A brand ambassador (sometimes also called a corporate ambassador) is a person who is hired by an organization or company to represent a brand in a positive light, and by doing so, help to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the corporate identity in appearance, demeanor, values and ethics. The key element of brand ambassadors is their ability to use promotional strategies that will strengthen the customer-product-service relationship and influence a large audience to buy and consume more.
Predominantly, a brand ambassador is known as a positive spokesperson, an opinion leader or a community influencer, appointed as an internal or external agent to boost product or service sales and create brand awareness. Today, "brand ambassador" as a term has expanded beyond celebrity branding to self-branding or personal brand management. Professional figures, such as good-will and non-profit ambassadors, promotional models, testimonials and brand advocates have formed as an extension of the same concept, taking into account the requirements of every company.
The term brand ambassador loosely refers to a commodity which covers all types of event staff, varying between trade show hosts, in-store promotional members and street teams. Previously, the job of a brand ambassador was undertaken typically by a celebrity or someone of a well-known presence, who was often paid considerably for their time and effort. Nowadays however, a brand ambassador can be anyone who has knowledge or can identify certain needs a brand is seeking. The fashion industry, however, still solely relies on celebrity clientele in order to remain brand ambassadors. Furthermore, brand ambassadors are considered to be the key salesperson for a product or service on offer. They must remain well-informed when it comes to the brand they are representing, due to their nature of being the go-to person when questions arise from consumers. The brand ambassador's job is to drive results through communication tools either publicly, such as social media, or privately including emails, messaging and further one-to-one channels.
Rise of brand managers
The concepts of brands and brand marketing have evolved over decades. Traditionally, consumers were familiar with only a few products that were available in the market. Beginning from the 1870s a number of companies began pushing 'branded products,' which familiarized consumers with more brands. From 1915 through the 1920s, manufacturer brands were established and developed further, which increased companies' reliance on brand advertising and marketing. However, the Great Depression led to a severe drawback in brand progress, as companies were left with few ways to increase revenue and get their business back on track. For the sake of their brand and survival in a hopeless market, companies such as Procter and Gamble, General Foods and Unilever developed the discipline of brand management. The "brand manager system" refers to the type of organizational structure in which brands or products are assigned to managers who are responsible for their performance.
Era of change
From the early- to mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, more firms moved toward adopting brand managers. The sudden boom in the economy, followed by a growing middle class population and birth rate, increased the demand for products within the market. This led to a steady competition among a number of manufacturers who found it hard to get their products noticed amidst the pre-existing brands. By the year 1967, 84% of large consumer packaged goods manufacturers had brand managers. Brand managers were also being referred to as "product managers" whose sole priority shifted from simply brand building to boosting up the company's sales and profit margin. "The product manager is man of the hour in marketing organizations.... Modern marketing needs the product manager," raved one 1960s article.
Over the course of several years, brand managers continued to exist as a medium that would help boost company revenue. In the 1990s, Marketing UK highlighted that brand managers are a part of an "outdated organizational system" while "the brand manager system has encouraged brand proliferation, which in turn has led to debilitating cannibalization and resource constraints."
Evolution of brand managers to brand ambassadors
From the 1990s to early 2000s, brand management itself evolved as brand asset management. Davis defined Brand Asset Management Strategy as "a balanced investment approach for building the meaning of the brand, communicating it internally and externally, and leveraging it to increase brand profitability, brand asset value, and brand returns over time."
College campus brand ambassadors
Campus ambassadors (also known as “brand representatives” and “brand ambassadors”) are college students who spread the word about the company that they represent. The goal of campus ambassadors is to help the company with marketing programs on campus to target the college demographic. This can be achieved by throwing events, hosting workshops, and utilizing social media to promote the brand or company.
Social media brand ambassadors
Social media brand ambassadors (also known as micro-influencers or nano-influencers) are social media users who spread the word about a company/brand or its products by posting about them on social media and promoting them to their unique social audience. Usually social media brand ambassadors are part of a larger "Ambassador program" run by a company where the company gives each ambassador a "referral code" or "referral link" to promote with. For example, the ambassador would be given a code like "ambassador15" that would be valid for 15% off on the company's online store. Then, whenever that code is used, the company is able to easily trace it back to that particular ambassador, and can reward that ambassador for helping bring in that sale to the company via a sales commission, free products, or social media exposure. Brand ambassador programs are becoming a huge part of the digital and social media marketing landscape as modern consumers are wanting to become more integral parts of recommending and promoting the brands they love.