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Purpose – The “brand community” concept believes that the meaning of the brand transcends national boundaries. However, such an assumption presents
Global brand communities across borders: the Warhammer case The Authors Bernard Cova, Euromed, Marseilles, France Stefano Pace, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy David J Park, Xavier University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Sameer Deshpande at the University of Lethbridge, Canada for his much valued assistance in this paper His keen intellect, insight and rigorous scholarly dedication greatly enhanced the overall presentation and argument in this paper Abstract Purpose – The “brand community” concept believes that the meaning of the brand transcends national boundaries However, such an assumption presents challenges arising out of several reasons including co-existence of sub-tribes within a given brand community that allocate different meanings to a particular brand This plurality of meanings seems exacerbated for global brands where meanings are shaped by tremendously varying cultures Aims to address the issues Design/methodology/approach – This text relies on a comparative study of the meanings attributed to one particular global brand, Warhammer, by the members of its brand community in France and the USA Findings – Findings highlight the elements of homogeneity and heterogeneity that reside in the cross-border meanings of the brand The authors also discuss the marketplace relevance arising out of this plurality that should be taken into account by global marketers Originality/value – The present text argues that community attached to a global brand constitutes a complex phenomenon, one that both integrates and ignores geographical considerations Article Type: Research paper Keyword(s): Culture; Brands; Communities Journal: International Marketing Review Volume: 24 Number: Year: 2007 pp: 313-329 Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited ISSN: 0265-1335 Introduction Over the past decade, a postmodern outlook paved the way for so-called communal approaches to consumption (Cova, 1997) Two pioneering examples were the group of river rafters which was depicted in Arnould and Price's (1993) ethnographic journey as a “communita” and the subculture of bikers which was detailed in Schouten and McAlexander's (1995) article The behaviour of consumers driven by a similar passion or ethos to assemble into a group, thereby becoming a subculture or tribe as coined by Maffesoli (1996), came to be seen as an object of study with relevance to the field of marketing (Kozinets, 2001, 2002; Thompson and Troester, 2002) Reincorporating recent studies on the complex relationship between brands and consumers (Fournier, 1998; Holt, 2004) into this communal approach, a “brand community” concept (Algesheimer et al., 2005; McAlexander et al., 2002; Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001) then came to the forefront of the marketing scene Although some studies (Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001) have been attempting to clarify the object of study by differentiating between the three neighbouring concepts of “brand community,” “sub-cultures of consumption” and “consumer tribes” (or even “brand tribes”), it should also be noted that many authors seem not to be troubled by a lack of differentiation, moving seamlessly within one and the same text from the concept of community to tribe (Solomon, 2003), or from tribe to sub-culture and even micro-culture (Thompson and Troester, 2002) It remains that the brand community concept (Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001; Wipperfürth, 2005) refers more to a group of people who share their interest in a specific brand and create a parallel social universe ripe with its own values, rituals, vocabulary and hierarchy From an international branding point of view, the brand community concept introduced the exciting possibility of managing these brand communities at a global level regardless of geography (Deeter-Schmelz and Sojka, 2004): the meaning of the brand is supposed to be able to transcend national boundaries However, some problems are faced when trying to manage these brand communities (O'Guinn and Muniz, 2005) One key element in communal consumption (Kozinets, 2001) is the co-existence within a given brand community of a variety of sub-tribes allocating different meanings to a particular brand, and sometimes going as far as to battle with another This plurality of meanings and proliferation of latent conflicts seems exacerbated by the existence of global brands that, under the aegis of a brand community, mobilise various groups with deep roots at a regional level Based on their domestic US study Muniz and O'Guinn (2001, p 413) affirm that brand communities are “liberated from geography.” On the other hand, the present text argues that community attached to a global brand constitutes a complex phenomenon, one that both integrates and ignores geographical considerations Towards this end, this text relies on a comparative study of the meanings attributed to one particular global brand, Warhammer, by the members of its brand community in France and the USA The study followed the same protocol in both countries Findings highlight the elements of homogeneity and heterogeneity that reside in the cross-border meanings of