Building online brand communities: Exploring the benefits, challenges and risks in the Australian event sector

The Internet has impacted the tourism sector and tourists substantially. Yet, very little information is known about how tourism organisations are using the second generation of the Internet, Web 2.0, and its various social media platforms in relation to their marketing activities. This article expl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of vacation marketing 2012-07, Vol.18 (3), p.239-250
Main Authors: Hede, Anne-Marie, Kellett, Pamm
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brands
Market strategy
Social networks
Studies
Technology adoption
Tourism
Web 2.0
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Summary:The Internet has impacted the tourism sector and tourists substantially. Yet, very little information is known about how tourism organisations are using the second generation of the Internet, Web 2.0, and its various social media platforms in relation to their marketing activities. This article explores ways in which events, as an integral part of the tourism sector, are using Web 2.0 tools to build their online brand communities. While the qualitative analysis highlights benefits for events, it also identifies the risks and challenges that events face in using Web 2.0. These include the capacity to resource this aspect of marketing and the ability to protect their brand from the advent of counter- and alter-brand communities when online brand community building activities are not fully effective.
ISSN:1356-7667
1479-1870
DOI:10.1177/1356766712449370