Communities in Command
The New Power Centers of Brand Loyalty
The Why:
While polished campaigns and celebrity endorsements once ruled marketing, power is shifting toward something more authentic: community networks where trust, shared purpose, and peer validation drive behavior. These aren’t just fan clubs or followers; they’re ecosystems where people gather around brands, creators, and causes, fueling engagement, loyalty, and even product innovation.
The Shift Toward Participatory Spaces
People are tuning into spaces that feel personal and participatory, such as Discord servers, Substack newsletters, private forums, and TikTok. Members of these communities aren’t passive audiences; they’re active contributors shaping what comes next. And 40.1% of consumers are more likely to stay loyal to a favorite brand because of engaging with it in an online brand community.
Traditional media and celebrity endorsements are competing with niche communities and micro-influence networks, especially among younger generations. According to Deloitte, roughly 50% of Gen Zs and millennials surveyed say they feel a stronger personal connection to social media creators than they do with TV personalities or actors, and more than half of Gen Z respondents said that social media content is more relevant to them than TV shows and movies.
Building a Community Ecosystem
Brands are beginning to treat community ecosystems as a central pillar of strategy, not just a marketing tactic. They’re building entire ecosystems: ambassador programs, private hubs, podcasts, and interactive content that position the community as a co-creator. More importantly, brands are tapping into the collective intelligence of their communities to inform product direction, marketing strategy, and even policy.
By layering AI tools on top of this new infrastructure, brands will be able to better understand, segment, and respond to community sentiment in real time. Personalized content, recommendations, and product adaptations will be informed directly by what active community members are saying.
Co-Creation as Competitive Strategy
Some businesses are catching on, using community-led growth to drive resilience and scale. Harley-Davidson’s Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.)—a company-sponsored club with over 1 million members—helped rescue the brand from near bankruptcy and turn it into a $7.8 billion lifestyle powerhouse. IKEA turns customers into collaborators through its “Co-Create IKEA” platform where their insights are leveraged for product innovation and sustainability. The Unilever Foundry platform invites startups, academics, and entrepreneurs to co-create solutions to specific challenges. Tangible results include a $1.2 billion alternative protein business and innovations that convert factory waste into emergency shelters.
Other leading brands are following suit. The outdoor clothing company Patagonia engages its community through environmental activism and repair workshops, creating deeper brand connection while advancing its sustainability mission. Lego’s ‘LEGO Ideas’ platform lets fans submit and vote on new product concepts, turning customers into co-creators. What these companies share is a commitment to treating community as core infrastructure; many now have dedicated teams for engagement, intelligence, and co-creation, just like their product or R&D departments.
What’s Next
Organizations should view community not as an audience to broadcast to, but as a strategic asset to cultivate. Here’s how to start:
Identify Your Core Community:
Look beyond follower counts to find your most engaged advocates. These are the people who comment, share, and defend your brand organically.
Empower Community Leaders:
Identify natural leaders within your community and give them tools, early access, or formal ambassador roles. Let them amplify your message in authentic ways that resonate with their networks.
Listen and Act Visibly:
Use AI-powered sentiment analysis and social listening tools to track what your community cares about, then close the loop by showing how their input shaped decisions. When community members see their influence, engagement deepens.
Brand Communities
Drive Revenue
are likely to use an online community to purchase products
say interacting with a brands online community makes that brand more “top of mind” when shopping
prefer to purchase from brands that they interact within an online community
Adapted from TrueLoyal