~70,000 across the pilot
The sponsorship bought visibility. We made it produce an audience.
A global consumer brand was spending on event sponsorship and getting what sponsorship usually produces: a logo in front of a huge crowd, and no idea who any of them were. We designed a simple loyalty game any fan could join in under a minute, and ran it across two live events using an existing social network instead of buying ads. About 70,000 fans took part — and the crowd the sponsorship had already paid for became an audience the brand could actually see.
Near-zero · organic and event presence
A simple three-step loyalty game
Two live events
A first-party view of the fan base
Designed the play and ran it end to end
A global brand with a huge audience it could not see.
This was a major consumer brand with a live-event calendar across several continents and a fan culture built over decades. We keep the name and category private. The numbers below are real.
The audience
Hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, plus years of ticket and merchandise sales. Loyal fans everywhere, spread across many countries and cultures.
The gap
All that reach, but very little direct data. The brand could count impressions and ticket sales. It could not say who came back, who influenced others, or what those fans cared about.
The ask
Brand marketing wanted a low-cost, low-risk way to learn who its fans were, tested against two upcoming events, with results in hand before the next planning cycle.
Our part
Design the play and run it, using an existing social network already operating in this space. Prove that you can grow a real audience relationship without buying reach.
Three simple steps. Each one earns the next.
Most loyalty schemes hand out rewards and hope people stick around. We did it the other way. We started by giving fans a place to belong, then let rewards and status follow. Every step was easy to join and told us a little more about the fan.
Step 1
Join in under a minute
A small, easy action any fan could do on their phone. No app to download, no sign-up hoops. We wanted the whole crowd in, not just the hardcore.
Step 2
Take part and get something back
Once in, fans felt they were adding to the brand they loved, not being sold to. They earned rewards they actually wanted: exclusive content, merch, and access.
Step 3
Belong and be seen
The last step gave fans a sense of belonging. They were no longer just watching. They were part of it, and other fans could see it. This is what turned one-time players into repeat ones.
Why it works
Belonging first, rewards second
Give people a place to stand inside your brand, and they will happily tell you who they are. Same mechanics as any points scheme, but a very different relationship.
An existing social network did the work paid ads usually do.
We put two things together. The brand already drew a big crowd at each event. On top of that we used an existing social network, set up to do two jobs. The loyalty game was the glue that made both work harder.
Reach the crowd
Use the network and the brand's own event presence to spread the loyalty game and drive sign-ups on the day. No paid amplification beyond what the brand already had on the ground.
Find the fans who lead
Listen for the fans who already influence others. Spot the small communities, the repeat sharers, and the voices other fans follow.
What came out
About 70,000 completed sign-ups across the pilot, plus a clear map of who the fan base actually was and who moved it. All first-party, all from the brand's own crowd.
The point
Two jobs, one game, no ad budget. We turned reach the brand already had into a real audience it could see and act on.
Numbers the brand had never had before.
The pilot ran across two events. By the end of the second, the brand held three things it had never had: a real list of its fans, a proven low-cost way to reach them, and a map of who drives the fan base.
01
~70,000 fans took part
Across the two live events. Each sign-up told the brand something real: how fans engaged, what content and merch they liked, and which parts of the brand they cared about most.
02
Near-zero ad spend
No paid reach beyond what the brand already had at each event. The social network did the heavy lifting, so the cost per fan was a fraction of a normal campaign.
03
A first-party view of the audience
For the first time the brand could see its fans directly, not through third-party impression counts. A real, usable picture of who shows up and why.
04
A map of who leads the fan base
The listening layer showed which fans carried real influence, and where the active communities were. That is the audience you talk to first when you launch anything new.
A note on this case study
- The brand is kept private. No name, category, region, or event details. The figures are real.
- The numbers are real. Roughly 70,000 fans across the pilot, at near-zero ad spend.