FreshNetworks Blog

We’ve spent the last couple of days at an event in London which gets together Marketing Directors from across the UK to meet each other, discuss current issues they’re facing and explore some innovative solutions. It was a great opportunity for us to meet people across different industries and find out the issues they’re facing.

The one word that came up again and again during the day was ‘advocacy’. Two great examples from the day are Aga and Save the Children.

Aga are currently launching a campaing called ‘This is My Aga’ (see here) and encouraging people to join a community where they can log where their Aga is, chat with other owners and share ideas, news and stories. This kid of activity is a great way to allow passionate customers to contribute to the brand, feedback and it gives them a unique place to go to online. For Aga this is about building a network of passinate Aga owners who will discuss their product on the community and outside the community. Building advocacy for the brand and product in the wider communities they’re in. By letting owners connect and feel part of an exclusive community they create positive attitudes towards Aga, which can only be good.

In a different sector, Save the Children, want to educate people about what their work involves, who is helped and where. They need to build a network of people who understand this and spread the word - becoming advocates of their work. To help achieve this, they’ve built Kroo Bay, an online community that lets you see video tours of and connect with the Children of Kroo Bay in Sierra Leone. The purpose of this site (and the campaigns that will drive people here) is to let people see and understand first hand what life is like in Kroo Bay and the work that Save the Children are doing there. They believe that by interacting with people in this way they will build real knowledge, support and advocacy for their cause.

These two examples are jsut typical of the discussions I had over the two days. People from different sectors and with different needs are talking about advocacy. A need to engage in a deep and sustainable way with people (whether they’re customers, donors or just supporters). A way to make these people feel special and like insiders to your brand or cause. A way to involve them in your brand and to involve yourself in their’s. Something that’s at the core of what we do at FreshNetworks.