In the world of experiential marketing, Brand Ambassadors are the faces of your company, service, or product. They can be found in social media campaigns, behind trade show booths, and distributing promotional material in target markets via Street Teams. While digital marketing and advertising can be successful, nothing brings your company's brand message to life better than an interaction with a Brand Ambassador. Knowing the value of a great Brand Ambassador, it's important to have an idea of what to look for when hiring Brand Ambassadors for you and your brand.
The Roles of Brand Ambassadors
The main goal of a Brand Ambassador is to represent a brand in a positive way. To accomplish this goal, Brand Ambassadors are known for performing several different tasks and filling a variety of roles. Some of these tasks/roles include:
- Promotional item distribution
- Product demonstrations
- Sampling (consumable products)
- Raising awareness of existing promotions
- Promoting new products
- Educating consumers on products/brands
- Wearing branded clothing in high-traffic areas to increase brand recognition
- Hanging up flyers/stickers
- Online engagement with consumers
- Lead generation
- Getting signatures for a political campaign
- Building brand strength- halo effect
Once you know what role/task you're looking to fill, you'll be able to move forward with hiring a Brand Ambassador.
Hiring Brand Ambassadors: Choosing the Right One
Now that you know the role of your Brand Ambassador, it's time to focus on selecting the right one for you and your brand. When making this decision, there are a few things to consider:
Preparation
Whether you choose to hire brand ambassadors directly or work with an agency, it's important to have a plan in place. The following is a checklist for some things you should have ready before hiring a brand ambassador:
- Know your goals. What does a successful program look like? If you're a new brand who is trying to get your name out there, you'll want to focus on brand awareness/brand recognition. If you're looking to increase sales, you'll want to focus efforts on generating leads. There are an infinite number of goals you could have for a program, so it's important to have a list ready before hiring a brand ambassador.
- Logistics. Once the goals are established, it's important to figure out how materials will get to the brand ambassador. Do the materials need to be printed/manufactured or will they be shipping from a warehouse?Will they be going to the activation location or the home of the brand ambassador? Being able to answer these types of questions is necessary before hiring the brand ambassador.
- Training. This will be covered in a later section, but it is important to have an idea of how your program goals impact the training for the brand ambassador.
Hire an Agency or Hire Direct?
There are many things to consider when deciding between hiring brand ambassadors directly or using an agency. I can't speak on behalf of other agencies, so I've used the Kinetic Events system in the following to point out the pros of hiring an agency vs hiring brand ambassadors directly:
Kinetic Events Pros
- Experts in the field
- Existing resources (Brand Ambassadors, staffing platform, hiring/recruiting team, etc)
- Insurance
- Compliance with labor laws nationwide (click here for information on a newer one in California)
- Designated Project Managers for each program
- Partnership with marketing agency for program planning, creation of marketing material, etc
- Knowledge and experience (10 years and over 10,000 programs delivered)
Kinetic Events Cons
- Higher price
Personality of Brand Ambassadors
While each part of the brand ambassador hiring process is important, none is more important than the personality of the brand ambassador. The personality and attitude of the person representing your brand can make or break the success of an activation. The value of a brand ambassador who shares your company values and is passionate about your brand is infinite. By sharing this passion, the brand ambassador can promote your brand as if it were their own. For this reason, many of the top agencies in the industry (including Kinetic Events) record the personal interests of our staff along with their experience. By getting to know our team on a personal level, we're able to provide you with someone who fits seamlessly with your brand.
Training
One of the most frequently undervalued pieces of a promotional campaign is the training of the brand ambassadors. Each brand has a varying level of complexity. For this reason, it's important to have documents that contain product details, brand messaging, program goals, and desired program results. There are a variety of ways to deliver these pieces to the team. We always recommend an in-person training whenever possible. Other delivery methods include online video training (Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc), phone training, KE customized training courses, etc.
Cost of Hiring Brand Ambassadors
Several things factor into the cost of brand ambassadors. Pricing varies depending on the specific job role and market. It's also important to remember the surge in pricing during large conferences, trade shows, or festivals. With all of that said, the most important thing to know about pricing is this: As is the case with professionals in any industry, you get the kind of brand ambassador that you pay for. For more information on pricing, click here to get a quote.
Kinetic Events has been delivering staffing and workforce solutions to brands and agencies since 2006. We are active in 15 cities across the country with a fully compliant W2 workforce of thousands. Contact us to discuss your next street team program. Get A Quote in a few minutes online or give us a call at (888)-351-4126.