2020. A defining year. A turning point globally. The moment when we began to properly appreciate all the things that needed to change, and the power vested in communities and grassroot movements to rewrite their own narratives. The only prediction for 2021 worth making is this: intent without action is not going to be enough. It’s time to be micro ambitious. 

Our focus on the big shiny goal far away is clouding our view of the real opportunity in our periphery. Piano-accompanied mood films of ‘togetherness’ and black squares, brands everywhere joining the chorus of change, few able to back up their virtue signalling with action, that’s how we remember this year’s scramble for meaning in a time of unpredictability and change. Big purpose can be a hugely powerful source of both internal and external focus, motivation and brand strength.

But, in most instances, failure to mobilise the conviction and resources it demands from leaders strangle the real impact, leaving brands and their intentions vulnerable to public scrutiny. In a world that’s hyper connected and interlinked, where messages seeded in the right manner can get disproportionate airtime and galvanise support in a matter of hours, we have a duty not to get stuck in lofty promises we can’t fulfil, but to direct our passion and resources towards achievable, short-term goals. Let’s do a little, often.

A big weight on our shoulders

If advertising does what it’s meant to do, it shapes culture and behaviours at scale. We’re megaphones and amplifiers, speaking to millions of people at the same time. But we’re not outside the system of influence through which we build and share our communication. We too, together with Facebook and others, trade in people’s propensity to change their mind. That comes with great responsibility and a need to take ownership of what our work reinforces and who it empowers. The personal is political. So too, for us, in the business of brand building. But taking big responsibility starts with small actions.

The greatest evidence for this can be found in a global health epidemic, but not the one we’ve primarily concerned ourselves with this year, but one that has even greater potential to kill us. Loneliness. Last month, more Japanese people committed suicide than have died from COVID-19 during the whole of 2020. Everywhere we look, people are living alone, eating alone, growing old alone. It’s impacting not only our immediate wellbeing, but also increasing the likelihood of serious physical conditions such as heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s. In fact, research has shown people with strong social bonds to be 50% less likely to die over a given period of time than those who have fewer social connections.

Community literally helps us live longer, happier lives. Without societal structures and support networks, we’re dangerously ill-equipped to deal with the big challenges ahead: global recession, climate change, biodiversity collapse. Community and belonging is a fundamental human need, like food and water, underpinning all other forms of self-realisation. Without it, we won’t be able to face the bigger picture.

Community is a big opportunity

As traditional support structures break down, we find ourselves in the midst of a radical re-thinking of community. Twitter is the local village hall, Amazon the modern marketplace and CrossFit the new religion, now the global mega fitness chain, generating $4 billion in revenue all around the world. Brands, propelled by globalisation and digitalisation, sit on a powerful antidote to isolation and can, in the absence of viable global governance and ideology, play a powerful role in connecting people who share the same values, interests and passions.

What’s more, a strong community at the core of the brand is insurance for the uncertainty ahead. As the world around us shape-shifts, our success becomes tightly linked to the value we can add and problems we can solve here and now for the people our brands serve. What consumers are doing now or what they will be buying the most of next year is not what should keep us up at night. Rather, we need to be thinking about how we can integrate our shared interests to build mutually beneficial relationships with consumers.

Take Nike as an example. Ultimately Nike wants us to buy trainers and use them to move more. It’s good for us. It makes us happier, healthier, smarter, and the more we do it, the more money Nike makes. Simple. But to achieve that outcome in practice is about much more than inspiration, mood films and Insta-posts. It’s about establishing the infrastructure to enable behavioural change: local running clubs, apps and services that foster positive habit building. That’s what gets people out there. Those short term solutions are what compound to fulfil the long term ambition. And it’s not just the virtuous thing to do, it also makes business sense. An Amazon Prime member spends over twice as much as a non-member while Starbucks loyalty customers are worth more than £14K customer lifetime value.

Adapting to constant change is about setting achievable short-term goals centred around positive contributions to communities, addressing immediate pain points, while acknowledging our role in the bigger picture. That’s how we build loyalty, and make ourselves less vulnerable to the ebb and flow of consumer preferences and purchase behaviours in a time when everything is in constant flux. Simply put, community is at the heart of building brands that master both micro ambition and macro responsibility.

Farah Dib is Co-Founder & Creative Director at TwentyTwenty