A Wren Says

Madhappy grew out of the mental health struggles of one of its founders. Now through its different endeavors, it serves as a bright spot to support the mental health needs of its community. Beyond the happy and bright clothing, they offer a biannual magazine and blog both addressing different aspects of mental health. In July of 2020, they started a hotline for people to call into and have space to feel heard and supported. As Madhappy build their group of Local Optimists, it leads me to think about the nature of a brand community.

Speaking to Elle on the future of the brand, co-founder Peiman Raf speculated, “Over time, “there are going to be fans of just The Local Optimist. They don’t need to buy Madhappy to be a part of it.” As the community grows, there is a possibility that it extends beyond the consumers of their products and becomes something more.

As I have thought about community over this past week, it has been through the lens of, “you grow community to increase the number of people who will buy our product.” It is interesting that a brand  founder would openly position their community as something more.

For me, there is the question of the role of community. On behalf of Madhappy, I would say the goal of community was to do good in the world and spread impact.  That is distinctly different than building a consumer  base and necessarily will have different results.   

As a brand attempting to build a community, it is crucial to get down to the why of your community building efforts. Think deeply about the reason you are going down this path. Allow that rationale to guide your efforts. And maybe think about whether the goal is to spread your impact, instead of just increasing your profits.