Greetings

Well I have only been on this list for less than a week and I am really feel
humbled by the people on this list.   I have a BA in Economics from York
University in Toronto. My career has been in the  area of working in
Marketing for multinationals. Coca- Cola and IDV/UDV, and
 Jergens/KAO

Currently I manage First Tuesday Toronto  which  is  a global brand
community with over 200,000 members.  I  also  sit on the Global branding
committee for First Tuesday.

http://www.firsttuesday.com

I  have a great interest in the area of brand community. I was   published
in the Journal of Brand Management,  due to an review that covered Brand
Community.

Recently I have been intrigued by  Social Diffusion Theory  as it relates to
networks and brand community

Hence I joined this list to learn more about Social Diffusion theory .

I am also well acquainted with people at Millward Brown
They are one of the leading market research firms in brand Management.

http://www.millwardbrown.com


I  am also acquainted with Erich Joachimstahler  author of the book
Brand Leadership
http://www.brandleadership.com

I know  that are a couple of people  doing  some work in the  area of brand
community.

A Harvard business School case

Building Brand Community on the Harley-Davidson Posse Ride
Susan Fournier, Sylvia Sensiper, James McAlexander, and John Schouten
This case helps students get inside one of the world's strongest brands to
consider issues of brand loyalty, close-to-the-customer philosophy, the
cultivation of brand community, and the day-to-day execution of relationship
marketing programs.

An article on brand community

Albert M. Muniz & Thomas C. O'Guinn, "Brand Community," Journal of Consumer
Research Vol. 27 (March 2001) 412-432.
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JCR/journal/issues/v27n4/270402/270402.html

The question  I am asking is brand seeding has been a proven methodology to
build brands  you seed the  innovators and early adopters and they become
the messiah  for your brand, to bring it to the masses. Easier said than
done I know.

The question I am asking is anyone doing  research work in the area of using
Social  diffusion theory  to  help launch  brands.

I look forward to your comments and feedback. BTW  I have also asked this
question to a leading Branding forum and I am intrigued by the response I
will get from the  different groups. I will share information from both
groups with those who wish to learn more.

Regards

Jon G Schneider
First Tuesday Toronto