the brand Global brand communities Muniz and O'Guinn (2001) identified the distinguishing features of brand communities, using three constructs: consciousness of a kind, i.e a sense of belonging to an in-group, thanks to a brand that is patronized by all of the group members; evidence of rituals and traditions that surround the brand; and a sense of obligation to the community and its members which is often, but not always, shared by members of the group (e.g in regard to product repairs or more personal services) However, above and beyond recognizing the diversity in characteristics of sub-tribes, it is also crucial for marketers to note the problems they can cause (O'Guinn and Muniz, 2005) These include: • • • Oppositional brand loyalty (the very defining nature of the brand community is its opposition to another brand and its tribe) Marketplace legitimacy (there is a debate around who is a legitimate purchaser of the brand?, i.e who is a true believer and brand community member?) Desired marginality (brand community members actively try to keep the community small and marginal) • • • • The polit-brand (a brand community that has at its centre the particularly politicised brand) The abandoned tribe (a brand community in which the marketer has abandoned the brand, but the community still thrives as with Apple's Newton; Muniz and Schau, 2005) Who owns the brand? This is an obvious question … Brand communities assert considerable claims on ownership … These impassioned and empowered consumer collectives assert more channel power and make claims on core competencies formerly reserved for the marketer (O'Guinn and Muniz, 2005, p 268) However, O'Guinn and Muniz (2005) seem to exclude from the above list of problems anything that might relate to geography, since they believe that brand communities “may transcend geography” (Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001, p 415) Furthermore, by emphasizing members' level of legitimacy, the authors analyse potential oppositions or conflicts between members or sub-tribes in a religious light (Muniz and Schau, 2005) as opposed to a geographical one This is relatively congruent with the findings of the few studies that currently exist on the creation of meaning within a brand community (Arnould and Thompson, 2005) Few brand community studies have addressed how different groups of consumers co-create meanings regarding the same brand (Broderick et al., 2003; Schouten and McAlexander, 1995; Wipperfürth, 2005) However, these studies tend to emphasize homogeneity of brand meaning within a particular subculture or subset of consumers On the contrary, few works emphasize the co-existence of multiple interpretive sub-tribes within a same brand community (Kozinets, 2001); a co-existence which can sometimes lead to conflict For example, in the world of Star Trek, one has to distinguish between “trekkers” and “trekkies.” Again, Kozinets (2001, 2002), Muniz and O'Guinn (2001) or O'Guinn and Muniz (2005) studies are essentially built on homogeneous foundations whose nature is either exclusively North American (off-line) or on-line and net-based (a solution that de-territorialises exchanges) No consideration has been given to the possibility of geographic diversity inside a brand community Kates and Goh (2003) introduce the expression “morphing” when referring to brands in order to describe the phenomenon of meaning alteration that naturally occurs within communities The meaning attached to a given brand is considered local and is anchored to the specific community where that brand is experienced The authors refer to this phenomenon within the international context of advertising An advertiser can adapt its communication strategy according to the strength of the morphing to which its brand is submitted The marketer can also foster this morphing The authors acknowledge that “the brand communities studied by Muniz and O'Guinn (2001) are excellent examples of brands acting as quintessentially morphed and relevant symbolic figures in consumers' lives” (Kates and Goh, 2003, p 65) Although they recognize the relevance of the difference of national cultures, the two authors assume a managerial perspective dealing with segmentation and positioning that might be not applicable In fact, the company may face not a traditional market, but a bundle of very small communities whose activity may be totally unknown to the company For example, in Deeter-Schmelz and Sojka's (2004) study of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) subculture, several shared values are identified for US fans However, the authors still wonder if the meaning of this event, which is broadcast in 162 countries and translated into 11 different languages, transcends national boundaries: … is it possible for a subculture to retain cohesive values within the context of radically different core cultures? Would the values motivating WWE fans in Indonesia, India, Australia and the Dominican Republic, for example, be similar in spite of the diverse core culture? (Deeter-Schmelz and Sojka, 2004, p 141) Indeed, a global brand constitutes different local sub-tribes spread across the world – justifying the hypothesis that they attribute varying meanings to it A major reason for this belief is inherent to the recreation of brand meaning, which is central to postmodern consumption As Arnould and Thompson (2005) would posit, the consumer reworks