Sustainable travel brand, Tropicfeel, operates in a competitive D2C market. With traditional performance marketing channels becoming increasingly saturated, they were looking for ways to separate themselves from the competition and grow organically.
They wanted to turn their existing brand fans into a passionate, engaged community that would allow them to grow organically and through word-of-mouth. They lacked the ability to do so in a scalable and measurable way, so they looked to Brand Advocacy Platform, Duel, for help.
Founded by world-record-breaking adventurer and former brand ambassador, Paul Archer, and viral games developer, Panaiotis Tsarouchis, Duel has developed both the technology and methodology to enable retail brands to drive organic growth through advocacy (the act of supporting and recommending a brand). It helps companies build communities of advocates who trust their brand and promote it to their friends, family and peers - thereby accelerating growth.
Duel’s technology helps companies build these communities of advocates by rewarding their loyalty through:
Powering advocacy programs to reward top customers, thereby further promoting and supporting the brand
Enabling customers to promote the brand and recommend products to their online and social networks
Rewarding customers with exclusive perks, benefits and gifts for completing activities that support the brand. These include social posting, user generated content creation, referrals, affiliates and data collection, amongst many more.
Specifically for Tropicfeel, Duel’s objectives were to:
Increase brand awareness and reach via its existing customer base
Improve customer retention and lifetime value
Increase revenue and product sales through organic channels, more cost-effectively
Duel’s Brand Advocacy Consultants used their deep understanding of community and advocacy to take the Tropicfeel team through an Advocacy workshop. In this they dug into Tropicfeel’s brand values and customer personas before devising a program to drive true organic growth.
This resulted in the ‘Tropicfeel Nation’ - an online community which promotes sustainable travel and brings customers’ love of the brand to life. An industry first, Tropicfeel Nation was built specifically for the brand’s loyal customers, engineered to grow their lifetime value by celebrating and rewarding them for advocating on behalf of the brand, as well as recommending products to their own networks.
Through the program, members complete entertaining challenges that incentivise authentic engagement along the way, including reacting to brand social channels, data collection and following the brand on their journey.
In exchange for their advocacy, members of the Tropicfeel Nation are given access to exclusive products and discounts, can have an input on future designs via the ID Lab and gain access to unique travel-based content.
There are also a range of environmental benefits customers can enjoy as a result of their active participation in the community, including a tree planted for every tier of challenges completed. This really serves to reiterate how Tropicfeel is able to harness online advocacy in an offline way that aligns with their brand values.
The program, built into Tropicfeel’s website and powered by Duel’s technology, includes:
A personal portal integrated with their eCommerce and store POS
● Tropicfeel Nation members are recruited into the advocacy program through their customer journey touchpoints via their website and CRM, their post-purchase flows and their social channels.
● Members sign up to a customised portal, creating their own account and profile
● Members can track their progress through tiers, access new challenges, track points earned through purchases and share personalised referral links
● Product sales via eCommerce are tracked and rewarded
● They receive weekly tailored and personalised digest emails educating members on current standing and advocacy opportunities
Flexible Challenges and Progression
● Challenges are designed to drive brand love and bring the members closer to the brand
● These can be anything that the brand can imagine, from engaging with their social channels and posts to word-of-mouth challenges such as sharing an affiliate links with friends and family
Automated Reward Distribution
● Rewards are automatically delivered to Tropicfeel Nation members after they have earned a specific number of points before a new tier of challenges is unlocked
● Rewards include exclusive products, personalised experiences and voucher codes
Thanks to Duel, Tropicfeel far exceeded its goals for 2022, gaining huge organic exposure, leading to an increase in revenue, as well as a community-based program that well and truly sets the brand apart from the competition.
It wanted to:
Increase brand awareness
Tropicfeel reached an audience of 343,000 through Tropicfeel Nation members’ social activity.
Increase customer retention
The Tropicfeel Nation program has 23,000 members and counting (the original target for 2022 was 15,000).
Reduce reliance on traditional performance advertising tactics
By sharing affiliate links and incentivising referrals, Tropicfeel Nation was able to generate €212k in revenue last year alone.
“We have always been a community-based brand, but were looking for new ways to connect with our customers and reward them for their loyalty.
“Duel provided just that when they created our advocacy program, Tropicfeel Nation. Since the start of 2022, we have grown over four times the amount of total members, reaching our initial goal six months early!
“Additionally, Tropicfeel Nation members continue to demonstrate a higher AOV (average order value) than other customers, taking advantage of the referral discounts and tier discounts they get exclusively as part of Tropicfeel Nation.
“Duel is delivering incredible results for our business.”
Nijady Balanta, Growth Marketing & Comms Manager, Tropicfeel
