12.04.25
By Lisa Major
Strong advocacy among your target consumers is the ultimate signal that your marketing strategies are working. But it doesn’t happen overnight or organically – it’s the result of a customer journey that gives consumers something to believe in, solves a problem or meets a need, and gives them something that they just can’t resist sharing with others. Experiential marketing fuels advocacy because the experience gives consumers something worth talking about. It sparks genuine conversations in real time and is super shareable. When people walk away with a positive, memorable interaction, it drives the kind of word-of-mouth awareness every brand hopes for.
So how do you create an event that turns attendees into genuine brand advocates? Read on for simple strategies to try.
When planning an event, give plenty of thought to the flow, specifically, how you want attendees to move through the experience. At each curated moment or touchpoint, there should be a clear connection back to what the brand stands for. Your event brand ambassadors can reinforce these ideas through demos, sampling, gamification, or immersive elements – anywhere the consumer can see, feel, or experience the value of engaging with the brand. When attendees can clearly connect the experience to how your brand fits into their lives, they’re far more likely to talk about it, which is where advocacy begins.
Your value proposition often needs to be tangible for people to truly understand it, which is another reason experiential and event marketing is so effective at building loyalty. When audiences can actively participate, engage, converse, or directly experience what a brand delivers, the connection forms much faster than through passive marketing strategies. The fans you grow through experiential moments naturally carry that enthusiasm forward and share it with stronger resonance.
The connections made at any brand activation, big or small, are often a direct result of the staff you hire, and they should embody what your brand represents. But it goes beyond simply hiring and training your brand ambassadors. You need to think about how those staff will interact with guests, where they fit, and how they add value. For larger experiences, that could mean that you need to hire for specific roles like greeters, guides, or hosts to support the intended flow. For smaller pop-ups or sampling programs, it may come down to one or two team members who can welcome guests warmly, spark conversation, and guide them through a quick but meaningful moment. No matter the activation size, the goal is the same: ensure every interaction feels personal, helpful, and aligned with what your brand stands for.
Loyalty grows after a series of small moments build into a feeling, specifically, a belief in the experience your brand delivers. Set the tone early by training your staff to add personal touches to the attendees’ experience wherever possible. Examples include a warm and welcoming greeting, engaging them in conversation, offering an exclusive or limited-time perk, allowing them to customize a giveaway, or delivering a shareworthy photo op. These micro-interactions add up, and when attendees feel seen and appreciated, they’re far more likely to return that feeling with ongoing support.
If you’re asking for advocacy, it’s important to show that the relationship goes both ways. Your event should be designed to show consumers how your brand continues to deliver benefits long after the experience ends. This is also a prime time to collect leads to keep in touch through priority access programs, exclusive promotions, premium features, or other digital touchpoints that can help you extend the conversation beyond the event.
Since 2002, ATN has helped brands and organizations of all sizes transform their events into meaningful and memorable experiences. With dedicated support teams for every project, our brand ambassadors know how to deliver the kind of engagement that grows real brand fans.
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