Blog | IOVIA

The Gathering

This is the story of then. There were times over the last decade where I was sitting across from a senior executive, walking through our view of the marketing landscape, one built upon the idea that communities of fans would eventually be key levers for brands to...

Influencers: Should you build or buy?

The title of this post makes reference to the now-common practice of buying services from (often big name) social media influencers to spread your content, promote your products and services, and generally build brand awareness with consumers. But it also makes...

Introducing the brand community value curve

Building a brand community takes time because the rules of human communities still apply in the digital space. The contributions of individuals and groups become more potent over time. The person in your community just lurking and taking it all in today? She might be...

Gen Z, the gig economy and automation: a huge opportunity for brands

A new report outlines some key desires and inclinations of the emergent Gen Z as they enter the workforce en masse around the world. The report, titled "Gen Z and the Gig Economy: It’s Time to Gig in or Get Out" notes that 53% of Gen Z said they would pass up a...

“How will Gen Z transform our brand?”

This is a question we get a lot at IOVIA. And to be honest we don’t have all the answers. What we can do is impart our experience with this generation across all the brands we work with. So here are some thoughts for you: 1) Stop the bullshit. Gen Z will seek you out...

Almost unclassifiable: what brands need is not consultants but laboratory partners

The problem with many consultants is they still operate like it’s the 20th century. Consultants bring specialized knowledge but they’re always not in the trenches with you when you have to apply that knowledge to drive results. And the bottom line for brands is they...

Brand communities are the ultimate social media

Marketers spend a lot of time thinking about the motivations of the people they’re trying to reach. Identifying motivations of specific consumer types and then targeting them with specific messages, products and opportunities is standard stuff. And it’s...

Consumers are people too: a brief guide to motivation

We need to think about consumers, brand fans, and potential community participants as people. It’s sometimes easy to forget they are just like the mostly-well-meaning, flawed, ambitious, insecure, time-strapped individuals we see around us each day. The more we...

What’s the why: the key question for your brand community planning

Find the purpose for your community. Not your purpose. The purpose. You have to satisfy both the needs of your brand and the needs of the participants who you hope to work with. It’s important to remember: almost nobody has enough time these days and in the digital...

Why brand communities fail

Communities form in the wild all the time. Shared interests, shared passions, an unspoken desire to belong, a catalytic event. All these things can bring people together and form the basis for a community to form and grow. But for a brand community, to get your...

Participation commentary