Brand transcendence through brand value co-creation exchanges within social media craft beverage brand communities
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study explores brand transcendence through brand value co-creation within social media craft beverage brand communities across Instagram and Twitter (now X). Lexical analysis explored a total of 192,330 posts and found brand transcendence evident in the interplay between user-generated content (UGC) and brand-generated content (BGC) across social media platforms, which co-created brand value through the processes of sharing virtual cues within social media craft beverage communities. This brand transcendence was enhanced through the sharing of personal experiences and unique brand moments. BGC across both platforms showcased themes of brand affinity, the importance of time in brand experiences, gratitude, and calls to action. UGC illustrated a focus on brand-specific language, the importance of locality and brand distinctiveness. Evidence was found of hype building, fear-of-missing-out (FOMO), competitions, consumer experiences, and calls to enjoy consuming brands, extoling ‘love’ of brands and brand distinctiveness. This study is the first to explore how social media community content can amass brand value co-creation and its transcendence within social media brand communities and across social media platforms. Clear implications for the tourism and hospitality sectors are identified.
Source: Tourism Recreation Research
Authors: Violetta Wilk, Curt Gilstrap, Darren How
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7153202065