and transforms any meaning that the market presents to him/her Consumers are “unruly bricoleurs”: bricoleurs, since they take diversified meanings encoded in different market sources, such as advertisements and brands; unruly, since they not respect any rule with the exception of one's own identity This phenomenon becomes particularly relevant when specific meanings are not lived by insulated individuals, but ingrained in a community (Thompson, 2004) This study hopes to show that for a global brand: • • • • there are different sub-tribes living in different territories; these sub-tribes share some common meanings ascribed to the global brand; they also develop their own meanings of the global brand and consequently, a specific local subculture; and this plurality of meanings across territories has marketplace relevance that should be taken into account by global marketers Methodology Warhammer is a strategic battle game played with various miniatures on a “battlefield.” Warhammer belongs to Games Workshop, UK (Nottingham), the largest and the most successful tabletop wargames company in the world Its two major brands are Warhammer, and Warhammer 40,000 It also holds a global license for a tabletop battle-game based on the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings It has direct sales operations in the UK, the USA, Northern Europe, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Italy and Japan With around 70 percent of sales coming from outside of the UK, the Group and its leading brand Warhammer are truly global It is a social and convivial activity loved by millions of gamers, who spend many of their waking hours collecting, creating, painting, and building up the metal or plastic miniature armies that they will go on to command on a carefully prepared tabletop battlefield (Figure 1) Multiple methodologies were used to study the two different Warhammer sub-tribes, one in France and the other in the USA Data about the tribe was primarily gathered using naturalistic inquiry and in-depth unstructured interviews Data was also collected using non-participatory observation, photography and audio recording All the interviews were conducted in or around the Warhammer game room In the USA, the game room (C&C games shop) was independent from the Games Workshop company, while in France the game room (Games Workshop shop) was not The interviews took place on Wednesday evenings or Saturday afternoons Individual respondents discussed Warhammer at a separate table in the same game room or shop while other enthusiasts played or painted figurines roughly ten meters away Rather than conducting numerous interviews with the same participants, we chose to interview a variety of gamers to acquire as much breadth as possible given the limited experience some informants had with the game Our interviews turned out to be more like conversations, where the questions bounced off the answers Every interview was recorded following the written consent of each participant We chose not to separate the tribe from its own environment, as we believe the interaction of all environmental factors surrounding the respondents was needed to make a thick characterization of the tribe Furthermore, we felt the respondents were more relaxed and accommodating when they were interviewed in their own environments They were painting, playing and interacting with each other in the game room In each of the two selected cities (Marseilles in France and Madison, Wisconsin in the USA), we conducted 11 in-depth interviews to acquire information on how participants consume and ascribe meaning to Warhammer All respondents were males of varying ages and experience levels although most respondents were between the ages of 16 and 24 Given that male teenagers may have difficulty expressing feelings, we sometimes employed a projective approach for acquiring descriptions We asked respondents what they thought about how other people perceived the issue in question Later, we categorized our data through classifying and labelling processes suggested by McCracken (1988) The categorization processes helped develop the themes (Spiggle, 1994) In addition to categorization, we incorporated triangulation in all stages of our research Then, we employed member checks to test some of the analyses with the study's participants (Lindlof, 1995) In our case, member checks involved showing some portions of our report to the project informants Their commentaries on the interpretations in the report were sought as a check on the viability of the interpretations (Belk et al., 1989) In order to assess the credibility of our interpretations we went back to the game room and showed our findings on three of the themes to our informants “Socialization” and “attraction to imaginary violence” themes were omitted because of potential to interfere with the subjects personal relationships The member checks resulted in no significant changes being made in our interpretations In sum, member checks, data triangulation and additional reviewers were used in our data interpretation Results Warhammer consumers clearly ascribed communal attributes to their groupings as they have been highlighted in recent studies (Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001) First, unlike other games, the Warhammer members share the sense of forming a specific group even if it's not a close one: Confrontation, there isn't the