It's time for customer advocacy to get its spark back. ✨
Captivate Collective
Bold customer engagement strategies, from acquisition to advocacy.
In December of 2021, Captivate dubbed 2022 as the Year of the Rise of the Customer Marketer and then preemptively labeled 2023 as the Year of Advocacy Impact. Last year in this same newsletter, we said 2024 would begin the Era of Advocacy Everywhere.
So when we look at 2025, what are we expecting for our practice?
In some ways, 2024 has been disruptive. In efforts to curb costs and course correct Covid-era hiring sprees, many organizations experienced significant cuts to their customer marketing and advocacy budgets and teams. Amplified with changes to Influitive ownership, the technology landscape continues to be full of confusing functionality overlap and no clear market leaders in place. And while we’re finally making strides in Lifecycle Advocacy, we’ve barely scratched the surface of its potential.
But in other ways, it’s been a disappointingly quiet and stagnant year. Many of the themes the practitioner community has been discussing since 2020 continue to be on repeat:
Full disclosure - we miss the early days of advocate marketing category creation. We miss the buzz, the excitement of hundreds of people awakening to the potential that is customer collaboration. We miss highly creative forms of customer engagement populating and being shared on a regular basis. We miss the theatrics and electricity of Advocamp (IYKYK). We miss the thrill we would experience at breakthrough innovations from technology providers and the non-stop inspiration of practitioners breaking customer engagement barriers.
Where has the pizzazz and energy of the customer marketing and advocacy field gone? We want it back. We need it back.
So this year, we’re looking for disruption and disruptors. We’re looking for true innovators to join us in pushing the boundaries on the remit and methodology of what customer advocacy and engagement is. Who’s ready to unlock and actually operationalize advocacy opportunities for the entire customer base? Who is ready to take tried and true customer programming to the next level? Which org will be the next Cisco, Marketo, or Salesforce and become the new poster child of what it means to make customer celebration a tenant of business success? Which platforms will be the next Influitives to provide technology that supports real innovation? Which practitioners will inspire others to disrupt their organizations the way Cristina Melluzzi , Kevin Lau , and Truman Tang 🌱 do?
Captivate is doing all we can to dream up, evolve, design and execute the most cutting edge customer advocacy and engagement methodologies and strategies. We’re doing our best to put a little of the voltage back into this practice we love. Who’s coming with us?
In 2025, our practice needs energy. We need enlightenment. We need inspiration. We need the Year of the Advocacy Trendsetters.
Liz & Deena
P.S. - Really wanna be a trendsetter? See below 😉
We’re expanding the CMA Technology Landscape infographic published in collaboration with UserEvidence! Rather than just an infographic, we're creating a meaty report to help customer marketing and advocacy professionals navigate the landscape of customer evidence, reference, and advocacy activation tools.
Captivate Collective will be conducting third-party research to make sure we include feedback and insights from current users. This is where we need you! Please complete this survey by January 10, 2025 to give feedback on tools you have actively purchased or used within the last two years. And who couldn't use a little extra shopping power right now? We'll be giving away a $500 Amazon gift card to one lucky survey participant. Just think of all the things you could get yourself that your loved ones didn’t get you for Christmas. 😉 The survey is anonymous, but you'll need to provide an email address if you wish to be included in the raffle drawing.
That's a wrap!
Earlier this month we wrapped up our final CAP Certification workshop of 2024! We covered key maturity indicators that are essential to creating a forward-thinking, scalable advocacy practice: budget, technology, and resourcing. This cohort was engaged and eager to learn and we couldn't have asked for a better group to end the year with. Big kudos to everyone who joined us and is prioritizing their own development in 2025.
If you want to join in the fun and learn strategic insights and tools needed to position you and your program as a true value driver, take a look at our 2025 schedule. It includes Business Impact, Program Execution, and our newest module, Advocate Experience!
The CAP Certification curriculum focuses on providing learners with real-life skills and knowledge to build, execute, and measure high-impact advocacy programs. We hope you'll consider joining us next year! And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn to stay informed when registration opens.
*dates are subject to change cause let's be real, things get crazy!
CAP Awards Spotlight Series continues in 2025!
You've only got three opportunities left to tune in to one of our CAP Awards Spotlights. They're your chance to look into the minds of advocacy masters at work. Think of them as intimate conversations with the crème de la crème – our 2024 finalists across all categories. If you're looking to level up your advocacy game, join us for one of the few remaining conversations (or all of them) in this extraordinary series and let the inspiration flow. You'll get to:
📅 Mark your calendars for our last three talks!
➡ Advocacy Mindset | Friday, January 10, 2025
Featuring Jeanne Nitschke (Talbot) (She/Her) & Kristen Auguste
➡ Exceptional Advocacy Portfolio | Friday, January 24, 2025
Featuring Kati Viscaino , Alyssa Maschi , and Melissa Pezzin
Recommended by LinkedIn
➡ Advocate of the Year | February 7, 2025
Featuring Chris Yates & Maxine Gardner
Hosted exclusively by CMAweekly .
How to Get More Engagement Out of Your Executive Programs
Today! | 9am PT / 12pm ET | Webinar from Base
Are your executive programs driving the impact and engagement they could be? Join us for this insightful webinar where we’ll explore proven strategies to maximize the value of your executive engagement efforts. From innovative approaches to Executive Advisory Boards (CABs) to crafting compelling content that resonates with senior leaders, this session will equip you with the tools and ideas to elevate your programs. Register here.
Q: How can I align engagement to the customer lifecycle?
A: Listen to our latest TATM episode with Nicole Dingley.
In this episode of TATM, Nicole Dingley , VP of Marketing at Ad Astra will walk us through her portfolio of customer engagement programs and showcase how they align to different stages of the customer lifecycle, ensuring there is meaningful opportunity for every customer to engage further, from Onboarding to Renewal. Check it out on Spotify or YouTube.
Podcast | Captivate Collective
Q: How can B2B companies keep customers engaged across the customer lifecycle in 2025?
A: Check out the latest blog from Zapnito.
Zapnito analyzed over 50 reports to summarize the key trends and statistics shaping the state of B2B customer engagement in 2025. Check out their report.
Q: What does a solid CMO dashboard look like?
A: See how former CMO and Exit Five Founder, Dave Gerhardt, reports on marketing performance to the executive team.
HockeyStack shows you how you can track key metrics, analyze performance, and deliver compelling reports to your executive team.
Q: Want to feel inspired about the power of customer advocacy?
A: Check out this ebook from Mention Me!
Mention Me assembled an ebook presenting examples from 57 different brands, showing how they're leveraging customer advocacy to turn fans into a powerful driver of revenue and sustainable growth.
Q: How do you turn customer stories into revenue-drivers?
A: UserEvidence spoke with a few marketing leaders all about this.
This blog from our friends at UserEvidence feature three marketing leaders breaking down the best customer marketing programs. See how the best customer marketers rethink KPIs, scale with tech, and turn customer stories into revenue-driving magic.
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4X Customer Marketing Director and Founder of Repetitos
4dGreat Newsletter. Totally agree about advocacy losing its mojo. That said, there are some companies doing great work and moving the needle. One suggestion-- lets consolidate the various awards programs and make a much bigger splash.