Unlocking the power of community through ownership, powered by Co:Create

In a rapidly changing world, brands represent so much more than the products they sell.

The best brands cultivate a culture — the vibes and tribes — and develop a user base with a defined personality and aesthetic that is as recognizable as the goods and services they provide.

Over the last two decades, we’ve experienced a wave of new technologies that have thrust brands to the forefront of culture, putting their influence on par with the arts, academia and entertainment. In a world shaped by globalization, where product accessibility is pervasive as opposed to exclusive, and once unique items quickly become commoditized, brands are forced to find new ways to differentiate, and individuals long for a new way to connect. The internet and social media have given rise to direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses, cutting out big-box retailers and intermediaries, allowing brands to actually know the consumers they serve. In doing so, a new kind of company spokesperson arose in the form of influencers and user-generated-content (UGC) marketing.

The result of this confluence of factors has been a groundswell of buyers turned into ambassadors, maxis, camps, and creators — a new kind of subculture where one’s identity is equally defined by the brands they support and the ideals they believe in. The reality of these brand subcultures is that they are commerce-driven. Yet allegiances are fleeting. Consumers have more options than ever. With limitless information, increasingly polarizing socio-political environment, and ever shifting views on what makes something ‘good’, the notion of consumer ‘loyalty’ is more of an aspirational target than a firm concept, and it’s captured in an equally aspirational metric of customer life-time value (LTV).

And so the story goes. Those brands who capture a movement, a moment or an audience strive to scale and sell sell sell. Fine tune supply chains, use every surface to advertise, increase access and convenience through mobile optimized experiences, and make it as easy as possible to convert a positive response to a clever marketing campaign into another purchase. As soon as possible, as frequently as possible. When the value of these communities are boiled down solely to their spending power, we see buyers as nothing more than a daily active user or a member of a specific cohort or demographic. This one dimensional approach undermines the massive potential of a brand’s user base to be so much more.

The rise of web3 introduced a new kind of brand subculture– one built on products and ideologies, sure, but that’s not what makes them notable. With web3, there has been a shift from ‘users’ to ‘community.’ The key difference underpinning this change comes down to ownership.

You’re not a ‘user’ of the town you live in, you are a member of the community because it’s partially yours to shape and champion.

This is what makes web3 communities so exciting. Supporters became participants, informing product roadmaps and creative direction, incentivized to contribute and stay engaged because they have a stake in the outcome and are accountable for the success. It breeds virality, engagement, advocacy, loyalty, organic growth, and yes, revenue, lots of it. It’s a compelling model that demonstrates the power of loyalty through ownership. This shift requires a change in how brands perceive the value their customers can provide, widening the lens to include more than commercial activity. How should a brand calculate LTV when customers can be responsible for direct purchase activity, but also product direction, creative input and consumer advertising?

At Co:Create, we strive to help brands unlock the power of community, but we understand that getting there can be quite intimidating;

• How can an established brand open itself up to a greater degree of consumer ownership and co-creation while still, well, running a business?
• How can a brand embrace certain aspects of decentralization without giving up all control to the masses?
• What about the technical hurdles of navigating smart contracts, wallets and tokens?
• How can a brand enter into web3 confidently with so much regulatory uncertainty?

Decentralization and community ownership isn’t an all-or-nothing venture. Providing more voice, transparency and ownership can be viewed on a spectrum, and getting started can be simpler than you think. We see ourselves as operating at the nexus of loyalty, ownership and community, and packaging up the tools and frameworks to help brands introduce these exciting elements to their audience. By doing so, brands can foster that sense of community which unlocks so much more than what we think of as traditional “loyalty.”

The best communities are hubs of meaningful activity rooted in collaboration, entertainment, opportunity growth and culture. They are active experiences, not passive, one-time transactions. When brands can build a true community, they invite their users to experiment, remix, share and celebrate in ways that provide benefits and meaning to both parties.

This product is what we’ve built. Brands can stimulate community activity by strategically seeding moments for members to earn, redeem, own and sell their loyalty and status within a brand community. Gamified interactions, moments of surprise and delight, all powered by web3, but without requiring that anyone understand or appreciate a blockchain or tokens are involved. This approach empowers a brand to unlock so much more than what we understand as “loyalty,” and to serve the broadest swath of individuals, from web3 natives, to noobs to haters.

So, if you’re an innovative brand looking to activate and supercharge your community through true ownership, in a rapidly changing world — let’s talk.