same community feeling as we have with Warhammer There's a lot of us doing Warhammer, and we're all connected by the White Dwarf (William) A group, oh yes! But not a separate one, since we're open to everyone, we don't believe in segregation Someone who shows up, even if he or she isn't playing, we get them involved specifically so they'll be interested in painting or playing (Georges) Second, Warhammer members stipulate the existence of rituals and traditions: There is a community of equals but with a hierarchy You start out with the older players, who have been doing tournaments for at least years Locally we all know each other, we're all friends And there is a hierarchy with the younger players who are just beginning to show up and dream about capturing the scalp of one of the older ones (Reynald) He's had the empire rule book for a while, because he's developing what we should have in our army because there's very strict rules on building armies and he has to adhere to those rules to make the army (Dave) Third, they put emphasis on the moral obligation to help one another: There's a lot of mutual support since no one is familiar with the entire rulebook – we each know just a small portion of it (Christophe) At the beginning we helped each other a lot, but now we're getting a little more competitive (Michael) The first theme that surfaced from the US interviews was “socialization.” It connotes how the tribe of Warhammer enthusiasts socializes inside and outside of the “C&C Game Room” that serves them as a community The notion of friendship was mentioned several times as a main reason why the enthusiasts hang out together One of the respondents said: This game led to a lot of friendships for me and that's one reason why I play it I like the game obviously that's another reason (Jim) However, we discovered that this can be a superficial and fragile friendship based solely on the game and the game room The game room is the only thing that connects the enthusiasts Here, friendship can be seen as a function of the game and the room In some of the interviews the respondent made that pretty clear to us One respondent noted: If I didn't work here tomorrow and I didn't go with them we would probably not talk (Jack) Consequently, this tribe appears as if it may not have much of a social life outside the game room, but it does socialize a lot within its walls Nonetheless, the depth of the relationship can also be questioned Few of the respondents socialized with each other away from the gaming centre Thus, even though they believed the people at the gaming center were their good friends, they rarely spent time with one another As a result, the socialization theme can be seen as simultaneously entailing two opposing elements The French findings concur with the US results that feature varying degrees of socialisation Some people enter the Warhammer universe via friends who introduce them, whilst others make new friends (albeit not with everyone) thanks to the Warhammer universe Several participants mention the existence of two totally distinct social groups: 70 percent of my group of friends are from there (Reynald) Players don't see each other except at the shop There is some feeling of friendship, but I have other friends These are two totally separate social groups (Yann) The second theme that emerged was “Attraction to imaginary violence.” Almost all of the US respondents held an attraction to violent imagery In fact, there seemed to be two main themes with violence that surfaced within our interviews First, most of the informants used violent imagery in their descriptions of the game We simply refer to this component as “violent discourse.” The second theme that surfaced in the interviews is referred to as “violent influences.” Media may have influenced the respondents' attraction to imaginary violence Here are a few examples of respondents' descriptions of why they are attracted to Warhammer: When I get here it is just fun and kill, kill, kill Also like in classes, if you mess up it is bad, like here if you mess up, so what you live and learn I mean you'll better next time (Roger) When I play? Anxious, I want to get in there and kill stuff! (Tex) I guess it is general nature for humans to be better than everyone else Like my army is better than yours Bragging rights But I don't think there's nothing better than sinking an axe in someone's head (Tex) In addition, some of the US males described in detail how they enjoyed imagining some of the “smells and tastes” of battle One could also observe the US respondents play “Streetfighter” in between Warhammer matches Streetfighter is another violent video game where players can manipulate various fight scenes in urban areas Surprisingly, this theme was never spontaneously evoked in the French interviews and when it was mentioned, it was rejected as something irrelevant What attracts the French male is an imaginary world that is historical, medieval, backwards-looking and full of heroic fantasy – not the violence itself (Figure 2) In fact, no one even mentioned this factor, not even the players' parents: What I like is the story line, as well as the strategic side of things (Cyril) No one ever talks to me about a universe of violence They focus on the aesthetic aspects (Georges) You don't see it … All you get is a really friendly ogre with attacks and life points (Ouard) It is also interesting to note