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Lululemon crossed $1 billion in revenue in 2011 – built almost entirely on community-led marketing, not paid media. Local ambassadors, in-store yoga classes, Sweatlife events. Word of mouth at scale.

Beauty discovery has moved off the search bar.

Not all challenges are created equal. The best ones tap into authentic enthusiasm, match your brand's personality, and give advocates a reason to show up that goes beyond ticking a box. Here are 12 ideas drawn from what's worked for Beekman 1802’s Kindness Crew, and how to make them adapt them for your program.

Beekman 1802 has scaled its brand advocacy program to more than 3,000 members. They haven't run a single ad to get there.

When a Brand Advocacy program plateaus, it’s usually for the one reason. It was built as a channel, not as a system. The brand recruited for aesthetics, not alignment. They rewarded transactions instead of building belonging.

CMOs track everything. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), Lifetime Value (LTV), Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Earned Media Value (EMV), the list goes on. Yet ask any marketing or brand leader: “What’s the commercial value of your word-of-mouth?” Cue the silence.

(And why most brands are still optimising for the wrong thing)

If marketing in 2025 felt fragmented, unpredictable, and occasionally contradictory, that wasn’t because the industry lost its way. It was because we were in the middle of a transition that most brands hadn’t fully named yet.

Download the The New Operating System for Modern Marketing 2026 Playbook

Watch the CEW x Duel Masterclass: Co-creating with your Most Passionate Customers. 

Led by Molten Ventures and Bright Pixel Capital, the investment will supercharge Duel’s mission to help retail brands grow through the people who already love them.

Duel, the leading Brand Advocacy platform helping leading retail brands including Lush, ELEMIS, Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch grow through their own fan and creator communities instead of traditional advertising, has raised $16 million in a Series A round. The funding was co-led by Molten Ventures and Bright Pixel, alongside existing investor Peter Bauer, founder of Mimecast.