In the years since Pompei A.D. chose to include Community in our C3 philosophy, it has become one of the most popular, overused words in the marketing-speak lexicon rendering the concept almost meaningless. The human desire to belong to a community is innate, as demonstrated by the MySpace community, the Art community, the Hipster community, the Park Slope Parents community, the Hub Culture community, the Netroots community, the Green community, etc. The fundamental definition of community hasn’t changed - a community is simply a group of people that share a common interest. What has changed is that the number of opportunities for people to discover common interests has increased exponentially. These changes are enabled primarily by virtual technologies, yet the manifestations of this evolution are decidedly tangible.

Apple, once again, serves as an exemplary study demonstrating how embracing this cultural transformation can be good for your business. It is well recognized that buying a Mac product, whether it’s an iPod or an iMac, signifies that you have joined the Apple community, you have become a “Mac Person.” The demographic variations within this community are vast, young and old, low-income to wealthy, all cultures and races, yet, “Mac people” feel that they share certain passions and aspirations. Their shared appreciation of creativity, refined aesthetics, self-expression, innovative utility, and discovery connects them in a meaningful way to a new group of people. Apple capitalizes on this sense of belonging throughout their brand experience. Their retail stores, with their theaters, genius bars, and free-to-use display machines, are eminent meeting spaces. Their software reinforces this attitude. Their hugely successful iTunes store encourages users to share reviews of songs and albums, create their own iMixes for purchase, and distribute their own audio and video Podcasts. A new Mac Person gains access to the broad Apple community, as well as the infinite niche communities that flourish within the Apple brand experience. Community is so crucial to transforming a brand into a vibrant and successful business because customers approach a brand experience with a tacit expectation of community. With every purchase, customers evaluate the potential social benefits of the new experience. What community does this experience connect me to? How will this experience enable me to strengthen the bonds with the communities that I’m already a member of?

The implications that follow this new understanding are powerful. The brand messages, products, and services that are disseminated in this new landscape can no longer rely on any earned or perceived authority in the marketplace, as they are now at the mercy of the collective opinion of the community. Customers also have incentive to co-author their experiences because they now have an audience.

The concept of Community is of fundamental importance to the work of Pompei A.D.