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The 9 Best Brand Ambassador Programs and How to Simply Create Yours in 2024

By Liza Shuttleworth Last updated: 07.15.2024 12 minute read Influencer MarketingMarketing Guides

Is it becoming increasingly difficult to get your products in front of the right people these days?

If you’ve fallen behind with your marketing strategy, it can be even harder as ad-blockers are also starting to deeply impact marketing budgets.

What if we told you that old school is still cool?

According to Global Web Index: “[Millennials are] 23% more likely to discover a product through a vlog, 23% more likely via a celebrity endorsement, and 19% more likely through an expert blogger post”.

Take your company to places it has never been before with word-of-mouth marketing powered by a data-driven solution.

We’re discussing product endorsement strategies, what makes them successful, and how you can create one for your company.

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    9 Brand Ambassador Programs That Simply Work

    1.Red Bull’s Student Marketers

    We all know that Red Bull isn’t afraid to experiment. By creating unique college endorser outreach around the world, they are rewarded for their approach to authentic content creation.

    Red Bull student endorsers are armed with free tools and resources and are supported by a community dedicated to their success as endorsers. In addition, the program is dedicated to making the experience fun and in the spirit of the company.

    The result: a highly sought-after student marketing program that reaches all corners of the globe.

    Their authentic, localised content reaches the right target market through the use of young opinion leaders who are genuinely passionate about Red Bull.

    red bull ambassador program
    Image via #redbullstudent on Instagram

    Want to Learn How to Build a Successful Brand Ambassador Program? Join our Free Brand Ambassador Marketing Course

    2.Mercedes-Benz and Friends Club

    From students to luxury car brands, endorsement schemes are a great fit for almost any loyal customer segment.

    Mercedes-Benz took what could’ve been a standard loyalty program and turned it into a true endorser campaign. Members receive an exclusive card loaded with individual discounts and offers, as well as access to some of the most exclusive events in the world.

    The result: The club currently manages 80 clubs worldwide with a membership of over 90,000 people!

    3.Brita’s Best Roommate Ever Campaign

    Ever opened the fridge to find that someone hasn’t refilled the water…again? Brita took this highly relatable situation and turned it into a brilliant campaign.

    They used an interesting and unlikely duo of NBA star Steph Curry and YouTube influencer King Bach to create a surprisingly entertaining campaign.

    What was even more interesting is that Brita used their traditional advertising campaign endorsement and paired him up a social creator who had a different, but very large online audience.

    This campaign gained a very broad reach and gave a fresh voice to the company.

    The result: According to a Think with Google case study, this endorser x influencer mashup generated “over 2 million views and led to a 2,000% mobile search lift.”

     

    4.Coca-Cola’s Company Brand Ambassador Program

    How do you harness the existing loyalty and customer base that your own employees make up? Well, Coca-Cola did just that and activated their 700,000 global employees through an endorsement scheme.

    Their approach was simple: to inspire and appreciate their associates around the world.

    “Coke’s 700,000 associates have the power to positively influence 210 million consumers by leveraging their personal social media network connections.” – Christy Amador, via the American Marketing Association.

    Employees are supported with apps and other material as they channel positive influence through their own social networks and are rewarded for their activity.

    The result: According to an article from the American Marketing Association, an employee engagement program like this:

    • Saves billions in marketing costs.
    • Generates higher productivity.
    • Grows business at faster rates.
    • Increases employee retention rates at nearly 90% more than companies without endorser schemes.

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    5.Glenfiddich’s Whisky Brand Ambassadors

    The Glenfiddich endorser role is one of the most coveted in the industry.

    Liquor endorsers in the Glenfiddich program come from all walks of life and are usually already in the drinks industry in some form or are genuinely passionate about whisky.

    Glenfiddich trains endorsers once a year at the distillery and according to their website: “it’s also a great way to emotionally reconnect them with everything ‘Glenfiddich’.”

    The administrative part of the role includes compiling marketing reports, organising events and travelling to various markets.

