Exploring food bloggers as brands: challenging assumptions about brand equity and identity in an online context

The aim of this research is to explore people / humans as a brand, maven or opinion leader through multiple case studies of UK food bloggers. Food is not only necessary for survival, it is also tied to individual identity, culture and society (Caplan, 1997). Food blogs, the second largest category of blog still growing in popularity and number (Charlesworth, 2015), are as personal and varied as the diets found in the UK. Foodies100 lists nearly 5,000 members and 8 million readers, while The UK Food Bloggers Association (UKFBA) lists 5607 members. Bloggers are becoming increasingly relevant, not only to their dedicated readers online, but also as opinion leaders, food columnists, authors, and in some cases, as brands in their own right. For this research, a variety of UK food blogs will be chosen, and several case studies (6-8) of bloggers as brands will be sought. The case studies will define food bloggers as brands, market mavens, opinion leaders, or combinations thereof, resulting in a clearer definition of people as brands. The case studies will explore how bloggers build equity (financial, social, etc) from blogging. The case studies will be compared against one another and existing models and theories, such as those around brand identity (Aaker, 1997; Keller, 1993) and brand equity (Aaker, 1996). The comparison will highlight any gaps between how brand theory is applied to bloggers as compared to other brands to contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon of bloggers as brands (Yin, 2014). This PhD will contribute to a better understanding of online brands in general and bloggers as brands, opinion leaders, and mavens in particular. It will also provide a fuller understanding of social media marketing from the perspective of individual brands. Bloggers build ties to readership based on shared personality and identity (Fullwood, 2015; Li & Chignell, 2010; Schechtman, 2011). The readership who follow bloggers are self-selecting and this creates a valuable audience for marketers who wish to exploit blogs as a marketing communications platform. Due to the nature of the internet as an established communications channel, this research may also give insight into a unique social phenomenon (Hewson et al., 2003). The research will therefore provide insight into food blogging, with wider applications for virtual communications, online identities and self-forming communities online.