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Developing innovative ambassador program ideas can elevate your advertising campaigns. Ambassadors represent your brand to the public, often at in-person events or through social media. One of the biggest advantages is an almost-immediate sales boost. 

Yet ambassadors also build brand awareness and trust. Millennial and Gen Z consumers are more likely to make purchases based on a personal recommendation, sometimes due to an influencer marketing campaign.

Around 84% of Gen Z consumers are more likely to buy something if the marketing campaign features a real person. 

Ambassador programs can do so much more than help you measure brand awareness. They have the potential to build a relationship with current and potential customers. This increases sales and strengthens your brand’s longevity. 

Is your brand ready to launch an ambassador marketing program? Here’s what you need to know about choosing the right brand representatives for your company. We’ve also included five several exciting ambassador program ideas.

Who Are Brand Ambassadors?

All successful ambassador programs start by defining your target audience. You want to receive these consumers  and engage with in your brand awareness campaign. Be sure to target audience members who::

• Consistently engage with your brand’s social media platforms
• Frequent online shoppers or in-person customers
• Open and read brand emails
• Share posts with their friends and family

Next, it’s important to define your campaign goals. This means deciding what your advertising campaign should achieve. Determine your goals by:

• Reviewing the brand’s annual calendar to remind yourself of busy seasons, annual sales, and other good times to post
• Identifying community events to be a part of
• Choosing a product or service to promote

The term “influencer” or “brand ambassador” might seem fancy. Yet the most effective representatives aren’t celebrities. They’re regular consumers who love your brand. This should include current customers (or employees!) who know your brand best. 

5 Ambassador Program Ideas to Try Today

Once you’ve chosen your representatives, it’s time to develop awesome ambassador program ideas to drum up more brand recognition. 

Remember, for millennial and Gen Z consumers, authenticity is key. These young consumers want to see your brand’s values reflected through your actions. Choose ambassador program ideas that feel fun and organic. In the long term, it will show through to your customers! 

1. Offer consumers VIP event access

Attending in-person events is a great way to get brand exposure. Go a step further and encourage consumers to join you. Offer event attendees product or service discounts. 

Want to elevate their experience? Create a lounge area or designated place to engage with your products. Sponsors at outdoor events like concerts and festivals often draw customers in simply by offering some shade and a place to sit. Meanwhile, they’re engaging with your products and becoming more aware of your brand.

Brand ambassadors for Mercedes Benz and Friends Club are given access to exclusive events around the world. Mercedes often recruits reps by offering event passes or early access. Sponsors of the California music festival, Coachella, create VIP lounge and dining areas.

2. Solve a Common Problem

How does your brand meet your consumer’s needs? Find a common problem your consumers face and ask your brand ambassadors to advertise the solution. 

For example: Are gas prices cutting into your budget? The bike shop has a cheaper option. Not ready to buy a new laptop? The local computer repair shop can fix the one you have. Be sure to make it clear how your brand helps people save time and money.

This is how Brita created one of their biggest advertising campaigns ever. Brita asked consumers if their roommates forgot to refill the water jug. Then, Brita’s Best Roommate Ever influencer campaign recruited NBA star Steph Curry and YouTube star King Bach to create entertaining ads addressing this common annoyance. As a result, the brand saw a 2,000% increase in mobile searches.

3. Let Ambassadors Build the Campaign

Don’t think you have to come up with all the advertising strategies yourself. Since brand ambassadors are your consumers, they have some of the best ideas around how to engage brand loyalists like them. Ask current brand reps and employees to share some of their ideas. Do they have ideas for promoting a sale or certain product? Which events should the brand attend? When ambassadors create content, pay attention to which posts perform the best. 

Red Bull is one of the biggest student marketing programs in the world. They rely on their ambassadors to design and host Red Bull events. Red Bull promotes ambassadors based on their ideas and their initiative. Along with free products, student reps are part of an affiliate marketing program. This means ambassadors are paid as employees and expected to meet certain requirements as they produce social media content. 

Even if it’s not within your budget to create an affiliate program, consider rewarding ambassadors who go the extra mile. 

4. Reward Employees Who Create Content

We’ve already talked about how valuable employees can be as ambassadors. So why not lean into that idea? Not only do employees know the brand best, but they have a built-in audience who trust their affiliation. 

The brand also saves on advertising costs by working within the company. Even better? The American Marketing Association saw a 90% higher employee retention rate in companies that ran employee ambassador programs.

One of the most established employee ambassador programs is run by Coca-Cola. The soft drink giant created applications and advertising materials to facilitate employee-run engagement. Coca-Cola then rewards employees who produce the types of content needed by the company. 

5. Let Ambassadors Behind the Scenes

Brand reps are already fans of your products and services. Yet do they know how the brand they love operates from the inside? Offer your ambassadors a chance to peek behind the scenes and invite them into your manufacturing process. 

Whether it’s in your restaurant’s kitchen, your beauty product factory, or your artist’s studio, give ambassadors a chance to see what most consumers do not. Work with influencers by helping them create social content during the visit. Ask them to share what they learned with consumers. In the future, ambassadors might be able to lead the tour!

Glenfiddich Whisky does this every year by inviting its brand ambassadors to tour the distillery. Their ambassadors come from the service industry or already work within the whiskey business. This opportunity to tour an established distillery is highly valued.