business

Separate acquisition (getting someone in the door) from activation (getting them to engage) and retention (keeping them coming back) . Each of these comes down to different tactics and metrics. Your growth playbook has to align with the type of community you’re building and the outcomes you want it to drive.

Systematic ideation > reactive iteration

You need to start thinking about "ad families" instead of tweaking one winning ad to death. Launch a winning video? Try creating a static version, testing different creators, or reshooting new hooks. That's how you scale.

The biggest myth in community building is the idea that if you simply build a space, people will naturally show up and engage. In reality, communities face a tough cold start problem; reaching those first 100 active members takes more effort than scaling from 1,000 to 10,000.

Start by engaging, with a massive over index on the listening bit. Your community will tell you what they need — support, celebration, or just someone to say “you’ve got this” after a tough run. The adidas Running app gives us a direct line to those needs, and social lets us respond in real time