Event recap: Let's talk CMX Summit 2025

There is something oddly comforting about stepping into a space where familiar and unfamiliar faces convene to discuss, learn, and advocate for community in our respective organizations. CMX brings together global community professionals who have the same goal: to better the community space, better our communities and become better community advocates. We are a community of community professionals.

For this year's event, I extracted key themes from the content delivered on stage and all of the great conversations we had in hallways and restaurants. Of course, this event also allowed us to connect with some of our customer base and learn what is top of mind for some of the best brand communities.

We also had the opportunity to present on stage with one of our top community customers, Esri. Chris Catania and I did a fireside chat style, speaking to community storytelling tailored to the key stakeholders in the organization who emphasize community impact.

If I can summarize one key message that was a red thread throughout the conference, it is that we should move from community tactics to community strategy: community as a corporate strategy, community as a strategic asset, and our own community strategy. This word persisted and became louder and louder throughout the two days of sessions.

However, the community is more nuanced than just developing a strategy. Here are seven themes that surfaced:

1. Intentional community design & engagement: Prioritizing meaningful interactions and personal transformation over superficial metrics.

2. Cross-functional advocacy and internal alignment: Encouraging community advocacy within organizations through storytelling and feedback loops.

3. Community sustainability & member autonomy: Strategies for communities to operate independently and sustainably through structured processes.

4. Human-centered UX in community experiences: Applying real-world UX principles to enhance community engagement and user satisfaction.

5. Equity and inclusivity in tech innovation: Embedding equity and inclusive practices throughout product development and community management.

6. Strategic storytelling for stakeholder buy-in: Utilizing tailored narratives effectively communicates community impact across organizational levels.

7. Balanced integration of AI and human insight: Ensuring community authenticity and effectiveness through thoughtful integration of AI-driven tools with human moderation and content.

A secondary theme that was just under the surface: Keeping our communities centered on human connectedness. This was not an anti-AI message, but instead using AI to promote human connection, not deterring it. This will be a key challenge for both community platforms and brand communities implementing AI. Of course, AI will be a disruptive force across every technology landscape, and the community category will have ample opportunities to utilize AI in creative and thoughtful ways.

In essence, CMX Summit 2025 was an immersive, strategic convergence of ideas. It empowered attendees to transform insights into sustainable, impactful community initiatives, firmly positioning the community as a pivotal organizational asset.

I highly encourage you to download the Action Guide that Bevy put together for each main stage presentation and presenter. That action guide can be found here: http://43963373.hs-sites.com/cmx-summit-2025-action-guide