Social Media Brand Ambassador Program

Four great examples of brand ambassador programs

“Brand ambassador” is one of those fungible terms in marketing – it could mean fans who are just really passionate about a brand or product and share their love on their own accord, or it could mean a branded, deliberate program by a company to find, embrace, and engage their biggest fans. As a social media agency we have experienced and run may different types of brand ambassador programs. Another important benefit of these types of programs is that you can look to repurpose content from brand ambassadors onto your own social channels.

Social Media Brand Ambassador Program

Brand ambassador programs enable you to tap into all that enthusiasm and help serious fans of your brand to spread the word. How can you get started? One quick way to is learn from one of these great examples of successful, established brand ambassador programs. Each of them takes a different tact, ranging from cultivating technical expertise to rewarding passion to just spreading around some fun. Some are more complex (and expensive) than others, but all can teach valuable lessons.

Brand Ambassador Program Examples


Maker’s Mark Ambassadors (Maker’s Mark)

This program is all about the passion. Passion for a legendary brand in the world of bourbon. Passion for the fine art of crafting a classic. Passion for enjoying it all one sip at a time. Maker’s Mark created several years ago what would become the subject of countless word of mouth marketing case studies, and deservedly so (if it isn’t obvious, I’ve been a member for almost 3 years now and am a big fan of the program).

Ambassadors get access to “The Embassy,” a private online community loaded with everything from personalized business cards to hand out in bars to a picture of your name engraved on a actual barrel of the fine product – which you can visit in person if you like. VIP tasting events, special offers, great swag, exclusive gift shop access, direct contact with Bill who runs the program (a real guy by the way)…those guys in Loretto, Kentucky know how to build a brand ambassador program the right way. On the practical side, ambassadors are also armed with fun tools to help move product as well – among other things, the business cards, which help individuals spread the word about the program and brand, and ways to tell the company about bars and restaurants they find who haven’t quite gotten the Maker’s Mark religion.

Fiskateers (Fiskars)

If you’re in to scrapbooking (and really, who isn’t?), you probably know of Fiskars, maker of fine scissors among other things. Here is a great example of a company, armed with a great product and an interesting history, tapping into an incredibly passionate community to build a movement. The company recruited a few of the most vocal to start a group blog, and launched an ambassador program wrapped around it with taglines like “Born to scrap!”

Among other things, the “Fiskateer” ambassadors had opportunities to attend exclusive meetup-style events and got invited into a private online community where they could connect with others who shared their passion for scrapbooking and Fiskars shears. It is also a fantastic way for the company to hear directly from their most committed customers, creating a two way dialogue that is the hallmark of smart ambassador programs.

Credit to the crew at Brains on Fire for making this idea a reality.

Google Campus Ambassadors (Google)

If you read the job description for the Google Ambassador Program (link above), it sounds downright stuffy – building relationships, liase with Google campus team, organize events, and so on. So let’s flash back a few years to when this program was better known as the “Google Pizza Program.”

The sole goal of the pizza ambassadors at the time was to wander study halls of America’s elite engineering universities and order pizza for hard working students (the kind Google wanted to recruit) on the company dime, showing some love from the big G. It was also a nice way to show how much Google was “one of them.” Add some swag – t-shirts and such – and it as a fun, cheap way for Google to stay front and center in the minds of the students it really wanted to connect with.

Most Valuable Professional (Microsoft)

Microsoft MVPs are all about sharing their expertise with others. Given how technical many of Microsoft’s products are, there is a lot to be shared. Originally launched as part of Microsoft support teams, as a way to recognize, reward, and support the users who were most active on Usenet forums (remember those?) in helping others solve their technical problems, Microsoft MVP has evolved over the years into a marquee brand in its own right.

MVPs, who have to earn their award all over again each year, show off the program logo on their blogs, profiles, and even resumes and business cards. Thousands of them make the annual trek to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, WA for the weeklong MVP Summit, a massive mix of celebration, recognition, connection making, education, and feedback directly with the company’s executives and product teams. Probably the most structured program on this list, Microsoft MVP is also likely the oldest.

If you need help getting a brand ambassador started, please use the form below to get in touch. We would be happy to help!

 



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