Entries are Open for the ACE Award!
Have you checked out AirBnB's refer-a-friend program? Or Uber's? There’s a reason many of the world’s biggest and most recognized companies are using refer-a-friend. Selected annually, the Advocacy & Customer Engagement (ACE) Award recognizes brands that do it right – the leaders who turn customers into advocates with exceptional referral programs. Apply or nominate a brand for the Extole ACE Award!
Previous Winners
Hanna Andersson received the ACE Award was for the breadth of their refer-a-friend program and for their use of data to engage advocates and friends across a range of marketing channels including mobile, site, email, and catalog to create an advocate-focused brand experience.
Hanna Andersson, premium children’s clothing provider, is a referral marketing standout. Their approach to advocacy and referrals enables them to not just acquire new customers, but gather valuable data about their best customers. Advocates share referrals with friends, who receive a 20% discount on their first purchase. Those advocates then earn 20% off toward a future purchase. By the end of its second month, Hanna Andersson had acquired over 25% of its new-customer goal for the year.
The innovative mattress company, Casper was recognized with the ACE Award for making sharing easy, integrating referral as an essential part of their brand experience, and creating both a stunning on-brand experience for advocates and friends.
Casper Friends (their referral program) has an attractive reward for customers to share with friends and family. When a referred friend purchases for the first time, they receive $50 off and the advocate receives a $50 gift card, which can be used at a variety of online retailers. The program’s structure requires two completed purchases to initiate the $100 payout. Along with organic buzz, Casper Friends helped Casper completely sell out of its inventory within just one week of launch.