brand ambassador for travel company

Travel Industry Brand Ambassador Programs

• January 14, 2022

Travel brand ambassador programs reward a company’s customers or non-staff representatives with perks, such as discounts, upgrades and other rewards, for representing the brand in essential, public ways. Brand ambassador marketing cultivates long-term company/influencer relationships by benefiting both parties. We are firm believers that just about can brand can benefit from a well-managed ambassador program .

Today, we are focusing on travel as so many people are planning post-pandemic trips or visiting their loved ones for the holidays. If you are planning to launch a brand ambassador program, strengthen the one you have, or join one yourself, you should study some successful examples. Remember, your program can and should be as unique as your company, and our platform streamlines the management process.

Airbnb Ambassador Program

Airbnb, the online marketplace for vacation rentals and homestays, has created a sophisticated ambassador program that aptly rewards those accepted into their program. Of course, you need to be a successful host in your own right before you apply to the ambassador program. You must also strongly believe in the company’s methods. If you are a devoted Airbnb host who believes they can help others begin hosting, you should apply for the position on the company’s website. 

The company only names you an ambassador if they consider you an exceptional host. If you are accepted as an ambassador, aka a Superhost, you will refer people to the program whom you think would make great hosts. You would then guide them through the process and help them as they host their first guests. The company will then pay you for every new host you refer. You’ll earn more per referral this way than you would outside of the ambassador program. As an added incentive to prospective hosts, your referrals also get a cash reward when they begin hosting. The program attracts and rewards excellence and makes hosting even more lucrative than it already is. 

EF Ultimate Break Ambassador Program

EF has been a mainstay of the educational travel business for over half a century. In fact, several generations of your family may have taken part in these exciting and culturally rich tours. But you don’t have to be a student to be a part of the EF experience. You can apply to be an ambassador. 

EF rewards its ambassadors with exciting world travel opportunities while making it easier for their friends or students to travel as well. The company looks for certain criteria in their ambassadors. It targets 18-29-year-old people who love to travel and who want to spread the word about EF trips. Former student travelers are ideal candidates, but others can participate as well.  You should be the person in your group that others turn to for travel advice and who is an expert at using social media if you are interested in applying.

The rewards are excellent, and travel is the best perk. Earning a free trip is straightforward. People who book their trips while using your unique promo code will get a $100 discount. When 15 people have booked using this code, you will earn your free travel experience.

You can also earn other rewards, including a dedicated EF Ultimate Break Support squad, extra promotion of your social media posts and a chance at exclusive Ambassador Trips at special discounted prices. This ambassador program is one of the best ways to travel to exotic locations on someone else’s dime. You can enjoy yourself while helping educate students about the world. 

Wandr Ambassador Program

Wandr is a travel app company that lets travelers share their past itineraries through photos. Users can then literally follow in each other’s footsteps and share in the Wandr community. Once you download the app, you import the trip photos you want to share to an interactive map . Wandr then creates an itinerary that shows the route you took and how long you spent at each stop. Community members who like the look of your trip and save it and plan their own adventure. You can also look at other posted itineraries and add them to your Wandrlist. Members give each other advice about what to expect at each stop, which enriches the travel experience. 

The company looks for Ambassadors who are experienced travelers and have already created quality content. To join the program, you have to fill out an application and then wait for an invitation to their private Facebook community. Once you’ve been accepted, you will have chances to earn money for doing what you’ve been doing for free: traveling and sharing your experiences.  The company also pays for travel through third-party vendors and helps you establish paid relationships with their trusted partners. You can also create and sell itineraries on the app. 

Envoy by Four Seasons

The Four Seasons has long been synonymous with luxury and sophistication. Many consider these hotels to be a destination unto themselves. Their brand ambassador marketing is in keeping with their impeccable reputation. 

Envoy by Four Seasons is one of the more unique travel ambassador programs. It looks for craftspeople, artists and storytellers from around the world who can share their artistic vision of what it means to “be in the moment.” Envoy then connects them to different cultures, places and experiences. Does that description sound a little lofty? Sure it does, but the program offers the experience of a lifetime with the advantage of luxurious accommodations. 

