Three things are essential to understanding online brand

1. Interaction puts more emphasis on proximity TO the brand, rather than perception OF what is inside the brand than traditional media have.

Following this then:

2. Use of social media technologies means that as much emphasis in developing a brand needs to be put on PERCEPTION OF SELF by the self and others while interacting with brand as on the product’s traditional BRAND ATTRIBUTES which are contained within in the semantic structure of the product.

3. Perception of product through social media technologies also means that the brand is now more easily associated with a larger tribe of products – for better or worse. This TRIBAL ASSOCIATION brings up the issue of proximity once again, but outside the control of the marketer in a way that is so much stronger than ever before that you might say it’s a NEW way.