Choosing
a Brand Ambassador for a campaign, product or a company can be a daunting task
to undertake. The success of your engagement with a brand ambassador will be
measured by your overall campaign goal. Over the years, we have seen companies
engage several personalities from various industries such as sports,
entertainment, lifestyle and business for one campaign or the other.
It
is evident that brand ambassadors play very vital roles in influencing consumer
perception, promotional strategies. Studies have over 70% of brand perception
by consumers is determined by the experience with an individual representative
of the brand.
They
are either engaged to become the face of a particular product, a campaign or a
company by leveraging on their personality and following both online and
offline to influence, communicate, promote or drive consumers to action. These
partnerships most times are meant to increase awareness and generate consumer
appeal, trust and possibly eventual purchase depending on the ultimate goal of
the campaign.
In
some instances, things could get out of hand with a brand ambassador which
could have dire consequences on the company’s reputation and in turn affect the
company’s revenue.
In
avoidance of any crisis and damages, companies and brand managers need to
consider the following in deciding who, why and how they should sign up that
brand ambassador.
Do a thorough research
Before
ever settling on who to engage for a brand ambassador role, make sure to do a
thorough background check of who the person is. Know who they are, what they
do, what they represent and their values. Review their history and past affiliations
with other brands. Be sure the person has a good track record that will make
consumers trust him or her and which will certainly be translated onto your
product. Consider someone who is trust worthy and can represent your brand at
all times. Your research should also answer questions such as; Does he or she
appeal to your target market? Does the person have tendency to drive consumer
decision to purchase? Once these are answered in the affirmative, then you are
good to go.
Consider someone who is media and
consumer friendly
Brand
ambassadors must be media-friendly and relate to all persons across board. They
must be able to answer questions about your product and speak confidently and
directly about your brand to the media and also help you in achieving your
entire communication and brand goal. Additionally, they should be able to
properly deliver your message to the right target market. Being in a social
media and technological era, it will be an added advantage to have someone who
has a good following and engagement on social media.
Clearly state his or her scope of work
Once
you have settled on who you want to sign up for as your brand ambassador,
clearly spell out their scope of work in a written document that binds his or
her deliverables, timelines, and KPI’s etc. With this done, the brand
ambassador understands the magnitude and scope of the work before work
commences.
Provide detailed Messaging Guide
Providing
them with a messaging guide will be in place to ensure that they know what to
say, when to say it and which medium they ought to say it. A messaging guide
also sees to it that the right information being conveyed to your intended target
market. The messaging should be relateable and done to reflect the personality’s
way of doing and saying things, that way its original as possible.
Sign a Memorandum of Understanding or
Contract
Having
a binding document is very crucial when working with a brand ambassador for
your business or product. Many a times, people do not take this aspect
seriously and eventually find themselves in legal battles. The contract should
clearly spell out the legal ramifications should either party default on their
obligations as carried out in the binding document. Issues of exclusivity and
default should all be clearly agreed upon before appending a signature onto the
document. When not sure, do consult a legal practitioner to assist you on that.
Have a Crisis Communication Plan
No
one expects a crisis in any business venture, but the unexpected always
happens. It will be best to have a plan in place to deal with such issues
rather than to be caught off guard and unprepared. A crisis communication plan
will be a road map to guide you in dealing with any issue that will arise as a
result of your partnership with the brand ambassador. It will direct how to
manage and communicate your way out of the ‘mess’ created. A crisis management
specialist can help you get a plan in place.
Photocredit: Google Image
Faith Senam Ocloo
Fashion Public Relations
Fashion I Beauty I Lifestyle I Arts
