Thread by @RebeccaTaylorNY

📆Next @sxsw: How to Inspire NextGen of Community Influence

🎤@Reddit) CMO Roxy Young (@roxyyoung) & @RGA CCO Tiff Rolfe

💭Impact of brand reactions to events, leading w/authenticity, ensuring sustained momentum beyond a moment & how to be “MVP” among your core audience #sxsw

When @Reddit underdogs took the financial world by storm, it made headlines & altered the cultural zeitgeist. How do you harness the passion & influence of communities? You crash @SuperBowl w/ a 5-second ad.

🎤@roxyyoung called it “an authentic tribute to our community” #SXSW

🎤@roxyyoung: We asked “Is this a new model for how brands should think about community?’

Community = membership, belonging, influence, shared experiences

@Reddit’s takeaways:
- Culture is community at scale
- Treat your community as co-creators
- Stand w/ your community
#SXSW

🎤@roxyyoung (of @Reddit): You always have to be listening and in tune with not only talk about your company & your products, but things that are generally important to your community. Listen & find the threads relevant to you. #SXSW

🎤@roxyyoung (of @Reddit): Your audience / community is no longer going to sit back and listen to your message as you want to tell it. They want to influence it / be co-creators. #SXSW

🎤@roxyyoung (of @Reddit): what does Reddit have to do with the election? Reddit is a platform powered by voting, so @RGA came up with a campaign tying the two together {during presidential election}.

💭Takeaway: Tapping into the right moment can lead to outsized impact. #SXSW

🎤@roxyyoung (of @Reddit): Brands aren’t precious, static things that must be protected at all costs. Our brand is evolving, you have to be open to co-creation.

We saw people engaging with our ad, so we responded by creating a meta billboard of their creation. #SXSW

After seeing @EmilyZugay critiquing other brand logos on @tiktok_us, @Reddit invited her to critique theirs. Incredibly brave of the brand and CMO @roxyyoung and a great example of influencer engagement and community co-creation. #SXSW

💭 Takeaway: Controlled brands —> Open Sourced Brands

🎤@roxyyoung: ask yourself ‘What are the brand elements that really need to be protected? And which ones can you extend and collaborate with your community?’

#sxsw

🎤@roxyyoung (of @Reddit): We exist so people can find community and belonging, so when our communities are having real world impact, we stand behind them.

💭Takeaway: speaking up has risks, but so does being silent.

#SXSW