Applying the brand community concept in the nonprofit sector : the case of junior achievement Ireland
Master thesis
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http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2383377Utgivelsesdato
2015Metadata
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- Master Thesis [4210]
Sammendrag
In this paper, we aim to investigate the benefits of the application of a brand community
strategy into a nonprofit organization (NPO), as well as the strategies that the NPO could
adopt in order to facilitate the creation of such a community.
We review the challenges and opportunities of using marketing strategies in the nonprofit
sector. With increased competition in the “third” sector, it has become ever more
important for nonprofit organizations to engage in branding and marketing activities,
which traditionally has been reserved for for-profit enterprises.
We study the brand community concept presented in the paper by Muniz and O‘Guinn
(2001) and aim to see how a brand community can be beneficial for a volunteer based
nonprofit organization. We extend the brand community concept to the nonprofit sector
by using the charity brand community model introduced by Hassay and Peloza (2009).
We study the case of Junior Achievement Ireland, an educational volunteer-based NPO.
By gathering data from in-depth interviews and attending brand events, we found
promising traces of the brand community markers from our analysis.
Combining interviews with volunteers and theoretical research, we argue that a brand
community will lead to an increase in brand awareness as well as assisting in volunteer
recruitment and retention. Moreover, we believe that such a strategy will increase brand
equity and will facilitate the creation and preservation of strategic partnerships. Finally,
we provide practical suggestions in how volunteer based NPOs can facilitate brand
community creation.