If you are accepted into Envoy, Four Seasons will invite you to one of their locations that especially inspires you. You might explore the beaches of Bali or climb the peaks of the French Alps. Want to check out Beijing or Moscow? Apply to the program. You may be invited to go anyplace a Four Seasons exists that matches your creative spirit and personal aspirations. trips are designed to immerse you in the local culture as well as in Four Seasons hospitality. You are only asked to enjoy and to create. Apply online today for your chance at this unusual and exciting ambassadorship.

BEIS Ambassador Program

Do you enjoy free products that are functional and fashionable? BEIS , the affordable luggage, travel bag and accessory company, also offers a reward-rich travel ambassador program. BEIS execs are looking for enthusiastic people who are into travel and have active and popular social media accounts. If you like taking selfies, looking fresh and fashionable and enjoy the latest in luggage, this position could be for you. 

We Are Travel Girls Ambassador Program

We Are Travel Girls is a global travel community designed to bring together women who want to explore the world. They conduct meet-ups and special events around the world and design special luxury retreats, country tours and charitable expeditions as well. 

The Travel Ambassador Program lets you become part of their team and not just a participant on their website or social media. Their team expectations for you include the following. 

• Write 1-2 articles for WeAreTravelGirls.com 
• Share these articles on your own social media
• Actively advocate for We Are Travel Girls on your social media, blogs, etc. 
• Create teaser posts
• Contribute quality photography

The staff expects a lot from its ambassadors, but you also benefit in a number of ways. You will receive: 

• A feature on their About page
• A shout out on the company’s Instagram
• Press trips
• Article publication
• Co-Hosting Getaways
• Hosting meet-ups and events
• Discounts on getaways

The company is looking for skilled writers who love to travel and who have a solid social media presence. To be considered as an ambassador, you must be published on their site. After you’ve had five articles accepted, you will automatically be considered for the position. You may also express interest in becoming a travel ambassador by emailing the staff and explaining why you would be a good fit for the program.  Being an ambassador for this company means putting in some hard and consistent work, but the exposure can really improve your career. 

Creating Your Own Brand Ambassador Program

If you want to establish or improve your own brand ambassador marketing, in the travel industry or any other, BrandChamp can help. Ambassadors and influencers are a major power in creating brand awareness and boosting your company’s popularity. By establishing a quality brand ambassador program, you stay competitive with others in the field and expand your exposure. You also create a loyal team who will push your brand relentlessly for the company’s good and for their own rewards. 

BrandChamp has worked with some of the fastest growing eCommerce brands to drive sales and strengthen customer loyalty. How do we do it? By making the process fun. Creating and managing these programs shouldn’t be a chore. We are experts at managing and improving all types of marketing rewards programs . Reach out today to level up your brand strategy!

click on the logos to learn about how these brands grew successful communities with BrandChamp:

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Brand Ambassadors: What Brands and Influencers Need to Know

By Eric Stoen on February 23, 2021 • Last Updated February 25, 2021 This post may contain affiliate links. Read my Disclosure here .

Brand Ambassador Definition

What is a Brand Ambassador? Loosely speaking, a brand ambassador is someone who represents your company in a positive light, generating increased brand awareness and, ideally, increased revenue.

With social media, brand ambassadorships have increased exponentially. However, there are many types of brand ambassadorships, and they’re not equal.

I’ve been a long-term unpaid ambassador for one brand ( AFAR ) and a paid brand ambassador for Travelocity , Universal Orlando , Mizzen+Main and Thomson Family Adventures . I have one more coming up as well that I’m very excited about.

But I’ve turned down (or ignored) hundreds of brand ambassador offers. Why? Because they weren’t well-structured programs. Based on my experience, this is what I look for:

Elements of a Successful Brand Ambassador Program

1. it’s a paid brand ambassadorship.

I’m great being an unpaid ambassador for AFAR given that it was the first ambassadorship I accepted and there aren’t recurring deliverables, but since then I’ve only accepted paid brand ambassador roles. If I’m working to market for a company I expect to get paid monthly for that. And my revenue shouldn’t be based on affiliate programs or otherwise tied to sales. It’s fine if there’s a bonus for sales I generate, but so much brand promotion now is on platforms like Instagram where I’m creating brand awareness without direct purchase links, or there’s a slower sales cycle where someone will see my post now but not make a purchase for months, without that revenue being tied to my promotion.

