AMBASSADORS ASSEMBLE!Making Your Community Your Brand's Superhero

We spend too much time focusing on our people problems. Angry customers. Upset employees. Today, your people can’t

be a problem. That’s because they have the potential to be your brand’s biggest asset. But only if you embrace them online and

off as the superheroes that they are.

TODAY…

LOOK TO THE STARS …

Superheroes have always given people hope. From saving the world as we know it to giving voice to the underdogs of

society, heroes and their stories have helped us overcome odds. They’ve also helped us achieve amazing things.

Superheroes can help your brand too. But like those classic comics, your heroes may be hiding behind secret identities ...

WHO ARE YOUR HEROES?

Your heroes are hiding in plain sight. They’re hiding behind secret identities within your company’s four walls. Your

employees, vendors, suppliers, and other strategic partners can be a key part of your superhero team.

SECRET IDENTITIES

You also have to look outside of your company. Many of your brand’s best ambassadors are already a part of your

community online. They may even be customers. It’s your job to unite them.

THE MILD-MANNERED CUSTOMER

Would you fight crime for your plumber, milk brand in your fridge, or video hosting software? Nope. Not unless their

mission beyond the product matches what your community cares about.

ASSEMBLE AROUND A CAUSE

By embracing comic concepts to assemble your ambassadors — the superheroes of your brand's community. Unite!

Organize! Save the world!

HOW WILL YOU DO THIS?

IN THIS SXSW INTERACTIVE SESSION

YOU’LL LEARN…

Like X-Men’s Professor X, you need a system for identifying your team, organizing them based on their unique traits, and

building your brand together.

YOU NEED CEREBRO

All comics are great, but you can’t beat independent publishers' message of collaborative teams, inclusivity, and

diversity in storytelling.

BE MORE LIKE INDIE PUBLISHERS,LESS LIKE DC AND MARVEL

Saving the world doesn’t have to be drag. Make it fun! Your ambassadors should want to be a part of your brand’s super

squad.

WHY SO SERIOUS?

While sales makes the cash registers ding, it can be an Achilles' heel to your community’s growth. Focus on helping,

not just selling.

SALES CAN BE KRYPTONITE

Spiderman’s Uncle Ben was right. Creating a community of superheroes around your brand is an awesome asset. You have

to remember to use it for good. Only!

WITH GREAT POWERCOMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

ALL OF THAT

AND MORE!

NICK WESTERGAARD is Chief Brand Strategist at Brand Driven Digital, where he helps build better brands at organizations of all sizes — from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies to the President’s Jobs Council. He’s also the author of Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. An in-demand speaker at conferences throughout the world, he also teaches branding and marketing at the University of Iowa and hosts the popular On Brand podcast.

ERICA MCGILLIVRAY spends a ridiculous amount of time being geeky, both professionally and personally. At Moz, she's the senior community manager, wrangling 500,000+ people and co-running their annual conference MozCon. Erica also is a founder of GeekGirlCon, is a published author, and has a comic book collection that's an earthquake hazard. Follow her at @emcgillivray.

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