    The role is mostly about spreading the word and educating people about how to enjoy the product in the best possible way.

    The result:

    • The program has a team of 100 enthusiastic endorsers and is represented in 25 countries.
    • The Glenfiddich label alone accounts for 22 endorsers.
    • Endorsers ensure that while there’s consistency in the label’s values, their content and engagement with the general whisky-loving public are authentic and localized for each market.

    6.Pura Vida Bracelets

    This fashion label has taken advantage of the power of micro-influencers on Instagram and Facebook and allows anyone to apply for a yearly intake of reps.

    Pura Vida gives its endorsers (or reps) personalized discount codes, which are included in its social content. As a result, the label can track sales and pay a certain percentage of those sales back to the endorser.

    They used Refersion to generate those discount codes and track the performance of their endorsers.

    Pura Vida sends its reps free products, early access to new products, and other supporting marketing or launch material. The program allows young individuals to earn income while supporting local artists who make the bracelets.

    Pura Vida sends its reps free products, early access to new products, and other supporting marketing or launch material. The program allows young individuals to earn income while supporting local artists who make the bracelets.

    The success of the program is actually due to the 3-tiered system which motivates their endorsers to sell more products by increasing the incentives at each level.

    Pura Vida also allocates a dedicated manager to ensure that everyone is taken care of and motivated to do more.

    The result: According to a recent article on Shopify, Co-Founder of Pura Vida Bracelets Griffin Thall states that:

    • They amassed an army of 110,282 reps – over a hundred thousand ultra-motivated evangelists dying to promote [their] products.
    • With the introduction of the tiered system, sales from reps increased 300% YoY.
    pura vida ambassadors
    Image via @puravidabracelets on Instagram

    7.Lululemon’s Ambassador Empire

    This Canadian yoga fashion endorser outreach is one of the most famous in the world.

    Lululemon successfully created an entire “athleisure” movement while growing a global community of endorsers.

    Lululemon put in a great effort to get to know their target audience extremely well and this allowed them to identify influential leaders in those niche groups.

    They then created an endorser outreach using local yoga instructors who became part of a long-running partnership. There are three categories of endorsers comprising of yoga, elite, and store endorsers.

    According to Tyrone Beverly, a store marketer, in an article on Fashionista.com: “Their agenda is to support your agenda”.

    The result:

    • The outreach recruited over 1,600 endorsers comprising of over 75 professional athletes
    • Over 1,500 local “fitfluencers”
    • 8 yoga instructors around the world, reaching engaged shoppers both in the traditional and online space

    8.The Heineken Experience

    The Heineken Experience in Amsterdam directs a large portion of its liquor endorsing project at its 160 students who work at the attraction. By doing this, Heineken used the power of internal product endorsers to affect their repeat visitor rates which created even more endorsers!

    The project also encourages student staff to outperform each other for extremely generous incentives such as tickets to football matches, the Formula One Grand Prix, and even the Olympics.

    The Heineken experience

    Dirk Lubbers, the MD of the Heineken Experience, owes much of the success of the program to their efforts in picking the right people for the team.

    The result: According to an article on Marketing Week, The Heineken Experience has “allowed it to produce lifelong endorsers, leading to a visitor repeat rate of 17%”.

    9.Xbox Ambassadors

    With a dedicated community and tiered incentives program, the folks at Microsoft have created an extremely sought-after gaming marketing project aimed at Xbox superusers.

    The aim of the program is to reward passionate fans and to create an inclusive community-led environment.

    Members are kept active with seasonal, monthly and daily missions or challenges which unlock special rewards and there is a range of ways to communicate with each other through social media, streaming services or old-school chatrooms.

    xbox ambassadors
    Image via http://blog-ambassadors.xbox.com

    The result: Over the years, Xbox Ambassadors created an almost self-regulated and incentivized community servicing millions of gamers around the world and saving the company millions of dollars in additional support staff.

