#WeTheNorth: Examining an Online Brand Community Through a Professional Sport Organization’s Hashtag Marketing Campaign

Abstract

The use of hashtags has become an important strategy in digital marketing, anchoring online conversations. The conversations stemming from the use of hashtags can comprise both meaningful dialogue between users and brands, and one-off spontaneous sentiments. As such, hashtags can aid in the formation of a team’s online brand community and can be useful to understand and target key segments of users. In this research, an examination of the Toronto Raptors’ #WeTheNorth campaign in the National Basketball Association was engendered to highlight (a) the types of communication networks formed through the use of the hashtag and (b) the types of segments that are derived from the hashtag (as well as their characteristics). The findings present insights that provide pertinent antecedents for future marketing activities for sport brands as they seek to develop communities of identified fans.