How Wistia Builds Community with MKTG WMN
Taylor Corrado, Head of Brand at Wistia, at MKTG WMN Connect presenting on the State of Video
On a sunny afternoon in Cambridge, the brick walls of Wistia’s office made a warm backdrop for a conversation about community. MKTG WMN (pronounced “marketing women”) had taken over the space for a Connect event — a daytime gathering for women and non-binary marketers — and in a quieter corner, I sat on a gray couch across from Wistia’s Senior Director of Brand, Taylor Corrado.
“We started partnering with MKTG WMN about two years ago,” Corrado says. “Community and in-person events were really important to us, but we hadn’t built out the network that we needed to really host those at the time. And MKTG WMN had this amazing community built out already and really just needed the support and some of the promotion from our side to get things off the ground, to get exposure. We really felt like the relationship and the brand were aligned… and it was a really great fit.”
That fit turned into a Supper Club event, which turned into full-day gatherings, content collaborations, and an ongoing relationship. “Our brands are aligned, our audience is aligned, and our strategy is aligned,” Corrado says.
An Accessible Community
Corrado admits she hasn’t been part of many communities — they can take work. “You have to go to the events, you have to network with people, you have to be online and actually engage,” she says. “I felt like this was really an accessible community. You could do as little or as much as you wanted.”
She started by “dipping my toes not only as a partner, but as a member in the free community,” connecting with people who felt familiar. “I just feel like I am talking to people like myself,” she says. “You feel like you belong, you can be yourself, you can get help, you can get support.”
The Middle Matters
One thing that stood out to her early: “They’re focusing on the middle management. They’re focusing on marketing managers, directors that don’t typically get the special treatment… communities that go after VPs, CMOs, CEOs, they want the money from them, they want their financial support. But this community is really about fostering that person in the middle of their career that wants to get to the next level.”
It’s personal for her. “I never got this kind of support and community when I was younger. It was very organic and very much through my coworkers. That really sets it apart from a lot of other groups out there.”
Advice for Other Brands
Her advice to companies considering sponsorship? “Make sure that the community aligns to your goals first and foremost, because that’s how you’re going to get buy-in, that’s how you’re going to get the investment to actually support a community like this,” she says. “Start small. We started with the Supper Club. And just start thinking more long term about how to grow the relationship… you don’t have to go all in at first.”
The key, she says, is avoiding the one-off mindset: “It’s really about building not only what the mission is for Marketing Women, but building your audience as well. You want those partnerships that can last a lifetime or just be long term.”
Looking around at the buzz in Wistia’s office that day, she puts it simply: “We can’t just walk away from a community like this when we’ve put so much effort into it and are seeing such great engagement and people really like having fun and enjoying the space.”
Want to Build Something That Matters?
MKTG WMN creates bold, inclusive spaces for women and non-binary marketers and we’re proud to partner with brands that share that vision.
If your company is ready to move beyond one-off sponsorships and into something with real impact, we’d love to hear from you.