I’ve seen brand ambassador roles for travel influencers anywhere between $500 and $5,000/month depending on deliverables and the reach of the influencer/ambassador. Obviously celebrities can earn far more.

2. There are firm deliverables

A company should require set deliverables, including monthly social posts and periodic blog posts, either on my site, the brand’s site or both. Universal Orlando had us attend and promote attraction/park openings as well, and Travelocity flew us to Mexico several times to brainstorm the program and our roles and to promote resorts at the same time (with additional pay).

3. There are a limited number of brand ambassadors

I want a program to feel exclusive. If you make bracelets and you’re sending out thousands of DMs offering ambassador roles whereby you send the “ambassador” a free bracelet and they agree to do social posts, that’s not really an ambassadorship. There’s no long-term obligation, and the hundreds of people who accept your offer aren’t going to feel a particular bond to you. A good brand ambassador program should have 10-15 people max, all of whom love your brand and have different niches, so that the monthly promotion is as wide as possible. Give your group of ambassadors a name. Bring everyone together in person at least once a year. Make it fun.

4. It’s an exclusive relationship

If I’m getting paid monthly by a company to be a brand ambassador, they should expect me to be exclusive and not promote direct competitors. In the example I gave above about a bracelet company, there wouldn’t be any expectation of exclusivity – not for a free bracelet. But I want to be closely associated with any brand where I’m an ambassador and for that to come across in my social bios and in everything I do and post. If I’m an ambassador for T-Mobile, for example, I’d make sure that I’m only using T-Mobile, and T-Mobile would even be seen on unrelated screen shots on IG Stories. If I’m not passionate about T-Mobile, I shouldn’t be an ambassador for them.

In a case where absolute exclusivity doesn’t make sense, such as with a Middle Eastern airline that can’t transport you domestically, at the very least don’t do posts while flying other airlines and don’t agree to promotional agreements with other airlines. If you feel like it’s risky to accept exclusivity because you think a better/cooler partnership could come along, then price that exclusivity into your contract. I’ve had five different contracted campaigns with Capital One and, although never officially an ambassador, I was exclusive to them for over two years. I turned down several other credit card campaigns during that time, but I never regretted my exclusivity – after all, it kept leading to additional contracts.

5. A brand ambassadorship is long-term

I usually contract for six-month ambassadorships, with terms for extending them six months at a time. I’ve also had one-year initial terms, which is even better. If I like a company and they like me, I want that relationship to last as long as possible, and a long-term mutually-beneficial partnership is always going to be better than a one-and-done partnership. Your followers will notice when you’re consistent long-term in who you recommend, and they’ll also notice when you’re inconsistent.

Advice to Companies

If you’re thinking of developing a brand ambassador program, I’d encourage you to:

• Interview potential ambassadors and choose a group that will work well together. You want a cohesive group, and you want your ambassadors to mutually support each other even outside of your deliverables.
• Have a one-year budget large enough for everything you want to do.
• Expect to significantly increase brand awareness and be prepared to accept that as a primary program benefit. It could be hard to tie revenue gains directly to your ambassadors, but they can play a major role in long-term company growth as part of an integrated marketing program.
• Send your ambassadors cool things. Everyone likes to get fun and/or practical swag. And when people get things in the mail, they’ll do additional posts for you and integrate those items into their lives and travels. My 18-inch Travelocity Roaming Gnome has been in the background of many Zoom calls this past year.
• Have an out. Although I like six-month or one-year agreements, make sure that you can terminate an ambassador if you think someone will represent you negatively, or if one person doesn’t get along with the rest of your group.
• And promote your ambassadors! The more attention you bring to them, the bigger they get, and the more it benefits you. It really is a two-way street.

“How Do I Become a Brand Ambassador?”

Most of my brand ambassadorships came about from in-person networking. Per my post on Advice for Travel Bloggers , networking is vital. I attended several AFAR events around the world before they asked me to be an ambassador. I met with Travelocity and Universal Orlando at multiple events. The Thomson Family Adventures ambassadorship came out of a hike during the ATWS conference in Alaska. And if a brand that I really like reaches out to me, I’m willing to be bold and propose an ambassadorship.

