The importance of the group….

The modern society is very dependent on communities. The retail companies are very dependent on brand communities. Group pressure has gotten a bigger and bigger importance throughout the years, which is both good and bad. Yesterday’s guest lecturer Katarina Graffman talked a bit about group pressure and how important it is for the companies to build brand communities.

I want to talk a bit about the change in the importance of wearing the correct brand and that it´s a result from the escalation of group pressure. When I travel 10 years back in my mind I don´t see everyone in school walking around in designer clothes like they do today. Today fashion is a very big industry but ten years ago it was important but not even close to the importance we have today. We had a lot of group pressure 10 years ago but I feel that it has escalated since then. If you visit a high school today, I can bet that most of the students are well aware of what they are wearing and what brand it is. So, we have to ask ourselves the question, where does this development come from, could we predict this coming?!

The answer to this question lies in the escalation of group pressure and brand communities. So if we should blame someone we should blame the big retail companies and their way of advertising. The big thieves are for example Nike, Ralph Lauren, Apple…and so on….and so on….Today you can get bullied if you wear the wrong brand or listen to the wrong music. I bet that the group pressures in the schools today are very high, I would say higher than ever. Is it a problem? How should we deal with it? What will happen in the future?

My first answer would be that it might be a problem in the lower ages, but I think it´s under control. So, what about the future? My first spontaneous guess would be that this will be escalating. People commit more and more to brands and connect to their communities and I think that these will get bigger and more important. To be faithful to your brand becomes more and more important and will keep going that way. The companies know this and are very smart in the way they advertise and build their communities. So, we are heading into a future where the brand that you are wearing will tell the audience a lot about you. It will also help you connect to people without needing to say a word. With just looking at each other for one second, you will know directly if you have something in common.

To summarize I would say that the future involves stronger brand commitment and bigger brand communities!

I hope these thoughts made some sense!

That´s all for today!