1

Kruckeberg, Starck and Vujnovic

The Role and Ethics of Community-Building for Consumer Products

and Services

• Many product and service providers nurture communities of consumers.

• Questions raised:• What are the social ethics of consumer communities for these

orgs and their public relations practitioners?

• Do these consumer communities provide an authentic ‘sense of community’ as advocated by Kruckeberg and Starck?

Intro to Consumer Communities

2

• Distinctions b/w publics and markets recognized by those in academics, marketing, advertising and public relations.

• Marketers and advertisers see public relations as a tactical tool in their quest for sales.

• Public relations practitioners see PR as having a societal and organizational function that includes marketing and advertisers as sub-functions.

Intro to Consumer Communities

3

• Kruckeberg and Starck's argument:

• Public relations practitioners should be responsible within their organizations for the development and nurturing of these consumer communities that form around their products and services.

Intro to Consumer Communities

4

• Kruckeberg and Starck's argument cont'd:

• Relationship marketing is inadequate in any theoretical consideration of the scope of organizations' publics.

• Cultivating markets isn't enough. An all-encompassing array of publics must be cultivated, and thus organizations now have more responsibilities.

Intro to Consumer Communities

5

• It is through community-building that public relations best serves society as well as its organizations.

• An organization is only a part of the whole social system of society.

Relevance of Community

6

• Kruckeberg and Starck argue that public relations practice exists today because of the loss of community resulting from new means of communication and transportation.

• Corporations can proactively encourage community-building, but must consider everyone potentially affected.

Relevance of Community

7

• Six traditional elements critical to concept of community:

1. An individual belongs primarily to one community.

2. The individual participates in, is aware of and interested in, and regulates activities in the community.

Relevance of Community

8

• Six traditional elements critical to concept of community:

3. Functional differentiation occurs to some extent b/c people have diverse occupations and activities.

4. People in a community are found in a definable geographic area.

Relevance of Community

9

• Six traditional elements critical to concept of community:

5. Institutions spring up and become prerequisites to community formation.

6. A community develops particular cultural characteristics.

Relevance of Community

10

• Many of these concepts, even the interpretation of community itself, are subject to diverse interpretations.

• Mass society – brings people in closer contact with one another due to advanaces in communication technologies

• Culture – a pattern of deeply held common beliefs and expectations

• Values – broad dominant social attributes, behaviors and larger goals advocated for and defended by a society

Definitions of Concepts

11

• Consumer community – a group of enthusiasts who believe in the superiority of a product or service

• The members individually and as a group publicly identify with this product or service.

• Individual members remain a part of mass society.

• Membership in consumer communities will usually be elitist and exclusionary.

Definitions of Concepts

12

Consumer communities should possess these elements:

1. Continuing presence within the community of the product or service

2. Belief among those in the community concerning the merits of the service or product

3. Shared culture as it revolves around the product or service

4. Normative behavior in relation to product or service

Definitions of Concepts

13

Consumer communities should possess these elements:

5. Assumed identities related to the product or service

6. Members of the community have inordinate power to promote or abandon the product or service

7. Usually tremendous competition exists for the product or service, and loyal community members take great pride in deriding competing brands

8. Dynamism of the community exists, particularly in the exchange of information about the product or service

Definitions of Concepts

14

What is the role and function of public relations in a consumer society?

What will public relations become and what must it become in a 21st century global society with consumer communities?

Issues Related to Consumer Communities

15

How do PR practitioners maintain a sense of community in their organizations?

1. Common interests

2. Overcome alienation

3. Create a sense of community

4. Encourage activities that enhance a sense of community

5. Encourage consummate communication

6. Help others find security through association with others

7. Address interest in community welfare, order and progress

8. Help foster personal friendships

Issues Related to Consumer Communities

16

• The role of public relations practitioners in these new consumer communities provide an understanding of the dynamics of a society in which consumerism is inextricably linked to people's lives.

• Public relations practitioners have a responsibility to help stakeholders to understand consumer communities and to become more responsible customers.

Issues Related to Consumer Communities

17

• What are the social ethics of consumer communities?

• Do consumer communities provide an authentic 'sense of community' ?

• How much influence and control should an organization have over the consumer community?

Implications for Public Relations

18

• Public relations practitioners should be primarily repsonsible in a corporation for fostering and nurturing consumer communities.

• Public relations theory and scholarship should include why consumer communities exist and their impact on society and individuals.

Conclusion

19

• Consumer communities are too much a part of today's global society to be ignored by public relations theorists and practitioners.

Conclusion

20

Kruckeberg, D., Starck, K., & Vujnovic, M. (2006). The role and ethics of community-building for consumer products and services: With some recommendations for new-marketplace economies in emerging democracies. In Botan, C. & Hazleton, V. (Eds.), Public Relations Theory II (pp. 485-497). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

References

21