Gross Advocacy Value

Gross Advocacy Value The total measurable value generated by advocates, made up of gross merchandise or affiliate value, earned media value, and content utilisation.

Definition

Gross Advocacy Value is the total attributable value generated by a brand’s advocates across both performance outcomes (such as affiliate-driven sales) and brand outcomes (such as reach, engagement, and impressions). It combines bottom-of-funnel revenue (e.g. tracked affiliate or conversion data) with top-of-funnel earned media value (EMV) (e.g. reach, clicks, impressions) and, optionally, retained revenue via advocate lifetime value uplift.

Why It Matters
Traditional eCommerce metrics are breaking down: customer acquisition costs (CAC) are rising, and consumer trust in paid advertising is eroding. Gross Advocacy Value provides a new North Star metric for measuring brand performance in the era of community-powered growth. By translating advocacy into the same economic terms brands already use for media buying (CPMs and CPCs), it proves that advocacy is not just influence, but a measurable driver of revenue and brand equity.

Gross Advocacy Value matters because it:

• Quantifies earned growth and word‑of‑mouth ROI in currency, not proxies.
• Justifies investment in community, UGC, seeding and ambassador programmes.
• Surfaces hidden efficiency gains such as reduced CAC and higher retention.
• Aligns brand and performance teams with one CFO‑ready metric.

As Paul Archer notes:

“Gross Advocacy Value is not just a number. It’s the common language between brand and performance teams. It gives marketers the ammunition to fight for budgets and prove the real value of their community.”

How It Works

Gross Advocacy Value captures impact across the full Advocacy Funnel:

Awareness – Brand mentions measured in reach

Consideration – User-generated content measured in engagement

Conversion – Affiliate or advocacy posts measured in attributable revenue/conversions

This hybrid approach turns what was once considered a “vanity metric” (EMV) into a defensible, ROI-aligned measure of advocacy performance.