    11 Steps to Create an Endorsement Program for Your Company.

    Brand endorsers are customers or “superusers” of your product who create content or share positive experiences regularly.

    Companies often invite advocates and endorsers to join clubs or communities to receive exclusive offers in exchange for their support. Some partnerships are more formal and have specific job functions, while others are loosely governed by a core set of values.

    Here are a few simple steps that you can start with:

    1.Define Your Objectives and Budget

    Outline what you want your project to do for your company.

    Ask yourself what your main objective is: is it to sell more products, up-sell current members, or generate more product awareness? Decide on your objectives, assign a budget to get it done, and make sure you include a budget for incentives.

    2.Identify Your Superusers

    Look through your existing customer base and find users who are loyal and passionate about your product. Profile them and have a look at how they’ve engaged with your product in the past.

    Are they product advocates? Have they taken it upon themselves to become community and leaders on your social platforms?

    brand ambassador program tip 1

    3.Create an Incentives or Rewards Structure

    Take a lesson from Pura Vida Bracelets and their 3-tiered system which motivates their endorsers to sell more products by increasing the incentives at each level.

    Think about how you would recognize top users – the Xbox program does this really well by publishing leaderboards and issuing daily challenges.

    brand ambassador program tip 2

    4.Reach Out

    Craft your messages carefully. This can be via email or phone call.

    First impressions matter. Write a beautiful email to let the user know you have chosen them to form part of an exclusive group of product endorsers, and this will add to the excitement.

    5.Reach In!

    Don’t forget that your own employees can make great product endorsers, look at the examples of Coca-Cola and Heineken above for inspiration on how to turn your internal team of product advocates into endorsers.

    brand ambassador program tip 3

    6.Start Small

    Start with a small pilot program and refine the model before opening it up to a larger group. Firstly, this will reduce the amount of support you need to provide, secondly, this will allow you to connect directly with individuals and build a strong foundation.

    7.Provide Resources and Material

    Arm your product endorsers with marketing material and products to help them curate and create content that reflects your company. For example: look at how Red Bull created an online resource portal for their student marketers while allowing them the kind of creative freedom that has propelled their company.

    8.Monitor, but Don’t Dictate

    Keep a close eye on your endorsers but don’t interfere in their content creation process. Create a style guide if you need to. Monitor their progress and sales through your analytics or referral tools.

    Assign personalized tracking numbers or codes to your endorsers so that you can track the online sales that they refer to or generate.

    brand ambassador program tip 4

    9.Keep Your Promises

    Honor your agreement with successful endorsers within the agreed upon time frame. Delivering on your end of the bargain too late will have a serious impact (word-of-mouth travels, remember!).

    brand ambassador program tip 6

    10.Review the Numbers

    Review your sales figures and the performance of your pilot program. Apply any actionable insights or learnings to your larger strategy.

    11.Rinse and Repeat!

    Do it all again with a bigger group because you’re ready to scale up!

    Key Takeaways

    It can be time-consuming to create a brand ambassador program for your company. However, with the proper planning in place it can become a very rewarding effort in the long run.

    Consider choosing a referral solution for your brand ambassador program to take the load off your shoulders so that you can focus on what matters the most for your online store and brand.

    Remember to keep these points in mind:

    • Choose your product endorsers wisely, they must be passionate about your products!
    • Start with a small group
    • Make marketing resources and tools easily accessible
    • Give your endorsers enough freedom to create
    • Provide a support channel and/or a help community
    • Invest in ongoing training and create regular opportunities for them to refresh their connection with the product
    • Give your endorsers tangible benefits (discounts, products, experiences, or payments)
    • Track and measure their performance
    • Use actionable insights to optimise your strategy

    References

    Inside the Cask: Chat with Ludo Ducrocq

    Lululemon Athletica: How to Beat Nike by Creating a New Category [Growth Study] 

    Xbox: Xbox Ambassadors

    Xbox: What do Xbox Ambassadors do? Impact that Matters