Feel free to send an outbound pitch to a company that you like, but a lot of things need to come together for your pitch to be successful: the company needs to have a budget; an ambassador program needs to be something that they’ve thought about or that they can integrate into their current marketing plan; and you need to be the perfect fit. In your pitch email make sure you emphasize your history with the brand and how they can benefit from partnering with you.

Brand Ambassador Best Practices

Have you been a brand ambassador, or have you managed ambassadors for your company? What am I leaving out above that could be considered a best practice?

More from Travel Babbo

February 24, 2021 at 7:59 am

Great post, Eric. I like how you incorporated both sides of the equation and it has me thinking about brand ambassadorships that could be a good fit for Dan and me. 🙂

February 24, 2021 at 9:29 am

Thank you Mikkel!

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Travel the world as a Brand Ambassador

In the office, on campus, or after hours—pick up the perfect side hustle that lets you earn a free trip while helping your friends and followers travel. A win, win.

Who you are

A travel-obsessed 18–35-year-old who partners with us to spread the word about our amazing trips

The go-to friend, classmate, or co-worker for recommendations and travel advice

A social media maven who knows how to keep their followers coming back for more

How it works

We’re the #1 way to travel for anyone 18–35. With 120+ trips to amazing spots around the world, we handle everything from accommodations to food to effing awesome local guides. All you need to do is pick where you’re going and...go.

Fill out this form to apply

Sit tight while we review your application (make sure your social accounts are public!)

Once approved, earn a free trip by getting people to book with your unique promo code.

Get the word out. See the world.

It’s simple: Get 15 people to use your unique $100-off promo code, and your next trip is free. Plus, you’ll be eligible for Ambassador-only retreats and lots of trip discounts.

What we’re all about

The best way to travel for anyone 18–35.

So. Many. Trips.

We’ve got 120+ adventures for all kinds of travelers. All over the world.

Everything included

We handle it all: accommodations, planned activities (plus free time!), a rockstar Tour Director—and that’s just the beginning.

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Taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip shouldn’t be a financial burden. That’s why we let you pay over time. No interest, no fees, no drama.

This is no ordinary brand ambassador program

Get 15 bookings, travel for FREE. Not a typo.

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Join the Travel Divas ambassadorial journey, and together let’s elevate the spirit of travel and exploration. As a part of our mission, we aim to inspire every individual with a touch of our signature Black Girl Magic, urging them to venture into the world of adventure and self-discovery.

• Share your unique travel stories.
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Stay Connected: For queries or more details, feel free to contact us at [email protected].

Why should you join? As a Travel Divas Ambassador, you become part of a community that believes in celebrating each journey and experience. Together, let’s spread the essence of Travel Divas and sprinkle a little Black Girl Magic wherever we go.

Apply NOW - Applications close on October 25th, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST.

Summary of the brand ambassador program terms & conditions:.

• Eligibility: Must be 18 years or older to participate and align with Travel Divas’ brand values.
• Responsibilities: Ambassadors are expected to promote Travel Divas in a positive light, share approved content regularly, and attend any mandatory events or trainings.
• Content Ownership: All content created in connection with the ambassador program remains the joint property of the ambassador and Travel Divas.
• Compensation & Benefits: Ambassadors will receive specified rewards or incentives as communicated but are not employees of Travel Divas.
• Termination: Travel Divas reserves the right to remove ambassadors from the program for any breach of terms, misrepresentation, or conduct that negatively affects the brand.
• Privacy: Personal data shared during the application process will be handled confidentially and in accordance with our privacy policy.
• Changes to Terms: Travel Divas may update or change the program terms at any point. Ambassadors will be notified of significant changes.
• By applying and accepting a seat in the program, I acknowledge that I have read, understood, and agree to the summarized terms and conditions of the Travel Divas Ambassador Program.

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How to start a brand ambassador program from scratch

Written by by Brent Barnhart

Published on  October 14, 2020

Reading time  7 minutes

You don’t have to look hard to find an up-and-coming brand ambassador program on social media.

That’s because modern companies are looking to reach customers beyond traditional ad campaigns.

With the growing popularity of unfiltered content and “everyday” influencers, brands are looking to build relationships with satisfied customers who can advertise for them.

