Community as Brand: Why Belonging Beats Broadcasting
For years, marketers have worshipped at the altar of followers, impressions, and eyeballs. But here’s the truth in 2025: reach without relationship is just noise. And the internet is already deafening.
The real differentiator isn’t how many people see you—it’s how many feel like they belong with you. That’s the shift: from audience to community.
From “followers” to “participants”
Audiences consume. Communities contribute. When people see themselves as part of something bigger, whether it’s a sneaker drop chat on Discord, a brand-hosted book club, or a subreddit that basically runs itself, they invest emotionally, not just transactionally.
That emotional investment is where loyalty and word-of-mouth go nuclear. Customers stop being “customers” and start being your most relentless advocates, defenders, and unpaid marketing team.
Who’s actually doing it?
LEGO Ideas: Fans design sets, vote on favorites, and see their creations become real products. It’s not marketing—it’s shared ownership.
Peloton: The product is a bike, but the real glue is the tribe. Hashtags, leaderboards, and group rides turn fitness into fellowship.
Ninja Creami: TikTok turned this countertop ice cream machine into a cult favorite. The real magic wasn’t the product—it was the community of creators swapping recipes, hacks, and wild experiments. Ninja didn’t have to broadcast a message; the community made the brand irresistible.
And then there’s Merrick Studios, which we built to prove the point. Podcasting is crowded, anyone with a mic and a basement thinks they’re the next media mogul. Instead of adding to the noise, we launched a full network where community exists in two directions:
For listeners, it’s not just one show, it’s a family of conversations: music, food, sports, grief, comics, design, and more.
For hosts, it’s about not creating in isolation anymore. As Tom Frank told Sports Illustrated: “Podcasting can feel lonely. We’re changing that. This is about giving creators resources, reach, and community.”
It’s not about clout. It’s about connection, on both sides of the mic.
The not-so-glamorous side of community
Community isn’t just magic fairy dust you sprinkle on your brand. There’s heavy lifting involved:
Avoiding corporate cosplay. People smell it instantly if your “community” is really just a marketing funnel in a hoodie.
Moderation matters. Left alone, any community eventually devolves into chaos, memes, and arguments about Star Wars. Real community managers keep the vibes right.
Scaling without killing the vibe. The bigger you get, the harder it is to keep things intimate. Smart brands create layered spaces: insider groups for power users, broader zones for the masses.
Why this matters now
Algorithms shift. Ad costs spike. AI is spitting out more “content” than anyone can stomach. What cuts through? Belonging.
At Merrick Creative, we’ve seen audiences come and go. Communities stick. That’s why we help brands create spaces people want to be in, not just messages they happen to scroll past.
Merrick Studios is our proof-of-concept in podcasting. For clients, the lesson is the same: don’t just broadcast, build belonging.
Because community isn’t a campaign. It’s infrastructure. And if you don’t start laying the bricks now, don’t be surprised when your audience moves into someone else’s house.
