Brand Ambassadors: Authenticity in the Digital Age

In the modern marketing landscape, college students have become one of the most lucrative target demographics. There are over 22 million college students across the US, each with their own need for a diverse range of products and services (Statista). Furthermore, students often develop initial preferences for brands during their time on-campus. Such affinities will usually persist even after the students leave school, allowing for an incredible lifetime ROI for the brand.

However, average consumers are exposed to around 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements each day (Marshall). Therefore, in order to stand out and capture this fresh audience that is immune to traditional forms of advertising, a brand must go the extra mile with their marketing initiatives. One such strategy is to employ student brand ambassadors.

Brand Ambassadors can target college students in a more intimate manner than other marketing outlets. For one, ambassadors have an extensive network of peers they are able to access and engage with on an individual level using experience-based promotional events. Furthermore, students are more likely to listen to a fellow peers’ opinions (especially if the peer is a good friend), allowing for a greater likelihood of brand acceptance. As a result of this personal touch of a friend informing his or her friends about a product/service, the brand sees better ROI with brand ambassadors when compared to traditional modes of marketing.

For example, Sabrina Sun, who worked as an ambassador for AMC Network’s Shudder service, generated over 270, 30-day free trial sign ups of the Shudder subscription as a full-time student. Compared to the original goal of 80 free trial sign ups over 8 weeks, these numbers go above and beyond what was originally anticipated. Furthermore, retention rates were above average as well, as Shudder is returning to run the same brand ambassador program in the Fall of 2018.

Similarly, ambassadors for the Brooks Brothers’ Red Fleece line used tabling events to give out customized “swag”, while educating peers on the Red Fleece brand. Jacob Bendalin, a Red Fleece ambassador, recounted that the students “loved the promo products that we handed out and it seems that each individual’s perception of Brooks Brothers changed.” Traditional marketing initiatives would have had a much harder time with such perception shift than a peer telling you about it, while handing out a product to prove it.

Ambassador programs allow brands to target students in a manner unlike any other marketing outlets. Utilizing students to introduce the brand’s products and services to peers is quite effective in driving both perception and adoption. As a result, the brand is left with lifetime advocates and buyers of their products or services.

Sources:

Marshall, Ron. “How Many Ads Do You See in One Day?” Red Crow Marketing, 3 Aug. 2017, www.redcrowmarketing.com/2015/09/10/many-ads-see-one-day/.

Statista. “U.S. College Enrollment Statistics 1965–2027.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/183995/us-college-enrollment-and-projections-in-public-and-private-institutions/.