Introduction
Consumer behaviour has rapidly changed over the last decade. The explosion of various social media platforms has had a profound effect on how the consumer views new products and services. With a touch of a button all the necessary information is available, which impacts how people consume. One of the main reasons for this drastic change is that society and technology evolve faster than our ability to exploit it (Solis, 2015).
One of the most prevalent reversals in consumer behaviour is that of fandoms and the culture of being a fan. “Fandom” loosely refers to being a member of a group of fans of a particular brand or celebrity. However according to Jenkins (2010) a “fandom” is a social structure and a cultural practice that is …show more content…
Aspirational groups are composed of people that the consumer has a high regard for or feel that they can identify with (Szmigin and Piacentini, 2014). Consumption has also been impacted by sacred and profane consumption and it is important to look at this effect in various cultural settings. Belk et al. (1989) suggested that sacred objects are not automatically associated with religious conviction but people can also become sacred in the eyes of the others and thus worshiped. Jim Morrison is sacred in the eyes of his fans and his grave in Paris is visited by millions of his fans (Henley, 2004) and this visit can be regarded as a pilgrimage that his fans go on every year since his …show more content…
This effect is most applicable in the digital market (Connor, 2013). It is such a prevalent technique used in social media that it has given rise to a whole new industry, the fake following industry which provides people of fake followers and likes. The reason for its success lies in the principle that if a person has millions of followers, it alludes to the impression that this person is important and needs to be listened to (Hutchinson, 2015). Therefore, through the use of fake followers, celebrities may gain genuine fans. In fact, this practice is quite popular that most celebrities’ agencies make use of it to market their stars. One such celebrity is Justin Bieber who has been reported to have an approximately fifty percent fake followings (BBC,
Consumer behaviour has rapidly changed over the last decade. The explosion of various social media platforms has had a profound effect on how the consumer views new products and services. With a touch of a button all the necessary information is available, which impacts how people consume. One of the main reasons for this drastic change is that society and technology evolve faster than our ability to exploit it (Solis, 2015).
One of the most prevalent reversals in consumer behaviour is that of fandoms and the culture of being a fan. “Fandom” loosely refers to being a member of a group of fans of a particular brand or celebrity. However according to Jenkins (2010) a “fandom” is a social structure and a cultural practice that is …show more content…
Aspirational groups are composed of people that the consumer has a high regard for or feel that they can identify with (Szmigin and Piacentini, 2014). Consumption has also been impacted by sacred and profane consumption and it is important to look at this effect in various cultural settings. Belk et al. (1989) suggested that sacred objects are not automatically associated with religious conviction but people can also become sacred in the eyes of the others and thus worshiped. Jim Morrison is sacred in the eyes of his fans and his grave in Paris is visited by millions of his fans (Henley, 2004) and this visit can be regarded as a pilgrimage that his fans go on every year since his …show more content…
This effect is most applicable in the digital market (Connor, 2013). It is such a prevalent technique used in social media that it has given rise to a whole new industry, the fake following industry which provides people of fake followers and likes. The reason for its success lies in the principle that if a person has millions of followers, it alludes to the impression that this person is important and needs to be listened to (Hutchinson, 2015). Therefore, through the use of fake followers, celebrities may gain genuine fans. In fact, this practice is quite popular that most celebrities’ agencies make use of it to market their stars. One such celebrity is Justin Bieber who has been reported to have an approximately fifty percent fake followings (BBC,