When Legacy Brands Move From Acquisition to Advocacy

There comes a time in every brand’s life where chasing “more” stops making sense. More stockists. More booths. More leads. It’s not that growth is over — it’s that the game changes.

We’re starting to see it with some of the biggest players in our industry. Legacy brands who’ve spent decades in the trenches of acquisition (banners at expos, handing out samples) are now quietly shifting gears. From acquisition into advocacy.

Let’s talk about what that looks like, and more importantly, how to know when it’s your turn to call it.

Dermalogica pulled the pin on their expo stand this year. Instead? They poured into their people — hosting an education and awards night the Friday before Beauty Expo Australia even kicked off. 200 stockists, in a room, celebrating and learning together.

Circadia did something similar. A full day of education, followed by awards night. 180 people in the room, connected to the brand and each other.

In 2024 Timely (a tech brand, not a skincare house) shifted from booth to bond. Their Beauty, Besties & Bubbles event? Two look and learn education sessions with Lia Trebilcock and Bee Czarnota, value centred and community focused. That’s advocacy in action.

So, When Do You Call It?

The truth is, this shift doesn’t happen because a brand is tired. It happens because the strategy has matured. Here are the signals to watch for:

1. You’ve hit the tipping point of total addressable market share

When you’ve captured 70%+ of your total addressable stockist base, chasing the remainder often becomes diminishing returns. That last slice of the pie is usually made up of businesses who are deeply loyal to a competitor, have budget or positioning constraints, or simply aren’t aligned with your brand values. At this point, the smarter play is to double down on the ones who already said yes.

2. Brand awareness has hit saturation

If your brand name comes up in every stockist conversation, expo isn’t where you’ll move the needle anymore. Everyone already knows who you are. The work shifts to showing them why you still matter, and deepening that relevance. At this stage, things like thought leadership, education-led events, or community initiatives carry more weight than another billboard moment.

3. Retention takes priority over reach

New stockists are exciting, but churn is expensive. Once you’re a household name in the industry, the game isn’t “more, more, more.” It’s keeping your best salons, clinics, and educators excited to stay. That means reward structures, education pipelines, recognition events, and giving stockists real reasons to advocate for you beyond the shelf.

Shifting from acquisition to advocacy is not about going quiet. It’s about going deeper. Instead of “How many new stockists did we pick up at expo?”, the metric becomes “How many of our people walked away feeling proud, connected, and educated?”

So if you’re a founder or marketing lead sitting there wondering whether another $60-$100k expo booth is really worth it — maybe it’s time to ask: Is it time we stopped shouting, and started serving?