Authenticity. The ‘in’ buzzword along with ‘community’ and ‘brand intimacy’, that when brands get right, they create more than just a flash in the pan campaign; they create longevity and build brand engagement. They become rooted in the culture that breeds true partnership. And it’s something that Gen Z takes seriously when making buying decisions.

Brands can no longer rely on selling product alone and communities open up a new channel for building a presence in the real world, with real user interaction and real-time feedback. Consumers are looking for user-generated content (UGC) that can be trusted, is authentic and is relatable.

Over the last 5 years, there’s been a dramatic shift. Communities are becoming such an important part of briefs, particularly with the global running brands we partner with. Getting product on feet is still in there somewhere, but whereas that used to be the main KPI, it’s now shifting toward engagement and brand affinity.

From the daily content I consume (with my interest in bodybuilding and nutrition), brands like Hammer Strength, ESN and Gymshark really have this nailed. Community breeds loyalty. And loyalty breeds brand momentum.

So how do brands keep community-focused momentum thriving?

When we’ve been working with communities, particularly in the running space, these are ordinary people with ordinary 9-to-5s - they just happen to love running. But that doesn’t make them a marketeer. Nor should it. It’s our job to take them on the journey and communicate as they do: authentically.

Our recent New Balance activation, in partnership with the London Marathon Events team at the Big Half and Big Relay in London this summer, created an awesome buzz around the whole of London and that was in no doubt down to the community groups involved. For the activation, the retail store-focused cheer workshops and sneaker clean activations pre and post race brought together over 200 supporters/runners/community members, and had over 2,000 interactions at our main festival zone space on race day.

Collaborating with Runner Beans (local Greenwich running club and regular New Balance collaborator) for our in-store pre-event and shake down run; and 2-Step Collective, who brought their community members in to play two designated DJ sets and tapped into the London-born music radio platform NTS Radio to bring in DJ AQWEA.

What was great was that, by spending time with the Runner Beans team, they linked us with another one of their collaborators in Elsewhere Coffee - a community supporting a community and a collab that really lived up to Runner Beans’ mantra of Run, Move, Drink Coffee. And a perfect space for New Balance to activate in as ‘bringing the energy’ was part of the initial brief and this collaboration definitely did that.

But let’s be clear. This was just a small part of the overall community-driven event by New Balance and its community and partnerships focused activation team in both the run-up to the weekend and during. This was more than just a one-off. This was a community run event for the people, including the NBBR Community Challenge.

And off the back of New Balance’s stated goals of investing in local communities and using sport as a force for good, the next few years are only going to become more exciting with communities as a key channel.

Brands that don’t recognise communities as a key driver for their consumers, no matter what industry they’re in, will get left behind. I wholeheartedly believe that. But focusing on communities has to be part of a wider brand marketing strategy with this being one (and not the only) channel to be utilised.

If you aren’t already activating in this channel, it’s never too late to start. But remember, always be authentic in your approach.