that the French players we interviewed expressed a general dislike for on-line sites or forums dedicated to Warhammer They not feel at home in these kinds of “crazy environments” where an imaginary violence often runs rampant The third theme in the US interviews was “Accomplishment.” As the informants began to elaborate on the miniatures they revealed a focus on the actual interactions with physical figurines They were drawn by the visual appeal of figures and often invested a lot of time and effort in painting and assembling these warrior replicas When some of the informants lost a “battle” or discovered their figurines to be slaughtered, they took it personally as if they were hurt The following quotes support these findings: R: What is it like to win? I: It's pretty cool, cause I mean you put all this effort into the models and basically all these people put all this effort into their models so they want to see them win (Rob) R: Do your relationships change across the game? I: Sometimes if someone is making fun of you when you're loosing a game, you might avoid them the next two days It can get pretty intense if you want it to, because you take so much pride in the models you know (George) A second facet of the “accomplishment” theme suggests winning over the more experienced players (often referred to as “the vets”) of the tribe is almost as gratifying For example: R: How about in terms of the outcomes of the game for you – wins, losses and stuff how does that affect you or how you feel about the outcome? I: Well if I beat Jack or Paul I feel a little bit prideful its like I beat one of the vets anybody else its “Eh” and if I lose to them its no big deal and if I lose to one of the other guys you know they at my level right now so its to be expected (Aaron 1) This quote suggests that the level of experience is important Indeed, one could note that part of accomplishing something meant getting more experienced to eventually master the game Accomplishing social interaction, showing off neatly painted figurines, “beating the vet's” and mastering the game with higher levels of experience all lead to different senses of accomplishment This theme is present in French interviews too In particular, the painting activity constitutes a considerable investment (attention to details) that “becomes worth it” when a player is made proud both by his army and also by any flattering comments that the other players (experienced or not) might make about it: It's great showing up with a really well-painted army That makes me proud (Yann) At home I have a big bay window and when people stop by they see it and tell me that it's cool looking Right away that makes you feel good about yourself, it makes you happy (Georges) In a match (and unlike their US counterparts), French players' self-fulfilment comes more from a “clever” strategic move than from beating their opponents For example, some comment on “Warhammer 40,000” (the game of “futuristic battles,” whereas Warhammer is the game of “fantasy battles”), which they consider overly simplistic (“too much dice throwing,” “trigger happy yahoos” – Rémy) Indeed, besides accomplishment, “Competitiveness” is another theme that appears to become more of an issue among experienced gamers in the USA For the most part, competitiveness deals with winning and losing during game playing, not painting For many, Warhammer was only 3-4 months old for them Given its series of steps including mastering of armies and painting, much of the early game playing is centred on learning the rules and strategy In this early period, competitiveness is reported low: We're not real competitive around here, we just kind a go with it, what ever is happening during the game is (Jim) Additionally the nature of Warhammer requires some strategy This planning is taken seriously, as are the numerous rules Clearly these elements brought out an idea of competitiveness in several of the US informants: During the game I take a more blase attitude What happens, happens Except when there's a rule questions you know if I think I'm being cheated out of it and I start to get a little heated I don't know why though It's nothing really to get a big fuss about but sometimes its god-damn-it I want my army to be here at this time Whatever It gets a little heated but I dunno with this game, it's hard to describe I mean I enjoy playing it I try not to get stressed out about I mean I rarely I think There's been one time where I got mad where a rules question Besides that I sit back and relax try to have a good time and make fun about it (Jesse) As US informants continued to answer questions on competitiveness as well as winning and losing, it became apparent that in fact winning is more important than initially indicated and players are more competitive than originally conceived Some respondents are aware of this They point out that their preliminary assessment of the environment or of themselves not being very competitive may be incorrect: At the beginning we helped each other a lot but now were getting a little bit more competitive (Michael) Overall what we are able to discern is that there is a definite competitive element in Warhammer For some of the US respondents, the competitiveness is present from the very beginning of their exposure to the game For others there is a strong possibility that the desire to win and be a strong player will become more evident