Not only do your customers already know the ins and outs of your brand, but also introduce your products to your intended audience.

And by rolling out your own ambassador program, you can do the same.

However, a successful program doesn’t happen by accident.

In this guide, we’ll highlight what you need to do to start your own brand ambassador program to help build your brand reputation .

What is a brand ambassador program, anyway?

Let’s kick things off with a couple of quick definitions!

At a high level, a brand ambassador or brand advocate is simply someone who speaks positively about your company. Brand ambassadors on social media shout-out your business, show off their latest purchases and recommend you to their followers.

Your ambassadors are your ride-or-die fans. They know you. They “get” you. They’re the first to “Like” and comment on your latest posts.

Who are your brand ambassadors and advocates?

• Customers: Customers aren’t affiliated with your company. This makes their support more genuine and influential to future clients.
• Employees: Employee advocates know everything about your business. Their inside knowledge combined with their relatable nature make them a powerful tool in advocacy.
• Business partners: Charities, organizations and other companies affiliated with your brand also influence purchasing decisions.
• Influencers: A well-known form of advocate, influencers extend your reach to a wider yet more targeted audience.

Meanwhile, a brand ambassador program is a company-wide initiative to seek out people who meet the criteria above and encourage them to promote your brand.

Ambassador programs are traditionally invite-only, but bigger brands accept applications or hold contests to find brand advocates.

AND THE WINNER IS… 🏆 Introducing our Born This Way Ambassador, Alegria Jimenez! 🎉 Congratulations on winning our Born This Way Perfect Match Challenge, Gorgeous! #tfbornthiswaycontest #toofaced Posted by Too Faced Cosmetics on  Saturday, August 15, 2020

Brand ambassador programs are popular right now and understandably so.

Based on what we know about millennials and Gen Z , the average consumer relies on recommendations from social media when researching products and services. They want to hear from people first and brands second.

Since ambassadors are truly unfiltered and authentic, they’re able to promote your products without being super sales-y about it. Also, conventional wisdom says that your advocate’s followers will likely match your business’ audience. It’s a win-win.

How is a social media brand ambassador different from an influencer?

Good question! At a glance, influencer marketing campaigns and brand ambassador programs might seem identical.

That said, they’re not the same.

Generally, ambassadors represent longer-term relationships. Whereas a company might work with an influencer for a one-off or multi-post campaign, an ambassador typically works with a brand for months on end, if not longer.

Relationships with influencers are typically more transactional, too. Although brand ambassador programs usually involve some sort of financial compensation, true ambassadors would be willing to shout out your product organically.

Also, many brand ambassadors will only work with one company at a time. For example, note how this GoPro Ambassador ‘s entire Instagram bio and presence at large is tied to the brand.

Which types of companies have social brand ambassador programs?

The beauty of brand ambassador programs is that they’re pretty much fair game for any industry.

Of course, such programs are massive in ecommerce given how competitive the space is. Retail and beauty brands, in particular, have robust ambassador programs on social media because their products are straightforward to show off to customers.

That said, new programs are popping up all the time. From SaaS and gaming to technology and even medicine, brands such as Twitch , NectarSleep, Zenni Optical and Xbox all boast ambassador programs.

The takeaway? If your brand has a decent social following and an audience that’s willing to hype you up, chances are there’s potential for your own program.

How do I find brand ambassadors, though?

Perhaps the easiest way to identify a potential ambassador is by finding fans and followers already engaged with your brand.

For example, check out your @mentions and #hashtags to see who’s scoring the most engagement when shouting you out. If there’s a particular customer that you recognize or has gone back-and-forth with you in the past, chances are they’d be a candidate.

You can also hone in on potential brand advocates using tools like Sprout Social. For example, social listening allows you to search for specific terms and hashtags related to your company.

Beyond social media, you can cross-reference your customer data or CRM to identify your biggest spenders and most dedicated customers. From there, you can assess their social following to see if there’s potential for a partnership.

You can alternatively create a brand ambassador program that requires some sort of application process. For example, Pura Vida’s ambassador program on social media works similarly to that of a traditional referral program with commissions.

There are some downsides of allowing your ambassadors to apply to join your program, though.

For starters, it’s obviously time-consuming to both create an application process (think: intake forms, legalese) and sift through applications.

