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
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Stein, Eyal, "Extreme Enthusiasts in Online and Offline Radio Control Helicopter Communities" (2012). Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management. 4.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/management_hontheses/4