The prominence, reputation, and notoriety of a company define its progress and success to a great extent. Besides presenting the best version of themselves, brands and businesses require plausible and authentic advocates. It is a human tendency to prefer substantial referrals from real people to promote the brand itself directly. Extroverts and people interested in a particular niche who can represent a company’s trademark or are influential in general can avail of brand ambassador services by signing a contract with the company over a certain period agreed upon mutually.
Why do companies require brand ambassadors?
Brand ambassadors give the brand an “identity.” In today’s times, there is stiff competition in the business world, and brands have to compete with many similar ones and be conspicuous to picky and critical consumers. Giving a brand “human face” makes it more reliable and enhances customer loyalty. These ambassadors can be from all walks of life.
For example,
- Adam Gilchrist, an Australian Cricketer, is the brand ambassador for Resimac (a non-bank Australian mortgage lender)
- Daniel Ricciardo, a Formula 1 racer from Australia, is the brand ambassador for Optus and Afterpay.
These ambassadors also grow a personal connection with the brand with time making them ardent spokespeople.
Types of Brand Ambassadors:
A broad classification includes:
1. Celebrities or Influencers –
Every brand has a platform provided by Social Media to promote their products, and one primary method is an influencer and emotional marketing. Buyers or even users exploring brands may have an emotional attachment to a product because influencers they admire promote these. Another factor that drives up this industry is honesty. Even eminent personalities are mere humans. They respect the fans who have made their success possible in any sector, and honest reviews about products they partner with or regularly use are vastly appreciated. These influencers massively increase the reach of brands and establish loyalty between the company and its customers.
2. Goodwill Ambassadors:
This category consists of benefactors and philanthropists. These personalities support philanthropic associations or a non-profit cause and urge people to volunteer for a great cause. They also aim to raise awareness and impart their message and ethics.
Popular Hugh Jackman, an Australian actor in the famous X-men film series, is a Goodwill Ambassador for World Vision.
3. Promotional Ambassadors:
This division of ambassadors involves those who present the public with a live experience by promoting the brand at special occasions, ceremonies, and events. Their job requires them to be present at a venue for ad campaigns to endorse the brand they represent.
Benefits:
1. For the company:
● The most critical advantage brands gain is the sense of ‘human touch. This service increases authenticity and makes the brand tangible, increasing reach and attracting buyers.
- Establishing a brand on digital platforms isn’t an effortless task. Having eminent personalities as representatives can build a reputation online, which eventually leads to increased traffic on their websites and social media.
- While providing brand ambassador services to their agents, the company boosts its recruiting and programmatic advertising team.
- With the assistance of brand ambassadors, companies deliver honest reviews, which help them develop from customer feedback and grow through referral marketing.
2. For the ambassador:
- The ambassador can avail freebies (samples usually smaller in size to the actual product for testing purposes), brand discounts, pre-release information of products, and other perks.
- Consider a situation in which a brand/business is spoken of negatively – in such scenarios, ambassadors address and defend the allegations by talking positively about the brand, thus preventing damage to the company.
- Along with these exciting offers, they also have a flexible schedule and can build their network.
