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Wikimedia Foundation/Communications/Wikimedia brands/2016 Wikimedia brands perception report

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This will host research into community perceptions of Wikimedia brands including Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects. This research began with community interviews at Wikimania 2016.

What do we mean by "brand" ?

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How people think of you is your brand. It’s the associated meanings between symbols (logos, names, colors, products, websites) and reputations (values, use cases, purposes, mission statements).

Simply put, a logo/name is a trigger for ideas and feelings about a brand. The names and logos are the signifiers. The values and meanings are the signified. Taken as a complete system, they are a brand.

Participants

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We interviewed 20 key members of the community, including 2 members of the FDC and several former or current chapter presidents.

The group represented

  • 17 countries
  • 11+ languages
  • 10 men
  • 10 women

In reviewing the notes, common themes, phrases, and descriptions emerged. We have documented these commonalities here as preliminary findings on community perceptions of the Wikimedia brand system.

Research methodology

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Our interviews were 30 minutes in length and semi-scripted. The interviews were free response: participants could offer any answer of any length to explain their perspectives.

  • 19 conversations were in English
  • 1 interview conducted in Spanish

Notes were taken during the interviews for later review and analysis. The conversations were not recorded.

Wikimania 2016

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To better understand community perceptions of Wikimedia brands, 20 interviews were conducted over the week of Wikimania 2016. The interviews were semi-structured, meaning there was both a script of set question and the opportunity for interviewing teams to ask follow-up questions or explore new topics inspired by the conversation. Review 2016 findings here.

Each interview was approximately 30 minutes in length. While one research team member asked questions, a second team member recorded notes.

Two sets of visual guides were used to show Wikimedia brand marks and to compare Wikimedia brand marks to other well-known international brand logos.

Research documents

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Findings

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After reviewing the notes from our 20 conversations at Wikimania, the Wikimedia Foundation Communications team produced a full report.


2016 Report