I'll Take My Community with Chocolate Chips Community building is a lot like baking cookies. You can punch out perfectly cut cookies (platform thinking), or you can roll imperfectly beautiful balls (people thinking.) Community building isn't a recipe, but it does require a plan. Finding your ingredients – people, platform and a touch of sugar - will be messy but also fun.

1. I’ll Take My
Community
With Chocolate
Chips
WOMMA Summit 2012
@BrainsOnFire | @GenoChurch

2. Holiday time is right around the corner… my favorite parts of the holidays; family and food.

3. When I was growing up the holidays meant a lot baking… which meant I got to help make cookies…
chocolate chip cookies… the real deal… the kind that came from my Mom’s magic touch of ingredients and love.
I thought I would share some of the real deal… please Vicky my cookie hostess, I have some cookies to share… sorry I don’t have enough for everyone… so first come first served.

4. The real deal chocolate cookie - consisted of many parts; the ingredients, the hand mixing, the molding of balls of dough… My goal against my MOM’s wishes was to never make the balls the same size… little one’s, big one’s, busting
with chips ones…

5. But, the real reason I helped… yep it was selfish, was to get a cookie right after it came out of the oven.
I would pick my target, and peel a soft and gooey cookie off the sheet and let it melt in my mouth.

6. Building
communities
is a lot like
baking cookies.
Building Communities is a lot like Baking Cookies.
I’ll dig into that in a minute.

7. If you dig through Slideshare or you’ve been through one of the awesome WOMMA Community Certificate Programs… there’s a lot of information and Case Studies about ROI, Management, processes, and training… all
necessary.

8. I’ve given those talks… sadly, I feel at times that all I’ve done is given attendees a cookie cutter…

9. Today is about breaking the status quo… throwing away the mold and getting our hands dirty.

10. Communities are a test kitchen… they’re always in beta…

11. Community
I’ve decide to share my daily… community rant… our community beliefs inside Brains on Fire.
As I started digging into what I wanted to share during this presentation…
I went back to my past with “communities, which actually started before “community”
was a marketing term, a platform, a thing to be managed, and leveraged.

12. Living
Messaging
In 2002, I had my chance, do I put my faith in a printing press, a television spot, a print ad, a websites to reduce teen smoking.

13. We challenged our state health department to empower 13 to 18 year olds…
To take a chance and build a community of teenagers that become living messaging, living messengers.

14. In 2006, WOMMA’s very own Suzanne Fanning… heard me speak about that teen led communities that were empowering conversations across South Carolina. She challenged Brains On Fire… can we help Fiskars Brands build a better
emotional connection with their customers.
We weren’t afraid to believe; “you can build a community around a pair of scissors.”

15. If you will believe in people remarkable things will happen…
meet some self appointed super heroes for the Fiskars community of Fiskateers.

16. Community
is a way,
not a place,
or a platform.
A way for people to connect to their passions, and to connect with others.
Community is a way, not a place, or a platform.
A way for people to connect to their passions, and to connect with others.

17. A
community
rallies People
around an
idea
or belief
A community rallies People around an idea or belief.

18. A community isn’t defined by “its venue”…

19. it’s not about technology.

20. Community
is defined
by people.
People who
give a…
A Community is defined by people. People who give a damn.
Actually more than the brand.

21. A community
is not an Empire
for your brand.
A community is not an EMPIRE for your brand.

22. The voice of
the Brand should
be as one of the
community.
The voice of the BRAND should be as one of the community.

23. A Community
is a mirror.
A Community is a Mirror. A Community should be a mirror… of purpose, of values, of conversations.
A mirror you can hold up to the inside of a brand and to a brand's customers.

24. Communities
connect the
unconnected.
Special communities… are the ones that people are wanting - but didn't know it until they found it.
Communities connect the unconnected.

25. Communities are
eclectic, shabby,
and always in need
of being tidied up.
Communities are eclectic, shabby, and always in need of being tidied up.

26. Communities
are Human.
Not all days will be perfect days in a community… but that’s OK. Communities are human.

27. Communities share ownership.
Communities share ownership. For a community to become a real-world community it has to expand outside of technology and into the lives of it’s members… brands have to empower members to take ownership for this to happen.

