Category Creation

8Grow a Community by Doubling Down on Live Events and Experiences

What is it about in-person experiences that gives us energy as humans? In our personal lives, we spend money to go to concerts and sing along to the same songs we hear on the radio, or attend sporting events to root for the same team that we can watch on TV. We pay a premium for these experiences—perhaps to be in the same venue as the stars that we idolize, or to post a selfie that proves to our social circles that we were actually there (admit it, you know it’s true). Maybe instead it’s more about community—an innate desire within all of us to share in experiences with other fans bonded and brought together by a common cause. These are strangers we’ve never met before, but when together, we are united by the lyrics to the songs we know by heart and the stat lines of our favorite players. When we feel the weight of being hyper-connected digitally—yet so alone in a broken world—community gives us the sense of belonging that we so desperately desire.

The pursuit of connection and belonging is hardcoded into our psychology as humans and is not a toggle that can be intentionally switched on/off when at work. This is one of the core principles of business-to-human marketing that’s so often underappreciated—the imperative to craft messaging and create programs that can serve employees, customers, and the market at large in their quest for belonging within their teams, companies, and industries. Within the context ...