Building Brand Communities: How Organizations Succeed by Creating Belonging

In real community, members help one another become who they want to be. This can include sharing information, skills, hard-won lessons, and, very often, attentive friendship. When a brand can offer this to members (customers, users, staff, colleagues, volunteers), then something much richer and more rewarding can develop.

A critical takeaway here is that creating community involves far more than offering a trade or a transactional relationship. It includes offering a space (digital or physical) and experiences that inspire feelings.

Nish wanted to find people who loved their own city (value) and who wanted to share what their area offers (purpose).