Brands that Build Communities

After writing a lot about community in both Spark and here on the blog, I've been wondering what's the latest state of brands and how the interact with communities by asking a couple of questions on Twitter.

1. "What brands have created the best communities around them?" Within a few hours I got about 50 answers. Here's the top 10:

1. Harley Davidson
2. Obama
3. Lego
4. Nike
5. Threadless
6. P&G
7. Dell
8. Starbucks
9. Whole Foods
10. Trader Joe's

2. "What makes a great community?" And, again the Top 10?

1. self-generating (do stuff)
2. belonging (feel part of group)
3. identity (stand for something)
4. experiences (bring people together)
5. a great cause
6. working to a shared goal
7.  feedback & recognition
8. ease of participation
9. respect
10. love of and interest in a common goal

I'd love to get your thoughts, as well. Either leave a comment here or tweet me @jtwinsor.

Thanks.

Comments

[Alex]

Definitely agree with your list of "what makes a great community," (though I feel 5 & 10 may be a little redundant, fyi), but when it comes to applying the filter of community to a brand that does not have an inherently conversation worthy or high-engagement brand, it's important to credit brands who are able to align with the PASSIONS of their consumers to create engagement consistent with a brand "aura" in an authentic way, even when the product itself is only a byproduct of that experience.

[edward boches]

Other great brands for community: Ernst and Young.

What makes for good community:

1. opp'y to be heard, influence and define.
2. introduction to others

Good post. Make everyone else to all the work. You really have mastered crowd sourcing ;-)

Edward Boches

[dave kennedy]

heres a handful of Brands you may not have considered that have in my opinion done a terrific job of building community: just say'n

1. Patagonia
2. Quiksilver
3. phish
4. cliff Bar
5. NIN (Trent Reznor)
6. X box
7. Apple
8. boingboing.net