The 3 Pillars of Circular Marketing: Performance, Content, Events
It’s one thing to reject the outdated funnel. It’s another to offer a practical alternative.
The Circular Marketing Model™ is not a theory. It’s a functional system designed around three strategic disciplines that continuously feed into each other: Performance Marketing, Content Marketing, and Event Marketing.
Together, they create a self-reinforcing cycle where leads don’t they stay engaged, become advocates, and bring others into the fold.
Let’s break down each pillar and how they power the Circular approach.
1. Performance Marketing: Targeted, Transparent, and Trust-Building
Performance Marketing in Circular Marketing is not just about chasing conversions. It’s about intelligent acquisition with respect for your audience and alignment with your values.
What It Includes:
• Paid search and social
• Retargeting with purpose
• Performance-driven landing pages
• Strategic A/B testing
• Value-based measurement and analytics
Circular Difference:
Traditional performance tactics often scream for attention. In Circular Marketing, performance is the entry point, not the endgame. Every ad, every click, every conversion is designed to lead into your content ecosystem, not into a dead-end thank-you page.
Example:
A thoughtful lead magnet ad drives to an article (not a form) encouraging exploration, not pressure.
2. Content Marketing: Your Trust Engine
Content Marketing is fueling the entire model and is the key centrepiece of everything you do. That’s why in the Circular Marketing Model™ diagram, it holds the centre stage.
A content calendar is a great start, but it should be just one piece of an overall content strategy that is aligned with every step of the audience journey. You need a content strategy that earns trust, answers real questions, and nurtures relationships over time. That’s only possible with deep understanding of your target audience.
What It Includes:
• Blog posts (like this one)
• Newsletters and email sequences
• Video explainers, podcasts, webinars, and whitepapers
• Social content with substance
• Variety of different content formats across different channels
Circular Difference:
Most content is built to drive clicks. Circular content is built to build credibility. It’s strategically placed between performance and event efforts, turning one-time visits into long-term attention.
Example:
Someone clicks a paid ad, reads a how-to guide, subscribes to your newsletter, and weeks later joins your webinar — without ever speaking to sales.
3. Event Marketing: The Human Layer
Events and activations are very powerful relationship accelerators. Whether digital or physical, events in the Circular model serve as powerful tools for trust, community, and momentum.
What It Includes:
• Branded panels and conferences
• Strategic sponsorships
• Webinars and roundtables
• Creative activations
• Media speaking appearances
Circular Difference:
Events are often treated as one-offs. In Circular Marketing, they’re deeply embedded into your content and performance engines. A great event generates content. That content feeds ads. Those ads grow your list. The cycle continues.
Example:
You speak at a conference. Your talk is shared on LinkedIn. That post leads to a blog. That blog leads to a newsletter signup. That signup leads to a 1:1 consultation.
Why the Pillars Must Interact?
Each pillar on its own is powerful. But their real strength comes from interdependence:
Performance feeds awareness.
Content nurtures trust.
Events deepen connection.
Circular Marketing is not about sequencing. It’s about integration. There is no “start here”, only move forward.
The System That Grows With You
Most marketing models expect you to run faster to get results. Circular Marketing helps you build smarter, using interconnected strategies that adapt and strengthen over time.
So, which pillar will you strengthen first?
Iskren Lilov
iskren@lilov.com
Marketing and communications expert specialising in strategic consultancy and sustainable brand building. Author of the Circular Marketing Model™ that offers a paradigm shift for marketers in the age of AI, replacing the classic understanding of the funnel with a sustainable circular model.
Why the funnel fails modern audiences – and how Circular Marketing redefines the buyer journey.
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