Many ambassador programs also tend to attract people who are more interested in growing their own social following or scoring free swag versus actually forming a relationship with your brand.

By contrast, an invite-only ambassador program ensures that you only work with people who are legitimately dedicated to your company, positive public image to compliment your reputation , and actually understand what your brand is all about.

5  steps to setting up a brand ambassador program on social media

The good news is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to putting together an ambassador program. This gives your brand some flexibility when starting your own.

Want to keep your circle of advocates relatively small with only a handful of members? Interested in assembling an army of ambassadors to promote your brand more aggressively? The choice is yours.

Either way, here is a quick rundown of how to create an ambassador program from the ground up.

1. Define the goals of your ambassador program

We talk a lot about setting social media goals and rightfully so.

You shouldn’t start a brand ambassador program “just because.” Doing so requires an investment of your time and energy: you need to understand what you’ll be getting out of your program before getting it started.

Most programs are centered around raising brand awareness versus sales. As such, you’ll likely be tracking metrics related to mentions, hashtag usage and follower growth as you roll out your program.

For example, AverMedia has specific hashtags tied to their ambassador program…

…which their ambassadors share to hype up their products.

I love @AVerMedia and the folks behind @NextLevelTSC . Check out this awesome giveaway that includes a Live Gamer Mini! #AVerMediaPartner #WeAreAllCreators https://t.co/SNUfMTqIVI pic.twitter.com/nhRCvrYbth — Kayt (@afkayt) October 1, 2020

And if you’re on the hunt for more sales, you’ll need to tie your brand ambassador campaigns to specific tracking links and campaigns.

Knowing your end-game beforehand will make it easier to identify ambassadors who can help you reach those goals.

2. Establish your criteria for your brand ambassadors

Not anyone and everyone should be part of your program.

No two brands are going to have the same requirements for their ambassadors. Even so, here are some criteria to consider which picking people to reach out to:

• How long have they been a customer?
• How much have they engaged with your brand in the past?
• What does their engagement rate on social media look like?
• How many followers do they have?

For example, Paul Mitchell’s brand ambassador requirements are pretty simple: you must be a U.S. resident, have 10,000+ social followers and be “passionate,” however they define that.

3. Create brand ambassador policies and guidelines

Arguably the biggest benefit of working with brand ambassadors versus influencers is that ambassadors require less hand-holding.

You don’t need to craft all of their messages or micromanage them. Ideally, they already understand your company and approach to promos.

Still, hooking them up with a style guide and set of expectations is helpful. For example, you obviously want them to maintain their own personal voice but you also don’t want them needlessly trashing competitors.

You obviously need to make sure that they’re promoting the right products and hashtags for any given campaign, too.

Keep in mind also that ambassadors are at the front line of your online reputation . Like any other partnership, you’re going to have to vet their social presence to ensure that their values and beliefs align with your company’s. In short, do your homework.

4. Promote, empower and incentivize your ambassadors

Remember: working with a brand ambassador represents a long-term relationship.

From freebies and financial compensations to giving them shout-outs on your own account, make sure that ambassadors understand what’s in it for them by working with you.

For example, Twitch regularly promotes their own ambassadors to their 7m+ Twitter and 5m+ Instagram followers. This helps ambassadors grow their own channels and social presence.

Living that Sims life was fate for our latest Twitch Ambassador. Send all your simsieLove to @lilsimsie . pic.twitter.com/QWJRx7d0qu — Twitch (@Twitch) July 7, 2020

5. Track the progress of your ambassador program

Like everything else related to social media, you need to assess what’s working and what’s not.

For example, when tracking hashtag analytics with Sprout Social, you can keep an eye on the performance of ambassador-related hashtags.

As your campaigns grow, you can figure out whether your campaigns are hitting their targets in terms of engagement.

Interested in putting together your own brand ambassador program?

Anything you can do to get more people talking you up on social media is a plus.

And an ambassador program is the perfect way to do exactly that.

Hopefully, these brand ambassador best practices can serve as a solid starting point for putting together your own program.

Beyond that, make sure to check out the latest Sprout Social Index™ for the latest trends to help you grow your social presence!