as their experience with the game grows Nonetheless, the game's competitive nature allows players to be creative through imagining various battlefield scenarios The competitive nature of some US gamers is coherent with a “core American cultural value” (Hirschman, 2003, p 9): the so-called rugged individualism According to some ethnographers, Americans would be characterized by self-reliance and competition This cultural feature would explain exploration, discovery, entrepreneurship, but also some aggressiveness (Hirschman, 2003) The rugged individualism trait does not limit itself to an aggressive posture, but it advocates a quest for self-perfection (Hirschman, 2003, p 20) This facet is visible in American and French gamers Both struggle for the best army and most creative strategy to show others for pride and praise Unlike US respondents, the French respondents' were less concerned about winning or losing, as long as the game was tight and suspenseful At a deeper level, one difference with the USA is that whereas the latter consider it a good thing to win, French players focused on the beauty of the game and only admit that they like winning when they are up against someone who “wants to win” and has no other ambition (a “bad sport”): Winning or losing, what really matters is your style I think I really enjoyed this match because nobody knew who was going to win In fact, at the end it was a draw (Manu) It's not about competing, it's about having fun (Christophe) You may compare yourself to everyone else during the painting phase[1] but not in the game (William) “Creativity/imagination” is fifth theme that became apparent after our analysis of the US interviews Most of the informants enjoyed consuming Warhammer because it allowed them to imagine and create various war scenarios It also allowed them to imagine different historical time periods and thus “transfer” them back in time In addition, the actual figurines allowed the players to enter into a different reality through their fictitious names and physical forms For example, there are Lizardmen figurines that fight various dragons and other magical creatures The following quote illustrates how one player perceives his interest in playing Warhammer: R: Great, anything else you wanted to talk about? I: Basically that we are just playing for fun, it is kind of cool since it's kinda like going back to hundreds of years ago and like with Napoleon and stuff You see all of those moving where they have all of that medieval stuff and it is like you are in the mind frame of those generals from past time That's how I look at it, like move these troops here, move those ones there it kinda cool like it is having the whole war scenario That is what I like about it In addition, the hands-on component of the game allows the players to be more active in creating the scenarios as they play Instead of manipulating a computer game with artificial characters, Warhammer players can actively move the figures into battle as they imagine the results of combat Warhammer is different from other games in this aspect Other games such as Magic, only involve cards, which are not as conducive to actual physical movement and creation of gaming pieces French players generally view Warhammer as a serious hobby (sometimes akin to a mad passion, other times more like a simple distraction) and as a pleasant experience where they can develop their expertise and creativity However, they made references to this theme while turning it more towards escapism, getting away from things, losing oneself in this universe, “forgetting about everything else,” “something completely different,” “out of the ordinary,” “really getting into the role.” This is especially true for matches: Totally changing your settings Forgetting about everything related to work or bills Doing something for yourself (Georges) Getting away from everything, re-energising yourself You get caught up in it and don't think about anything else (Christophe) You enter the shop and leave all your worries behind, forgetting all your problems You're here and having a good time (Nicolas) When it comes to painting, the idea of escapism is often mixed for the French respondents with downtime, relaxation, and focusing on oneself: We set up in front of the table top, take out our paint jars and figures They leave us be and don't say things like “you've painted us badly” or “you've assembled us wrongly.” We just sit there with our jars and figures, and everything is quiet (Georges) Finally, a sixth theme is largely developed by the French respondents but not present in the US interviews: “Regression.” Many French respondents have to deal with other people's perception that playing Warhammer constitutes a type of regression: They think it's something for children, a kid's game (Nicolas) My sister is against it and thinks it's totally stupid (Clément) They ask me why at my age I'm still wasting my time with little toy soldiers (Yann) It's kinda hard to tell girls that I'm playing with plastic figures We say that we've been painting figures or playing in tournaments or that we're friends with some of the staff members who we're visiting (Rémy) You're either interested in Warhammer or else in girls (Ouard) Instead of “Regression,” the US interviews suggest the North American enthusiasts are more concerned of social outcast resulting from their affinity toward the game There is certain