Dissecting loyalty in youth cultural movements

: a netnographic view on Indie Rock B(r) and Arcade Fire

Abstract

This dissertation aims at categorizing brand loyalty. Namely, fandom characterized loyalty. This type of loyalty is observed in the engagement fans show to music and the musicians. For this purpose, the thesis aims at understanding the brand relationship between the band (brand), music (product) and the fans (customers) through qualitative methods. The band analyzed is “Arcade Fire” and the research locations are the Reddit forums where fans demonstrate manifestations of fandom and appreciation to the brand. The band locates itself under a certain culture denominated by fans and critics as Indie culture. We analyze what fans value about the band as a brand and link the findings to the culture it associates with. Data was analyzed through netnography with a grounded theory approach. The results show that the alignment with the culture made fans value Indie traits in the brand. These being: anti-commercialism, anti mainstream and how emotionally resonating the content is with listeners. With such branding universe in mind, we show how cultural branding in an Indie environment can benefit from using their indie characteristics to pursue original branding efforts which is done in an authentic way. This dissertation, therefore, discusses the implications of netnography within online music communities related to music and in other industries where there exists a high engagement in order to unveil a link between the brand and the consumer culture.

Date of Award	14 Oct 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Luís Lopes de Oliveira (Supervisor)