What Is Brand Ambassador? – Types, Importance & Examples

‘Awareness is fine, but advocacy can take a business to the next level.’

In the highly competitive market, brands struggle to distinguish themselves to increasingly apathetic consumers. This calls for an emotional marketing technique that looks right at the consumer’s feelings and experiences, shaping their brand evaluation.

One such technique is to Ambassify the brand itself. Giving human form to the brand not only makes the brand more credible but it also increases customer loyalty. People begin to trust the Ambassador’s personal experiences with the brand, and the Ambassador becomes their eyes. The Ambassador, too, develops a personal connection with the brand and, in the process, becomes loyal to the brand he/she represents.

What Is A Brand Ambassador?

A brand ambassador is a person who is hired by a company to represent the brand in a positive light and increase product sales by enforcing the company’s marketing and communication strategies.

He/she acts as the “face” of the brand and, in doing so, may represent the brand at specific events and demonstrate the company’s services or products.

A good brand ambassador must know how to use word-of-mouth marketing effectively. He/she must plan to use already established relationships, market the brand among them, and further widen the network.

In general, a brand ambassador must use his/her social prowess to boost brand awareness and embody the brand’s mission and values.

Importance Of A Brand Ambassador

Brand Ambassadors play a crucial role in any marketing and branding strategy. Appearing as the face of the company, they are seen as reliable and trustworthy sources regarding the brands they personify. They increase a brand’s credibility for consumers as they provide the most authentic testimony of a product. The customers begin to feel associated with the brand because of the popular face they remember, even if they do not remember the brand name or advertisement.  In the process, the brand ambassadors, too, develop an emotional connection with the brand they represent, which creates a ripple effect of loyalty.

Besides this, Brand Ambassadors are important for a company in the following ways:

Humanisation

They humanise the brand and help enrich the customer’s buying experience, as some customers prefer buying products directly from a person rather than from a ‘faceless’ brand. A powerful brand ambassador also assumes the responsibility of a marketing and sales team representative.

Publicization

With the help of positive word-of-mouth techniques, brand ambassadors increase brand awareness within and outside their circle. Their robust online reach and professional affiliations within the industry make it easy for them to spread the word in favour of the brand.

Popularisation

Brand Ambassadors increase traffic to a website through personal blogs and referral marketing. This helps increase inbound traffic and reach potential customers outside a potential channel. Social networking plays a crucial role in popularising a brand, and therefore, a brand ambassador helps increase the brand’s market reach.

Protection

They protect a company’s reputation by defending the brand during bad press. They stand against any defaming news or opinion about the company they represent. In some cases, they also share their personal experiences associated with the brand to calm the situation.

Types of Brand Ambassadors

The use of brand ambassadors to popularise a brand has become very common. Every company has begun focusing on devising and implementing ways to use its brand ambassadors best.

These brand ambassadors can be broadly categorised into three types:

Celebrity Brand Ambassador

What’s a better idea than using celebrities, with millions of followers, as ambassadors?! The overall image of celebrities attracts attention from consumers as they are popular and have many loyal fans. This technique often results in a sales boost and popularisation of the brand.

Taylor Swift was once signed up as the Brand Ambassador of Diet Coke, with a series of advertisements featuring the singer herself. While other endorsements of the drinks have been mocked over the years for not being authentic, Taylor Swift professed to be a genuine fan of Diet Coke and remained faithful to the brand, making the customers believe in the brand.

Goodwill Brand Ambassadors

The ambassadors linked with a charitable organisation or a non-profit cause are known as Goodwill Brand Ambassadors. The main objective of such brand ambassadors is to raise awareness and spread their message and morals. They encourage people to volunteer their services for a greater cause.

Pamela Anderson for PETA and David Beckham for UNICEF are two popular Goodwill Brand Ambassadors.

Promotional Brand Ambassadors

Promotional Brand Ambassadors provide the audience with live experiences. They promote the brand at specific events and occasions. Their job is to endorse the brand by being present at a venue for the requirements of the ad campaign.

Roles And Responsibilities Of A Brand Ambassador

A Brand Ambassador works closely with the sales and marketing team to design and execute strategies to boost the sales of the products. He/she authenticates the brand by making it more likeable and real to consumers, enabling them to trust it. He/she nurtures the brand to widen its reach and create more loyal consumers. Using their influence, they help the brand dominate in various areas.

Broadly speaking, the following are the roles played by a brand ambassador:

Achieving sales and marketing goals

A brand ambassador helps the company’s sales and marketing team fulfil the desired mission and achieve its goals. He/she develops and implements awareness-spreading programs to reach prospective clients and proactively manages endorsement ideas.

Increasing brand visibility

No marketing technique is capable of promoting and representing a brand, service or product like brand ambassadors do. They develop and maintain a positive company image by efficiently interacting with consumers. They look after the potential and existing competitors, brand movement, pricing, and distribution of a company’s service.

Analyzing the product

A brand ambassador examines and analyses a product or service to be endorsed. He/she sets up meetings with sales and marketing teams, assists in executing new marketing ideas and develops schedules to publicise marketing strategies depending on potential clients.

Building business relationships

Establishing and maintaining business relationships is the next big task of a brand ambassador. He/she must develop and sustain cordial business relationships with the local trade community and distributors. A brand ambassador becomes the mouthpiece of the brand, in words and in deeds, to maintain brand integrity in every possible way.

Characteristics Of A Successful Brand Ambassador

So, what makes a good brand ambassador? How can one succeed as a brand ambassador?

Given below are some of the must-have characteristics of Brand Ambassador:

Online presence

We live in a connected world, and the larger the number of people a brand ambassador can reach, the more beneficial it will be for the company. Therefore, a brand ambassador must have an established online presence. The more the online presence, the easier it becomes to influence people to trust what one says.

Genuine interest in the brand

Good Brand Ambassadors are the ones who can embody the feel of the brand. This can only happen when the representators have a genuine interest in the brand, have been following it in the past or have been customers themselves. They must have a deep knowledge of the brand because their excitement about it will only lead to consumers’ excitement.

Interaction with public

Brand ambassadors should be outgoing, friendly, warm, and inviting. They should love interacting with people of all ages and backgrounds. They put a face with the name, therefore making it easier for customers to ask questions and give suggestions about the brand.

Creativity

A good Brand Ambassador must stand out from the rest. He/she must have the spark that adds life to the brand he/she represents by devising unique and fun marketing methods.

Examples Of Popular Brand Ambassadors

The job of a brand ambassador is both exciting and rewarding. Every new day offers another opportunity to be more creative and confident than yesterday. Given below is a list of some popular brand ambassadors and the brands they represent:

Jim Beam – Mila Kunis

MG Motor- Benedict Cumberbatch

Vivo – Stephen Curry