Interested in a brand ambassador program? With a team of advocates at your disposal, you can increase brand awareness, create a community around your brand, and sell products in a more authentic way.
What do brand ambassador programs and campaigns look like? Let’s look at some examples from top companies.
What is a brand ambassador?
First, let’s explore what a brand ambassador is. A brand ambassador is a brand lover who agrees to officially promote your brand. Ambassadors are product endorsers who share their experiences to encourage conversation and build customer relationships.
What’s a brand ambassador program?
A brand ambassador program is a group of influencers who formally work with a brand to promote it in different ways. Ambassadors are kept “in the know,” given promotional products to wear or giveaway, and create brand-guided content to boost awareness and sales.
Examples of brand ambassador programs and campaigns
Red Bull
Red Bull’s marketing has always focused on the adrenaline-pumping activities that its energy drink can fuel — and brand ambassadors are part of that marketing technique.
The Wings Team, so named because of the drink’s tagline, “Red Bull gives you wings,” is a group of influencers scattered across the world. As you might suspect, most are into extreme sports. The company gives them Red Bull merch to take on their hair-raising adventures and asks them to share snaps and videos on social.
Here’s a great shot of an influencer climbing the rocks in Slovakia’s Ferrata Dve Veze.
Notice the hashtag, #wingsteamsk, which represents the ambassador team in the Slovak Republic.
Maker’s Mark
Members of the Maker’s Mark Ambassador Club get their name on a barrel of whiskey. Once it’s aged and ready to pour, ambassadors are invited to the Kentucky distillery to see it and have a taste. It’s a unique perk that ambassadors like Lacey Lombard talk about on Facebook to add to the brand’s exclusivity.
To be an ambassador, you must be invited by the brand, yet another nod to the VIP experience the company is trying to create.
Lululemon
Lululemon, the brand that made “athleisure” a thing, relies heavily on its brand ambassador program to promote an active yet comfortable lifestyle. The brand lists all its ambassadors on its website, asks some to host exercise classes in stores, and encourages all of them to represent the brand by sporting their clothing.
Here’s ambassador Chretienne Yalung, a TRX trainer, who shared this Instagram Reel of a suspension workout. She’s sporting Lululemon workout gear.
Xbox
Xbox has a full team of ambassadors tasked with developing a friendly, helpful gaming community. The program itself is like a game. Ambassadors earn points for activities like answering Xbox questions, giving new gamers some advice, or joining groups online. The points translate to badges, swag or contest entries.
The ambassadors have their own social page, like this one on Twitter, and post content on their pages like this engaging post from cocofatale, a brand ambassador and Australian gamer:
Are brand ambassadors paid?
Brand ambassadors are usually compensated in several ways. Compensation might include:
- An hourly wage: Some brands, like Red Bull, pay ambassadors an hourly rate to work on content or attend events. Red Bull is said to pay $28/hour.
- Per post compensation: If ambassadors are tasked with creating a consistent stream of content, they might get a flat rate per post.
- Full-time position: In some cases, brands might decide to put ambassadors on the payroll.
- Free products: Ambassadors are regularly sent free products to endorse.
- Invitations to exclusive events: Some ambassadors attend VIP events where networking is a valuable experience.
- Gifts: To thank ambassadors, brands often send gifts throughout the year, especially around the holiday season. Maker’s Mark sent out this gift to its ambassador team.
- Promotion on the company site: Ambassadors are often featured on the brand’s social channels, which helps them build their audience too.
- Early access to new products: Ambassadors are usually given a “first look” at products. Lululemon uses this as one of its biggest ambassador perks.
A brand ambassador program can help a company increase engagement, generate social buzz, and promote products in a non-salesy way. Plenty of big-name brands see the value in such a program and have opened new marketing opportunities.
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