Date of Award

Spring 2012

Document Type

Open Access Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Management

Department

Management and Marketing

Advisor

Werner Kunz

Director

Jeffrey Keisler

Subject Categories

Marketing

Abstract

The focus of this study is to explore the notion that it is possible to optimize a marketing plan for a specialized industry to leverage individuals that are addicted to specific products in specialized product communities. This study addresses the following research questions: Can individuals that are addicted to products be leveraged for marketing purposes in specialized online and offline communities? The study is conducted with respect to the Radio Control Hobby Industry, and incorporates qualitative personal interviews at local RC clubs in the Greater Boston Area. The aim of the interviews is to help define people who are addicted to Radio Control Helicopters as extreme enthusiasts. Based on the definitions established by the interviews, a quantitative study in Radio Control online and offline communities identifies the correlation between the usage levels of extreme enthusiasts with respect to their Personality, Value, community Usage, and specific brand Devotion traits. The findings of this study suggest that there are Personality, Value, and Devotion differences that account for higher extreme enthusiast usage levels of online and offline environments, and that extreme enthusiast influence levels are high in both online and offline communities. These findings are valuable for marketers and companies who strive to optimize their marketing efforts and utilize brand communities. These findings also provide insights on isolating and targeting the influential extreme enthusiast segment in the Radio Control Hobby Industry.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

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