self consciousness apparent suggesting they feel others perceive them as social misfits The feeling that they were “regressing,” or reliving their youth was not apparent Indeed, the perceived social “stigma” of playing Warhammer does not appear to negatively affect their desire to continue playing The benefits of their individual experiences evoked by the game outweigh the perceived social stigma attached to it: A lot of people think we are like nerds and have no social life (Graham) I was talking to this check you know I have two jobs The job in the theatre makes me cool, the job in the game-shop makes me a gig [nerd] (Sterling) All these people don't really have a lot of life, they don't have a lot of social tact They are not the most intelligent or hyper-intelligent I guess I don't really consider them average people (Sterling) Although the US enthusiasts did not feel as if other social members considered them immature for playing Warhammer, the game did elicit a sense of “safety” for them Because most of the players moved to Madison less than a few months before they began playing Warhammer, they may feel that the other players are safer than most people because they have similar interests The same could be said in France with the players coming to join the university in Marseilles In addition, given that most of the players were in their early 1920s, it is also possible that they were transforming themselves back to an earlier part of their childhood, when life was safer They may get the same feeling when they play Warhammer that they had when they were younger and with their families and friends The players may associate the feeling that they get out of Warhammer with the feelings that were aroused by the games they played when they were younger These feelings may also influence their understanding of what a “safe” environment may entail Indeed, we noticed this tribe participates in the game because the players perceive it to be a safe way to hang out that does not contradict with society's norms It is a secure environment within a potentially dangerous world Discussion: culture vs subculture The summative table (Table I) highlights the many variations in the meanings given to Warhammer in terms of the six main themes derived from our interviews It is noteworthy to see the variability in the meanings attributed by American and French players In particular, there is a complete opposition with regards to theme 2, “Attraction to imaginary violence.” American gamers showed positive attraction to imaginary violence as a reason to play Warhammer This attraction among Americans seems to relate closely with the “ruggedness” appeal in a brand personality that was reflected among Americans in the study by Aaker et al (2001), and among WWE's US fans (Deeter-Schmelz and Sojka, 2004) The point here is neither to stigmatise the indisputable violent imagery some members of Warhammer's American community create, or of Americans in general (Aaker et al., 2001), nor to denounce the ostensibly angelical attitudes adopted by the brand's French community, or by the French in general (which may be considered hypocritical by certain observers) Our goal is not to produce cross-cultural results but instead to understand any links that may exist between global brand, brand community, subcultures and cultures Holt (2002, 2005) argues for the need to understand brands at a societal level (e.g cultural branding), while O'Guinn and Muniz (2005, p 252) note “it is equally important to understand brands at the group/community level” (e.g subcultural branding) Our results show that much of what is important about global brand communities is revealed in the dynamic interplay that exists between these two levels As stated by Thompson and Arsel (2004, p 631), there are two conflicting theses in regards to this question: For proponents of the homogenization thesis, global brands are Trojan horses through which transnational corporations colonize local cultures Recent anthropological studies have built a strong empirical case that, contrary to the homogenization thesis, consumers often appropriate the meanings of global brands to their own ends, creatively adding new cultural associations, dropping incompatible ones, and transforming others to fit into local culture and lifestyle patterns The themes developed by our two Warhammer communities (in France and the USA) tend to substantiate the latter thesis: each local sub-tribe reinterprets the brand's meaning as a function of its own culture Having said that, global brands' role in a local culture should not be minimised According to Holt (2005, pp 285-6): … cultural contradictions – tensions between national ideology and individual experience – produce intense desires and anxieties, fuelling demand for symbolic resolution that smooth over the tensions National ideologies create models for living The distance between that model and everyday life acts as a cultural engine, creating demand for myths that manage these differences A wide variety of cultural products compete to provide the most compelling myths, with any contradictions being shored up by the symbolic sustenance that such stories provide At the same time, brands maintain an advantage over other types of cultural products: “they provide a material connection to the myth Brands load the myth into products used every day, so brands allow for ritual action” (Holt, 