Harsh truth: everything you know about community is outdated.
Let’s get to the heart of a word marketers love to throw around, but rarely define.
This week, join us LIVE from the stage of the Brand Advocacy Summit: London — kicking off a four-part mini series from the day with a heavy hitter.
Verity sits down with Lucy Murray (Brand Director @ Free Soul), Emily Mitchell (Marketing Director @ Tropic Skincare), and Paul Hickey (Group Director @ SAMY Alliance), to unpack what brand love actually looks like in 2025.
Together, they cover:
The 3 Truths Behind Community: From off-the-grid connections to consumer-run spaces, find out what today’s best brands know.
Real Talk on Events, Activations & Intimacy: Smaller, meaningful events trump 400-person spectacles. You know this, so hear the real best practice for acting on it. When the time comes, scale doesn’t have to mean soulless, either.
What Listening Actually Looks Like: Learn how Tropic’s 20k-strong ambassador base & Free Soul’s biggest Advocates guide product and marketing decisions – no red tape needed.
Why Emotional Connection Still Wins: From Free Soul’s community-built retreats to grassroots wellness events (touching grass, wholly included), discover what keeps customers coming back.
Social Listening with a Human Lens: Hear how SAMY Alliance challenges traditional sentiment tracking with one goal; to get under the skin of what audiences really think.
This one is for any brand that wants to build community beyond a hashtag & follow back.
No fluff. No filter. Just what works.
This episode is in partnership with SAMY Alliance; a global network of creative and data-driven marketing agencies helping brands grow through cutting-edge insights, human connection, and digital innovation.
You can learn more about these good folk here: https://samy.com/en/
Chapters
00:00 – What Is Community in 2025, Really?
03:48 – Free Soul’s Ground-Up Community Strategy
06:01 – When Wellness Events Build Real Belonging
08:56 – How Tropic Skincare Co-Creates With Its Ambassadors
10:27 – Listening Without Red Tape (And Acting On It)
12:15 – Why Social Listening Needs a Human Lens
14:01 – Tropic’s Infinite Purpose (And How It Drives Loyalty)
16:04 – Building Emotional Connection at Scale
18:35 – The Tangible Impact of Products Like Free Soul’s
21:33 – Personalisation & Segmentation That Actually Resonates
22:50 – Accountability: The Ultimate Signal of Community
24:27 – When Customers Speak To Each Other
27:00 – Copied Community Strategy? Blinkers On.
28:55 – Authentic Customer Stories: The Real Advocacy Engine
Rate & review Building Brand Advocacy:
Connect with Lucy, Emily & Paul: