What’s better than Return On Investment when it comes to content & community building?

Return On ‘Involvement’.

It’s the sweet spot where Advocacy lives, and the household-name brands know it.

Consider this your guide to getting stuck in – to growing personal, niche, and brand communities through the power of true, caring connection.

This week, welcome Author, TEDx Speaker, LinkedIn Top Voice & Creative Consultant, Jo Bird, to the podcast. Her years building iconic brand identities (ex-Lounge, ex-Gymshark) alongside her own make her expertly placed to advise you here, in conversation with Verity.

By now, it's a fact that the brands that win involve their audiences in their journey. The next frontier of engagement marketing will be co-creating with your community, to tell your brand story.

Turn this episode on and up to learn how to…

• Relinquish Control to Creators – Cautiously: Collaborating with creators of all sizes is key to spreading digital word-of-mouth and Advocacy. Jo warns against blindly handing over control, though. Brands need to be mindful of their intention and ensure creators align with their brand's ‘friendship group’, so to speak. Otherwise, you could quickly have the wrong person Advocating for you. The right creators can become invaluable Brand Advocates, but the relationship must be carefully curated.

• Not Just Follow Trends, But Set Them: Brands that excel don’t just follow trends – they’re creating them. Experimentation is key here, and taking inspiration from successful brands like Gymshark and Duolingo can help shape a unique strategy. In 2025, this will look like prioritizing co-creation, personal brands, TikTok Lives, and embracing content that fosters a conversational, involved community.

• Prioritize Advocating With Your Brand, Not For It: A brand must have a clear point of view, and share in it authentically with their community. Asking brand fans to Advocate for your brand, instead of with your brand, is a common mistake. Younger audiences expect brands to take a stance on issues, while allowing them to join in the movements made together. Advocacy is a long-term plan; the only one that ensures brand survival for the next 10-20 years, according to Jo herself.

Listen. Learn. Take your brand strategy (personal or commercial) to the next level.

Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy:

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Connect with Jo:

• On LinkedIn

• On Instagram

• On her Website
  

How do you actually stand out in fashion?

You stand for something. No, really stand for something.

That’s exactly what Beyond Yoga did. Almost 20 years later, the brand is still thriving.

Building firmly on the ethos that everyone can wear activewear – no matter their shape, size, or activity levels – has cemented them as a forward-thinking leader in this game.

Today, Paul is joined by Michelle Wahler (Co-Founder (& Former CEO) @ Beyond Yoga | ex-Levi Strauss & Co.) to share her co-founding story. Disrupting the activewear space from day 1, with industry-leading fabrics and a total embrace of size-inclusivity, Michelle knows exactly how to create a brand identity that resonates with women everywhere.

Gain real insight into how she balanced the demands of running a business while maintaining the passion and deep love for her work across two decades, alongside the one thing she’d do differently if she could go back. For fellow Founders, her advice is clear – don’t forget to protect your equity, and don’t sleep on the power of wholesale.

Whether you want to hear the hidden challenges of scaling globally, or you’re interested in how Beyond Yoga’s unique Space fabric came to be a brand signature, this conversation is packed with the knowledge of growing a brand that puts Advocacy first.

Tune in to hear Michelle’s take on…

• Breaking The Beauty Binary: This mission has been at the core of Beyond Yoga’s values, as the brand made a bold commitment to inclusivity and authenticity. With a strict ‘no photoshop’ rule, the brand took a strong stance on celebrating real bodies. This unapologetic approach not only resonated but also fueled word-of-mouth, as consumers struggled to find the same authenticity elsewhere.

• Creating Word-Of-Mouth Buzz: Michelle walks us through the tactical steps that helped the brand grow through word-of-mouth and Advocacy. From the moment the team realized Beyond Yoga had "made it", when Reese Witherspoon was pictured buying their leggings in the 2000s, to the importance of offering what consumers truly want – something no one else is doing.

• Being Generous To Be Kind First, Not To Benefit: There’s nothing that builds Advocacy quite like giving your product away for free. That’s exactly what Michelle did, time and time again – not just to creators, but directly to the Beyond Yoga community. Rewarding them for their loyalty, dedication, and taking a chance on a new name. In the same vein is employee Advocacy, with Michelle building out a generous company culture that truly cared for its people; shutting down during the holidays and offering flexible work options long before they were popular.

Here’s how you build for brands with a mission-driven approach.

Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy:

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Connect with Michelle:

• On Instagram
  

What do Duolingo’s ‘Duo’, ‘Percy Pig’ & AO’s marketing have in common?

Fun, personality & an easily translatable visual identity.

They’ve cracked the code on breaking through social media’s noise.

Industry-leading fashion brands, like Lounge Underwear, are now crossing categories to market like them. Here, you’ll learn how to too.

In today’s episode, Verity interviews Sonia Hussain (Brand & Communications Specialist | ex-Lounge, ex-Bravissimo) on building a great brand in 2024.

Together, they dig deep on the importance of establishing a strong identity, making meaningful connections with your customers, and the three key pillars to any Advocacy strategy – purpose, positioning, and personality.

Touching on direct strategies for building a brand people actively seek out to engage with, Sonia also shares advice for utilizing influencer marketing at every stage of this funnel.

Stand out by challenging the social status-quo.

Get started with Sonia’s take on…

• Retailtainment in Community-Building: Building meaningful connections is made easier by creating experiential marketing that resonates. Brands need to focus on ‘retailtainment’ — blending retail and entertainment to engage customers in-store. Hosting community-driven events, like Lounge Underwear's partnership with Girls Who Walk in Manchester, only serves to strengthen relationships and build a loyal customer base.

• Looking Outside Your Category: The social landscape is oversaturated. Now, to stand out, brands must innovate beyond the playbooks provided by the platforms to make their own mark. Observe and learn from successful strategies outside your category; like Sonia’s latest obsession with AO's engaging social content. Tailoring your approach to each platform is necessary – actioning content that fulfills Instagram’s need for polished inspiration, while prioritizing playful engagement on TikTok.

• Thinking Outside The Demographic Box: Actually understanding your audience, from their own input over any assumptions, is crucial for crafting compelling brand narratives. The ‘Barely There Bra’ campaign was a success for Lounge when they listened to direct feedback, tapping into Gen Z's preference for comfort over traditional underwear choices. This data-driven approach allowed them to craft a campaign that worked; selling out of bras that were marketed without even a photo.

Here’s how you build for brands with a mission-driven approach.

Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy:

• Apple Podcasts

• Spotify

Connect with Sonia:

• On LinkedIn