How do consumers get engaged in a brand community? : The case of Estrella Damm.

Abstract: Background: Looking at many different studies, it’s known that the topics mentioned before are well researched. However, there are not many cases of brand community and customer engagement like the one with Estrella Damm. That’s why the authors wanted to work on the combination of all of them with the use of the company Estrella Damm, as they are highly involved in its community and it has made a big change in the last few years. Going from a brand of living life to a brand that generates consciousness about the Mediterranean Sea. Purpose: The purpose of the following research is to demonstrate that by putting into a side the brand's product the researchers can feel engaged through the actions they have. The objective is to answer the question; “How do consumers get engaged in a brand community? The case of Estrella Damm”. Method: For this qualitative study, case study and autoethnography methods were used to analyze in-depth the research question due to the deep knowledge of how this engages since the researchers are part of its brand community. These methods are the most appropriate since the analyzed brand is focused on creating awareness of the Mediterranean contamination, and the researchers know first-hand the engagement with the brand. Thus, a case study of this company, and with the support of the autoethnography of the authors, permit to develop as properly as possible study. Conclusion: Consumers get engaged in a brand community through different actions the company makes. In this study, the main factor of being engaged involves the company showing to the consumer that it is not only focused on its product/service, but is using its influence and power to improve social and environmental welfare, and thus, the company gets an engaged and committed consumer in its community.