2024 update
Originally written in 2008, this was my IPA Excellence Diploma thesis on why communities were the future of brand communications. The five core principles I proposed for brands to work with communities in mind were these, which still stack up fairly well I think:
- Create inner belief amongst employees
- Spread the word with every contact your employees make
- Build relationships with the people who share your passions
- Create community spaces to share and develop those passions
- Allow messages to travel as far and as freely as people wish
The full thesis is here in its original form – an updated version was published in “What is a 21st Century Brand?” (ed. Nick Kendall, 2015, Kogan Page).