GoKawiilFeaturing Johanna Faries, President , Blizzard Entertainment; Justine Palefsky, Cofounder and CEO, Kindred and Alphonzo Terrell, Founder and CEO, Spill. Moderated by Morgan Brady, Executive Director, Community and Membership, Fast Company In an era when consumers can scroll past anything in seconds, the brands that inspire real loyalty are the ones that give people a community and something worth belonging to. But that can’t be manufactured with a hashtag or bolted onto a marketing strategy after the fact. Community has to be earned—and it requires companies to listen differently, give up some control, and understand what their most passionate customers actually value. Join this discussion to understand how you can apply this thinking to your business and what it takes to scale a community without killing the magic that made people care in the first place.
The Business of Belonging: Turning Audience into Community
Why This Matters
This panel discussion highlights a growing shift in brand strategy: companies are moving beyond traditional marketing to build genuine communities around their products and audiences. For businesses, this signals that customer loyalty increasingly depends on authentic engagement and shared ownership, not just messaging or advertising spend, making community-building a core business priority rather than an afterthought.
Key Takeaways
- Real brand loyalty comes from fostering genuine communities, not just marketing campaigns or hashtags.
- Building community requires companies to listen to customers, relinquish some control, and understand what passionate users truly value.
- Scaling a community while preserving its authenticity is a key challenge for businesses seeking sustainable growth.
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