Customer experience no longer stops at the contact center. It is shaped by the wider ecosystem of interactions - from the first marketing touchpoint to the peer communities customers rely on, and the engaged employees who deliver the service.
As part of the CX Awards 2026, the Engagement & Advocacy layer recognizes vendors that connect these critical elements. When marketing and CX operate independently, the promise made during acquisition rarely matches the reality of support. This layer celebrates the technology providers that break down those silos, unifying experience and growth to build genuine, lasting loyalty.
Here is a closer look at the three categories within the Engagement & Advocacy layer, including exactly what our judging panel is looking for in a winning submission.
Best CX and Marketing Alignment
When CX and marketing technology finally pull together.
The experience customers receive should match the promise the brand makes. This category recognizes the solution that genuinely unifies customer experience and marketing technology — so that acquisition, retention, and loyalty work from the same view of the customer.
What the judges want to see:
"Show the judges what alignment looks like in practice. How does your solution join CX and marketing, and what changes for the customer as a result? The strongest entries prove that joined-up thinking produced joined-up results."
Who should enter:
- CX and marketing technology vendors
- Customer engagement and journey platforms
- Solutions unifying experience and growth
Best Community and Peer Engagement Platform
Customer community as a measurable loyalty asset.
Some of the best customer experiences happen between customers. This category recognizes the platform that scales customer community and peer engagement into a measurable loyalty asset — turning customers into an engaged, supportive network.
What the judges want to see:
"Tell the judges how your platform builds community and what it achieves — engagement, advocacy, retention, support deflection. Give the numbers, but also show the human reality of a community customers genuinely value."
Who should enter: