Brand Ambassadors: Love 'em or Leave 'em?

Your brand image is extremely important. This is exactly why finding part-time staffers to represent your brand at your next event is so freakin’ hard! Cue: Brand Ambassadors. These are people hired by the day to literally be your brand. They need to be able to embody your brand identity on the spot and show the world what and who you are. Sounds easy on paper, but when you stop to think about what that has to look like out in the wild, you start to see the struggle. 

We have seen some people take this role and run with it. They are high-energy, passionate about your specific brand, and have this magnetic charm that they can’t seem to turn off. They seem to just ooze good vibes and people respond to that in very positive ways.

On the flip side, we’ve also seen our fair share of absolute trainwrecks. Someone who can’t seem to be bothered with trivial things like punctuality, or even attendance at your event promotions. Having to constantly remind them of tasks just to have them ignored in the end anyway. A bad BA is not a good look for any experiential marketing project.

So, what should you do? Do you want to roll the dice on a part-timer to see if they can live up to your brand’s level of awesome? In our experience, it comes down to patience. Wait for that chipper young chap to find his way to you. Finding the right person for a BA role is all about that first impression. One passionate BA willing to hang in there for the ups and downs of your next PR stunt or event is worth a dozen mediocre applicants. You should put just as much thought and care into hiring quality ambassadors as you do when planning to put your brand on literally anything else. 

Even with some top-notch instincts, there is always a chance you’ll bring someone on that doesn’t pan out. This sucks a bit more with BAs because they are the first impression your brand will have on some people interacting with that person. That is the inherent risk of throwing your hat in the brand ambassador ring. No matter how lucky you are in hiring them, you are bound to run into a dud eventually. 

Now that you’ve no doubt been reminded of your best and worst BA experiences, we’re going to poke the bear a bit. What are some of your biggest pet peeves when it comes to BAs? Constant hand-holding? Having to remind them that tasks need to be done more often than having to remind a puppy that leather shoes aren’t chew toys? Getting ghosted? Tell us everything! Brand ambassadors, do you love ‘em or leave ‘em?