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Fandoms are often an overlooked force in internet history. These micro-communities can help create a feeling of belonging and community, presenting brands the perfect opportunity to forge deep and meaningful connections.
David Bates, CEO and creative director of creative agency Bokeh, and Pedro Zuim, global marketing director of Future Farm, joined Adweek’s Lucinda Southern during Social Media Week Europe to discuss how brands can lean into the power of community.
Make change the appealing choice
Plant-based meat company Future Farm is on a mission to change the way the world eats. But the “why” behind the brand’s purpose is much deeper than simply providing delicious meat alternatives. Zuim said leveraging community played an integral role in launching and growing the company—and continues to do so.
“The U.K. talks a lot about being healthier and about the planet and putting pressure on people, but actually, we need to create an environment where it’s inviting,” he said.
“If you couple with that the fact that we are from Brazil and we drive impact where it hits the most—the whole climate emergency situation—you have something that people want to be a part of. We see Future Farm as something that allows you to be part of a movement, that lets you solve problems.”
Ending the platform mentality
Bates said before you can build a community, you must understand where your community is interacting and why. Today’s fandoms don’t live on a single platform. It’s more of an all-encompassing mindset centered around loyalty to the brand, product or person.
“What is the technology environment, and how are they socializing? This is where there’s a major shift of change happening, especially between generations,” he said. “You have millennials and generations before millennials that are used to segmenting their identities across multiple platforms and channels. But if you have a platform mentality when talking about Zoomers or anybody younger, you’re in the wrong place.”
He said the social networks these younger generations spend their time on—TikTok, BeReal and Discord—aren’t platforms. They’re spaces where users build communities rooted in meaningful engagement.
“When you’re talking about communities, you have to understand where these people are, the spaces they inhabit, and how they interact with them,” he explained. “Then, you have to start to think about how you can engage in those different areas.”
Reimagining the 360-degree campaign
As online communities evolve and deep connections become increasingly important, Bates believes the fully integrated campaign is becoming antiquated. Because of this, he said brands should move away from the paradigm that they have to be everywhere at once.
“Instead of the 360-degree marketing campaign, focus on the 15 degrees that really matter because that’s actually where your user wants to interact with you,” he said. “You don’t have to be everywhere, it’s completely inefficient, and you’ll end up spending far more than you need to. You’ll also end up creating a lot of content that is not applicable to the spaces you’re in.”
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