28. Communities are “We” and “Me.” A community adds to a person's identity, its part of ME, it gets ME.
And it gives US something… a tribe of same believers.

29. For this session… I wanted to open up the kitchen and share a bit about two communities that are truly still in the oven.

30. Empty Gym Floor
Who’s a member of a fitness club, yoga studio, the YMCA… show of hands?
What percentage of Americans are members of a club or gym?

31. 15%… Sadly the fitness industry has fought for the same 15% over and over and over.

32. 65% of the 85%
of Americans that aren’t
working out in a gym
are interested in fitness,
but remain non-users of a
club/gym.
65% of Americans… are interested in fitness… but remain non-users of a club/gym

33. Meet Chuck and Dave owners of Anytime Fitness…

34. you might remember them from Secret Millionaire.
Chuck and Dave run the largest fitness franchise in the world…
yes they are successful but they felt there was a lot of work left to do.

35. They challenged us to do something about that 65% can we change the conversation?

36. the existing convo = we all know it…

37. diet pills

38. bikinis

39. biceps

40. 100 lb weight loss stories

41. The current conversation… treats exercise/fitness/weight loss like a "goal" to be achieved, which sets it up as a failure…

42. We decided to flip the convo on its head by celebrating the little things, little wins, the start.

43. So, how do you start that conversation to those folks? You become human, yes a brand can become human…
it starts by not being so concerned about being in control, trying to get your point across, selling more gym memberships…
what good is it if they never come back after one day, ten days, thirty days…You will draw people to you by creating a safe place,
a nurturing place, a place that has two-way conversations, a place where people can feel like they can be themselves.
Sounds easy huh… not exactly.

44. We asked for help, 25 Anytime fitness clubs to join us, by being open to a new conversation to engage those left out of the current fitness conversation.

45. We brought those brave souls, those rebels together… the beautiful thing is they all ready knew this needed to be brought into focus.

46. The Fitness Rebellion was born.

47. Meet Josh…

53. Tonya a Fitness Rebel, posted Phillips, picture on her club’s Facebook page yesterday.

54. it's gotten almost 250 likes, 8 comments and 2 shares in one day…

55. Josh's
Club
hosted
a
boot
camp
this
weekend.
Price
of
admission
was
a
turkey
or
bag
of
Thanksgiving
goodies
for
the
local
food
pantry.

56. 23 million Americans
need treatment for addiction,
only 4 million Americans
seek it…
Now let’s bring the test kitchen LIVE…
23 million Americans need treatment for addiction, only four million americans seek it…

57. Most of us, maybe all of us in this room… our lives, a loved one’s life, have been touched by addiction.
Addiction and Recovery it’s lonely, it’s anonymous, and it faces stigma’s.

58. Lee Pepper with Foundations Recovery Network wanted to challenge the status quo.
They wanted to help the 19 million American’s that aren’t seeking help. we have to change the stigma so they will seek help.
In the future there will be a collective of people connected by actions; dreams, hopes, failures, and success -- building a movement of recovery.

59. We are a community for the hopeful.
We believe bringing people together
is the best way to help others help
themselves.
By extending love, instead of passing
judgment, we can share stories and help
others understand that today can be the
first day of their lives – Day One.
We are a community for the hopeful. We believe bringing people together is the best way to help others help themselves. By extending love, instead of passing judgment, we can share stories and help others understand that
today can be the first day of their lives – Day One.

60. Lee Pepper come on up… let’s talk
1) My first question is WHY? Lee why did you think building a community for an issue that is most often discussed behind closed doors and what was your goal?
2)The Logo… a symbol… a meaning

61. 1) What has happened internally since Heroes In Recovery has launched?

62. 1) Online and Offline… lets talk about about how your blending online storytelling with offline F2F engagement.

63. Let’s talk about the Heroes in Recovery 6k’s why a 6k?

66. Let’s talk about Sean Morrison…

67. Sean went on a 30 day road trip…

68. Sean went on a 30 day road trip…

69. audio…TAR

70. audio…TAR

71. Break the Stigma… what’s this about?

72. The Journey Box…

73. The competition… what’s happen since Heroes has launched?
How does FRN define success for the Heroes in Recovery community?

74. I’ll Take My
Community
With Chocolate
Chips
WOMMA Summit 2012
@BrainsOnFire | @GenoChurch