References

1. Boyd, Danah M., and Nicole B. Ellison (2007), Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13 (1), article 11, retrieved March 1, 2008 from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html. Dwyer, Catherine, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, and Katia Passerini (2007), Trust and Privacy Concern within Social Networking Sites: A Comparison of Facebook and MySpace, in Proceedings of the 13th Americas Conference on Information Systems, Keystone, Colorado, August 9-12. Green, Jay (2007, October 25), Microsoft and Facebook Hook Up, Business Week. Kiousis, Spiro (2001), Public Trust or Mistrust? Perceptions of Media Credibility in the Information Age, Mass Communication & Society, 4 (4), 381-403. Microsoft (2007), Reach the Net Generation by the Millions on Facebook, retrieved from http://www.Advertising.Microsoft.com. Olsen, Stefanie (2006), Google Pledges $900 Million for MySpace Honors, retrieved March 4, 2008 from http://www.news.com/Google-pledges-900-million-for-MySpace-honors/2100-1032_3-6102952.html.

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3. 4. 5. 6.

BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT IN ON-LINE SOCIAL NETWORKING

Jie Zhang, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Abstract
Mike Murphy, Facebook's chief revenue officer, once acknowledged that Facebook sometimes turned down the clients request of placing animated, multimedia, or oversized banner ads since the site was never designed for in-your-face and intrusive commercial use. "The way we package media isn't the same way that buyers are used to on other sites. We're selling a very different product. Marketers need to be part of the site's flow, not screaming from the sidelines" (Shields 2007, p. 7). Social networking is without a doubt a phenomenon. Its community of generally young users is a highly desirable and yet difficult to reach segment of the population. Advertisers are bewildered as to how to promote their brands or services through social networking since they are deprived of traditional advertising approaches and must now play a different game. Past research has suggested that entertainment is one of the main reasons that people to go on-line (e.g., Perse and Dunn 1998; Hwang and Lombard 2006). This is especially true for young adults. With anonymity, interactions among users, and made-up games and rules, the Internet is essentially akin to a virtual playground. In on-line social networking, the more play activities there are, the more popular a brands Web site is (Trend Watching, December 1, 2006). To take advantage of this, top global brands such as Dell, Microsoft, Apple, HP, and Ford have set up profile pages for their brands on social networking Web sites. However, little is known about the extent to which branded entertainment is included in those profile pages or what the different types of branded entertainment are. The use of different types of branded entertainment may signify the marketers intention to connect their brand with consumers for different purposes. Research on why and how people play may offer insights into the use of branded entertainment in on-line social networking (Barnett 2007; Pellegrini 1995). Therefore, by employing play themes and other related constructs, this study examines branded entertainment in brand-sponsored profile pages on Facebook to understand how brands express themselves and establish relationships with Facebook users through various branded entertainment types, themes, and features. Results from this study not only inform us of how branded entertainment is presented in brand communications in the on-line social networking community, they also offer preliminary theoretical explanations, and provide implications for future research and practice.

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References
1. 2. 3. 4. Barnett, L. A. (2007), The Nature of Playfulness in Young Adults, Personality & Individual Differences, 43 (4), 949-958. Hwang, H. Sung, and Matthew Lombard (2006), Understanding Instant Messaging: Gratifications and Social Presence, in Proceedings of the Presence Annual Conference, 50-56. Pellegrini, Anthony D. (1995), The Future of Play Theory: A Multidisciplinary Inquiry into the Contributions of Brian Sutton-Smith, Albany, New York: SUNY. Perse, Elizabeth M., and Debra G. Dunn (1998), The Utility of Home Computers and Media Use: Implications of Multimedia and Connectivity, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 42 (4), 435456. Shields, Mike (February 26, 2007), Facebook Sales 'Micro' Managed, MediaWeek, 17 (9), 7. Trend Watching (December 1, 2006), Playing by Online Playground Rules, from http://www.trendwatching.com/about/inmedia/articles/trends_in_general/playing_by_online_playground_r. html.

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BUILDING CONSUMER-BRAND RELATIONSHIPS: CONSUMER VS. MARKETER GENERATED BRAND COMMUNITY IN ON-LINE SOCIAL NETWORKING
Yongjun Sung, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX Yoojung Kim, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX Jang Ho Moon, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Abstract
For the last two decades, there has been a growing interest in relational phenomena among both advertising scholars and practitioners. Increasingly, companies are shifting the focus of their marketing and advertising efforts from promoting immediate exchange transactions and generating sales to building long-term relationships with consumers (Morris and Martin 2000). Recently, the concept of brand community has been introduced as a useful perspective on consumer-brand relationships in todays marketplace. The social bonds and relationships among consumers as well as between consumers and the brand built through brand consumption and community involvement have significant implications for marketers efforts to foster brand loyalty and equity (Muniz and OGuinn 2001). With the advent of the Internet, the idea that both marketers and consumers can create brand communities through their Web sites has been put forward (McWilliam 2000). Despite the strong potential of on-line brand communities as an effective brand building tool for marketers, there has not been much research examining the social and psychological factors that lead consumers to join and participate in such communities. Further, little is known about the similarities and differences between consumer- and marketer-generated on-line brand communities in regard to consumers motivations for joining, attitudes toward communities and their respective brands, and commitment to the brand communities. These are important issues to understand in that they may translate into brand commitment and loyalty. A growing interest in consumer-brand relationships and consumers active engagement in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in particular make this gap in the literature even more significant. In addition, an academic investigation of on-line brand communities as a form of consumer-brand relationship, social movement, and consumer empowerment is needed for our understanding of how consumer activism evolves in the 21st century and how the Internet facilitates social activists and consumers collective pursuit of goals. As a part of a larger research program examining the effectiveness of on-line brand communities as a communication tool for consumer-brand relationships, this study provides a preliminary understanding of the current

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