A brand ambassador is usually associated with a famous person appearing in a company’s advertisement, but the scope of responsibilities for such a person can be much broader.
Not only stars and celebrities play the role of a brand ambassador, but also specialists in a given field and even ordinary people. Who is a brand ambassador and what are the benefits of having one?
- Brand ambassador is a person who, through their actions and statements, creates a positive image of a company and increases the credibility of its services or products in the eyes of its audience.
- Brand ambassadors can be film, stage, or sports stars, but also influencers, experts in a particular field, or even ordinary people.
- When asking how to find a brand ambassador, it is worth considering the profile of a company’s clients as well as the character of the brand and the products it offers. A person serving as an ambassador should be consistent with the brand’s message.
- Cooperation with a brand ambassador brings a range of benefits – the main one is the increase in company recognition and strengthening customers’ trust in it. It is worth remembering that having an ambassador always involves certain risks.
Who is a brand ambassador?
The answer to the question who is a brand ambassador is quite simple – it is a person whose statements, behavior, and actions influence the positive image of a given brand. Their duties may include, among others: using the brand’s services or products, promoting campaigns organized by the company, or participating in its events. Brand ambassadors often also appear in advertisements or speak in the media on behalf of the organization.
Due to their high recognizability and fanbase, brand ambassadors are often stars and celebrities. Actors, singers, athletes, or TV show hosts are trusted and liked, which can transfer to the brand they promote. Nowadays, increasingly often, influencerswho gather thousands or even millions of followers on their accounts become ambassadors. However, this does not mean that people outside show business or social media cannot serve as brand ambassadors.
Experts in a given field who have earned recognition in their industry can also take on the role of brand ambassador. Such individuals often become brands themselves – their name, surname, or nickname is recognizable not only by people within their professional environment but also by a wider audience. Building a personal brand enables them to be ambassadors for other brands. Among those invited to this type of cooperation were: hair stylist Piotr Sierpiński, who became the face of the Syoss hair products line, makeup artist Magdalena Pieczonka, who took on the role of ambassador for AA Wings of Color brand, and chef Robert Sowa, working for Prymat spices.When considering who a brand ambassador is, we often forget that ordinary people can also become ambassadors, e.g., company employees or users of its services. Such ambassadors generally do not represent the brand in the media, although there are exceptions to this rule. An example is Magda Dąbrowska, marketing manager Kontigo, who also conducts live broadcasts on the brand’s Facebook and appears in Instagram videos as an ambassador. Usually, however, people employed by the organization or using its products do not speak in official media but share positive opinions about the company or its services in private conversations. The opinions of such ambassadors are natural and arise from their own feelings and experiences, which is why they are perceived as genuine. The Kontigo brand also has ambassadors in the form of its customers. The women grouped in the Facebook group actively share their assessments about cosmetics and speak favorably about the company on other forums.
How to find a brand ambassador?
It is worth starting the search for a brand ambassador by defining what we expect from such a person and drafting selection criteria. Clarifying expectations will make it easier to select potential ambassadors and minimize the risk of hiring someone unsuitable for the company’s profile. At the start, it is necessary to define the brand’s character, the values it follows, and identify its target group. It is also worth deciding whether we are looking for a person thematically related to the company’s activity or more interested in characteristic ambassador traits that can be associated with our brand.
A brand ambassador directly related to the brand’s activity strengthens the company’s credibility. In such cooperation, it is worth relying on the ambassador’s experience, who, due to their work, has grounds to speak in a given field. An example of such collaboration is Joanna Jędrzejczyk’s cooperation with the sportswear brand Puma. The MMA athlete knows very well which clothes or shoes work best for training, practices sport professionally, and has numerous achievements, which makes her an authentic ambassador.How, then, to find a brand ambassador based on their characteristic traits? In this case, it is worth considering the values the brand promotes, the associations it evokes, and how its products are positioned. This is how, among others, L’Oréal selects its ambassadors in Poland, collaborating with Grażyna Torbicka. Although the journalist is not directly connected to the beauty industry, her image as a classy, elegant woman with impeccable appearance perfectly fits the brand’s character. Additionally, Grażyna Torbicka is known for her passion for cinema, and L’Oréal is one of the sponsors of the Cannes Film Festival.
Brand ambassador – benefits
A brand ambassador chosen according to its needs and target group can bring many benefits to a company. Thanks to such a person, the brand gains a more human face – it is identified with a specific figure and not just a logo. Furthermore, an ambassador increases the recognition of the brand and the products or services it offers, thanks to its popularity, it is also easier to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions or encourage them to take action on its behalf.
An example of good matching of brand ambassadors to the target group, which certainly translated into financial benefits for the company, is the cooperation between Koral and Ekipa. The audiences of the YouTubers are mostly children and teenagers, so creating ice creams with their idols was a bull’s-eye, although interest in the product far exceeded the circle of Ekipa fans. Interestingly, Ekipa was also involved in promoting other Koral ice creams, which the influencers gave away from a van, but the products did not include those bearing the name of their group. It can be assumed that thanks to such actions, the brand wants to increase the recognition of other products from its portfolio among a younger group of consumers.
Another example of brand ambassador activities that translated into the company’s financial success is the cooperation of Magda Gessler with Mazurska Manufaktura Alkoholi. The restaurateur and media personality promoted a crowdfunding campaign of a company little known on the alcohol market. Her activity, combined with other brand communication efforts, enabled raising financing from shareholders amounting to 2.54 million PLN and the successful completion of the campaign. The star engaged in the business to such an extent that she invested 400,000 PLN in the Manufaktura herself, which showed her audience and potential shareholders that this is a trustworthy company.
Brand ambassador – is it worth it?
Cooperation with a brand ambassador brings not only benefits but also additional costs that the organization will have to bear. Their amount depends, among others, on the scope of activities the brand ambassador will be involved in, their status, popularity, or origin – some companies hire foreign ambassadors, which may be associated with higher remuneration. Besides financial matters, one must not forget the risks related to working with a well-known personality.Having a brand ambassador can be helpful in the event of a company crisis, but it sometimes happens that the person serving as an ambassador is the cause of image difficulties. A triggering factor can be the beliefs they uphold or their presence at a particular event, as was the case with Marek Konrad, who attended a march for one political option. The behavior of the actor cooperating with ING upset some clients, who began expressing their dissatisfaction in the media, but the bank considered it the actor’s private activity and continues its cooperation with him. Brand ambassadors have the right to their own opinions and views, but in the age of social media, where stars often share their private lives, it is worth keeping in mind the potential risks that may arise.
Another risk of cooperating with a brand ambassador may be their lack of knowledge about the company’s products or services and unintentionally promoting other, competing brands. Such behavior even occurs with ambassadors who have many collaborations behind them and are widely liked. An example of such a situation is Robert Lewandowski posting on Twitter from an Apple phone, not Huawei, whose ambassador he was at that time. It is unclear whether the account is managed personally by Robert or done by someone else on his behalf, but the media quickly picked up the topic, raising questions about Huawei’s product quality.
Cooperation with a brand ambassador brings many benefits, but you should always be aware of the potential risks involved. Now that you know who a brand ambassador is, what they do, and what to consider when choosing one, it’s time to start searching.
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