2005, p 286) Within this framework, Warhammer can be construed (in France) as a myth provider that helps people manage the differences between French culture and the individual daily experiences of young French members in this brand community The Warhammer community builds a bridge between France's anti-competitive/anti-violent culture and French youth's real experiences, which have become increasingly competitive and violent (even though this does not necessarily appear in their discourse) As such, there is less of a pronounced opposition in meanings between the American and the French communities than first suspected One cannote the cultural role of a brand is particularly glaring for market-driven experiential brands like Warhammer, “which, in conjunction with their corporate-sponsored symbols and products, offer consumers distinctively themed servicescapes designed to facilitate certain kinds of hedonic/aesthetic experiences and social interactions” (Thompson and Arsel, 2004, p 632) These brands provide a kind of “hegemonic brandscape” that exerts “a systematic influence on the cultural heterohybridization engendered by glocalization” (Thompson and Arsel, 2004, p 638) Lastly, based on our binational investigation of Warhammer player communities, we can agree with Holt (2004, p 71) that consumers use global brands “to create an imagined global identity that they share with like-minded people.” At the same time, we should moderate Muniz and O'Guinn's (2001) affirmation that “brand communities transcend geography.” This is only partially true Different local brand tribes give variable (and occasionally opposing) meanings to a particular brand However, such oppositions are less important than local tribe members seem to believe, and the brand cult will help members fill whatever contradictory vacuum lies between the local cultural model and their real lives (Holt, 2005) Caveats and managerial implications These findings suffer from some limitations First of all, it is inappropriate to generalize a Madison-based study to the entire USA The same holds true for France Secondly, our data compilation method could have been more robust Had we been members of a local community, the findings would have been more detailed, and our efforts would have resembled selfethnography or a form of introspection However, because we both conducted interviews in players' natural settings and spent a considerable amount of time in the game rooms, this limitation was somewhat reduced In fact, it facilitated the “merger of horizons” that Thompson (1997, p 441) recommends and reduced the gap between the text and the text's interpretative framework It also made it possible to re-situate players' narratives in their cultural and experiential contexts The ensuing content analysis was a two-phase process focusing first on an analysis of the contents of interviews with the American community (to detect any major themes), then replicating this analysis for interviews with the French community to confirm or reject these same themes and/or develop new ones In short, our corpus has not been analysed at a global level Lastly, by focusing on inter-country variations and contrasts in meaning, we may have ignored inter-country contrasts in meaning within a given community that may exist between hardcore “veterans,” “hobby players” and inchoate masses of occasional players Nevertheless, our study does lend itself to several implications for the management of global brand communities The very idea of a community assembled around a global brand has given certain actors dreams about a possible global segment comprised of individuals who are sensitive to a subculture yet spread across all four corners of the world: “with the growth in the number of international products, product-based subcultures that may allow marketers to standardize promotions across national borders are worthy of additional investigation” (Deeter-Schmelz and Sojka, 2004, pp 141-2) Freed from all geographic constraints, (Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001), the firm could organise a global approach that suits all brand community members This could involve a tribal marketing that is subtle (Cova and Cova, 2002) yet planetary in reach The results of our Warhammer community study indicate, however, that things are more complicated at several different levels Local brand sub-tribes may consume and co-produce what is largely one and the same global subculture, but the meanings they generate and attribute to some of the values associated with a brand can contrast sharply Our Warhammer communities displayed extreme geography-related differences in the way a brand was interpreted Both of our Warhammer sub-tribes (Madison and Marseilles) shared the same passion for the game, sought socializing and a desire for selffulfillment At the same time, they differed in terms of their attraction towards the game (its meaning): attraction to “imaginary violence,” on the one hand, or to “history and strategy,” on the other Most members never travel outside of their home regions to play They also seem to feel they belong to their own community unit rather than to a national or international one As a result, Games Workshop's attempt to push its vision of a global community by organizing national and international tournaments may not necessarily lead to achieving 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