Brands Want to Be Your Friend. NewsWire

NewsWire: 8/3/22

• For marketers, the magic word today is “community.” Brands don’t just want to sell you their products and services anymore; they want to be your friend. (Vox)
• NH: Disney (DIS) lovers have long supported the brand by buying merch and visiting their theme parks. And the most devoted fans will soon be able to take things one step further: The company is launching residential communities around the U.S. that will be run by Disney cast members. Forget buying Disney products; you’ll be able to live Disney.
• This “lifestyle” approach to branding has become ubiquitous. Peloton (PTON) owners don’t just work out; they buy merch, congregate on Facebook and Instagram, and follow their favorite instructors’ every move on social media. Superfans of the makeup brand Glossier happily sign up to be “Glossier girls” who test products early and promote them online. Wegmans supermarkets host social events for shoppers who call themselves “Wegmaniacs.”  
• Brands have always had loyal customers. But marketers have turned community-building into a deliberate strategy. They’re creating chat channels for buyers to socialize. They host in-person events and use chatty, casual language as if they’re talking to friends. This has basically become the default strategy in the direct-to-consumer world, where startups live and die by social media buzz.
• In part, the lifestyle approach now dominates because Millennials and Homelanders, who clamor for community, are especially receptive to it. But it’s also taken hold at a time when people of all generations are feeling a profound social gap. Pretty much every institution that has traditionally brought people together--marriage, churches, unions, social service organizations, etc.--has lost ground (see “All the Lonely People”). This declining presence creates a vacuum that brands attempt to fill. They want to grow by creating new ways for people to feel part of a group.
• And, of course, the more active and engaged the customers are, the more likely they are to spend money.