teamlunachix.com),which brings together a community of26 teams of novice and professionalfemale cyclists, runners and triatliletes, iseasy to justify.

Third, can the programme get traction?

To create a viable programme, it notonly needs to have substance and besupported by commitment, but it alsoneeds to get traction in the market.Even the best shared-interest pro-grammes wOl rarely attract users bythemselves. A plan is needed to gainenough visibility and credibility for it tobe considered by target group memberswhen the interest or need emerges. Ithas to be relevant. The plan needs toinclude methods to make the targetgroup aware of it and to drive them toa trial experience. Neither is trivial intoday's crowded communication world.The task is made easier if a brand'sexisting assets, such as a well-traffickedwebsite, can be leveraged. The Sephorasite, for example, had a significant flowof customers that provided a base audi-ence for the shared-interest Beauty Talksubsite (which offers 'real-time answers,expert advice, access to a community,and your fix to all things beauty'), thisin addition to the credibility providedby the Sephora brand.But gaining awareness and trial use isnot enough. The programme also needsto find a way to be sticky, to create loy-alty so that it has a base of users. Oneroute is to make sure that something is

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happening in the programme on anongoing basis. There is a reason to be aregular participant. One programme hasin-house participants add materialwhen there is a dry period. Anotherroute is to accentuate involvement bypresiding a reason to participate. A pas-sive user will not be as sticky as one thatis involved. There needs to be a reasonto participate.

• Fourth, is the audience size worthwhile?The ultimate audience size needs to bemeaningful to the business. Raw num-bers, however, are not the orüy criteria.The quality of the audience counts asmuch as quantity. Indeed, there is asaying that it is better to be loved by afew than liked by many. If the pro-gramme reaUy resonates with a groupthat wiU remain engaged over time, itmay be worthwhile — especiaUy if thisgroup is socially active and influential.Even a relatively smaU group can pro-vide energy to the brand, a customerbase on which to build, and influenceon others.

• Fifih, can the brand connect to the programme?If the brand is to be enhanced by theprogramme, the two need to be Hnked.If the programme shares the brandname, the link wiU usuaUy be in place,but the credibüity and authenticity ofthe programme may be chaUenged. Ifthe programme name does not includethe brand, a plan is needed to make surethat the link is developed.

Find an existing external programme

The classic make or buy decision shouldbe on the table. If an established,branded, shared-interest programme is inplace with substance and a strong exter-nal brand, the challenge of linking to itto a target brand may be more manageable

than that of creating a new programme.The use of an established external pro-gramme reduces the risk that it will notget developed, be ineffective, lack inter-nal support over time, or be over-whelmed by one or more competingefforts.

Home Depot wanted a programme toleverage its assets and expertise to helpthe disadvantaged by building or rebuild-ing homes. The solution was to connectto Habitat for Humanity, a branded pro-gramme with an established record ofsuccess in building homes for those thatneeded help. The challenge of linking theprogramme to the brand is greater withexternal programmes. One linking strat-egy is to become involved in the pro-gramme and to promote the connectionactively. Home Depot connected by pro-viding visible and tangible support, withbuilding supplies, volunteers from itsknowledgeable staff, and with signage instores and on its website. For many cus-tomers of Home Depot, the link waswell-known. As an aside, it does notmatter if Habitat for Humanity is linkedto Home Depot because the goal is toinfiuence the Home Depot brand.

SHARED INTEREST — THE BIG IDEAThe shared interest can be a big idea com-munity activator and brand builder, espe-ciaUy when the product and productinnovation flow lacks interest and energy.It can be the foundation of a social mediastrategy. The success wiU depend on theintensity of customer involvement in theshared interest, the existence of a nicheneed for shared interest community, andthe abÜity of the firm to find or create acompeUing programme with traction, andHnk it to the brand. Its success wiU bemeasured by its abihty to gain traction

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FIND THE SHARED INTEREST

with a worthwhile audience and to acti-vate that audience.

The shared interest programme shouldhave an immediate impact by stimulatingcustomer involvement and purchase, thusaffecting the short-term financiáis. Itsmore important impact, however, is likelyto be enhancing the brand, buildinglong-term customer relationships, andincreased loyalty, all firm assets that willpay off even though they are sometimesnot so easy to quantify or justify.

References and notes(1) Gerzema, J. and Lebar, E. (2008) 'The Brand

Bubble', Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.(2) Thorndike, E. (1920) 'The Constant Error in

Psychological Ratings', Jowmd/ of AppliedPsychology,Vol.A, No. 1, pp. 25-29.

(3) The pioneering work of Susan Fournier on apersonal relationship as a useful metaphor for abrand relationship is best summarised inFournier, S., Breaxeale, M. and Fetscherin, M.(2012) 'Consumer Brand Relationships: Theoryand Practice', Routledge, Oxford.

(4) Dichter, E. (1966) 'How Word of MouthAdvertising Works', Harvard Business Review,Vol. 44, November—December, pp. 147—166.

C HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 2045-855X JOURNAL OF BRAND STRATEGY VOL 2. NO. 2. 134-145 SUMMER 2013 I4S

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