10 Definitions of a “Brand Advocate”

November 30th, 2010

Brand Advocacy is increasingly becoming a hot topic of marketing conversations, though people have slightly different definitions of a “Brand Advocate.”

Here at Zuberance, we live and breathe brand advocacy. I say the term, “Brand Advocate” probably about 46 times a day, and hear it from other Zuberance members even more than that. Our official definition is as follows:

“A Brand Advocate is a highly-satisfied customer or other* who recommends their favorite brands and products without being paid to do so.” -Zuberance

*You do not necessarily have to be a customer of a company or brand to advocate it. I recently recommended Hotel Adagio, a Joie de Vivre hotel in San Francisco, to a colleague. I had been there recently, loved the decor, and the location is right downtown, but had never personally stayed overnight. Turned out, my colleague had a wonderful experience there and told me he was looking forward to staying at Hotel Adagio again.

We recently conducted a Twitter Poll with our followers asking them, How do you define the term “Brand Advocate?” Take a look at some of the definitions:

“As someone that’s a ‘fan’ of a brand & takes a sense of ownership in seeing it succeed by evangelizing it to others” –Mack Collier, Social Media Consultant, Author of MackCollier.com

“A volunteer marketer. A customer that proactively uses their time and their social capital to promote a company or cause.” –Jay Baer, Social Media Strategist, Author of Convince & Convert

“I would say a brand advocate is willing to speak positive about a brand without much or any direct incentive.” –Sarah Essary, Edelman Digital, Author of Consuming PR

“A brand advocate identifies with & supports your brand in her everyday interactions by dint of goodwill & natural affinity.” –JD Lasica, Social Media Strategist, Co-author of SocialMedia.biz

“Brand advocate: A person who not only buys from the brand but will act to protect, promote and help it.” –Augie Ray, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research Inc, Co-author of the Forrester Blog

“A BA is someone who needs no incentive to tell others great things about you, and welcomes you making it easier for them to do so” –David Berkowitz, Senior Director at 360i, Author of Inside the Marketer’s Studio

“Brand Advocate = A person who is willing to recommend a product/service to a friend without compensation.” –Travis Murdock, Edelman Digital, Author of Blog Love

“Believes in the goodness of a company, tells others about the goodness of a company, and is loyal to a company in good times and bad times.” –John Moore, Author of Brand Autopsy

“A person who loves your brand/product and tells others about it w/o incentives or recognition” –Michael Brito, Edelman Digital, Author of Social Media Blog

What is your definition of a “Brand Advocate?” Post your comments below!

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