The effect of brand communities on the building of social identity: Vosvos (Volkswagen Beetle) example of brand community

Communities have been very significant in everyday life of mankind from the primitive ages until today's postmodern period. Building communities and belonging to communities have been actions in a wide range of purposes, such as defense against animal and human attacks, housing, finding nutrition and macro requirements such as supporting a football club or running a social responsibility project. Even though they differ from each other in terms of purpose and shape, the common feature of all communities is their ability to influence social identities of individuals. Social Identity is a theory drawn by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s. Social identity is defined as a secondary self, which is formed by the values of the communities with which belonging has been developed alongside their own identities. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of brand communities as a kind of postmodern community on the social identities of individuals and the extent of these effects. In this context, focus group interviews were conducted with the Vosvos brand community, formed by fans of the "Volkswagen Beetle" also known as "Vosvos".