• Customer Experience
• Social Media Engagement

Audience engagement: What it is and tips to improve it

5 ways social media listening increases customer advocacy

• Social Media Analytics

Social media personalization: The opportunity and risks to consider

• Social Media Trends

6 ways social media impacts consumer behavior

• Now on slide

Build and grow stronger relationships on social

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What is a Brand Ambassador? Here’s Everything You Need to Know (Infographic)

For many businesses, a brand ambassador program can be a fruitful way to reach new audiences, attract new customers and boost the bottom line. But how does brand ambassadorship work, and what is a brand ambassador, anyway?

Here’s what you need to know about weaving this popular promotional tactic into your company’s overall marketing strategy.

What is a Brand Ambassador — and Who Can Be One?

Working in partnership with an organization, a brand ambassador is someone who represents and promotes that business’ brand to various audiences. Their positive spokespersonship is intended to boost brand awareness and help convert new customers. Additionally, they’re typically rewarded in some way for their efforts.

Brands can work with many different types of brand ambassadors, depending on the level of exposure they’re looking for and the budget they have to spend on this type of program. Let’s look at just how varied the brand ambassadorship umbrella can be.

The Celebrity

• Serves as a spokesmodel and “the face of” a leading cosmetics company.
• Reaches a national or global audience.
• Appears in ad campaigns across print and digital media and attends promotional events.
• Speaks about their brand partnership in interviews with the press.
• Earns substantial pay for taking on this role and operates under a formal agreement with the brand.

One of the many real-life celebrity ambassadors in the beauty world is Maye Musk (longtime model and mom to Elon). Signed on at age 69, she became CoverGirl’s oldest spokesmodel and the face of the Simply Ageless line.

The Influencer

• Promotes the company’s makeup products through sponsored posts, and may also run paid ads on behalf of the brand.
• Reaches a large audience, with 10,000 to 1 million or more followers.
• Operates based on a formal agreement with the brand.
• Earns money, free or discounted products and additional social media exposure for their efforts.

          View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Rosie (@rosielondoner)

Rosie, the lifestyle blogger and social media influencer behind The Londoner, occasionally publishes sponsored content through her partnership with Bobbi Brown. In the above post, captioned as an “ad 💋,” she promoted a lipstick shade and co-hosted a giveaway.

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The Micro-Influencer

• Promotes a favorite makeup label on social media on an informal basis.
• Reaches a more modestly sized audience of fewer than 10,000 followers.
• Offers followers a referral code they can apply toward an online order.
• Earns discounts, free products and occasional social media exposure through this partnership.
• May have signed up online to join the brand’s ambassador program.

On Instagram, @khrisscontours serves as a brand ambassador for Morphe by tagging their products and giving followers a discount code, GLAMFAM449. The company can use this specific code to track Khriss’ bottom-line impact.

The College Student

• Spreads the word about a beauty brand to fellow students.
• Passes out branded swag and hosts pop-up booths on campus.
• Considers this as a part-time job and has an employment agreement with the brand.
• Earns a modest wage for their work, and may also have access to discounts and free merchandise.

As an example, Sephora partners with students like Amaris Gonzalez through the Sephora College Ambassador network. Amaris hosted an event table to raise awareness about the Sephora Collection brand and distribute samples to fellow students at Syracuse University.

Ambassadors, Advocates and Influencers, Oh My! (But Really, What’s The Difference?)

As you can see based on the four examples above, the answer to “what is a brand ambassador?” can vary from one situation to another.

Depending on which type of ambassador your company partners with, you will allocate a different budget, put in a varying amount of effort and reach a different audience.

Since the brand ambassador category is relatively broad, it’s worth noting how it relates to other types of influencers and advocates. In some cases, your partnership and marketing strategy might differ.

Brand Ambassador vs. Influencer

Since we already took a look at how mega- and micro-influencers can serve as brand ambassadors, it’s clear that there’s a connection between these two terms. But an influencer marketing strategy will differ from a brand ambassador program in a few subtle ways.

Influencers have a sizable following and are actively building and maintaining their own personal or professional brand. They may be particular about who they partner with and will typically lead the way in terms of content creation. After all, promoting another brand cannot take away from their own carefully crafted image and message.

          View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Blake Gifford (@signedblake)

For instance, in the above post, cognac label Courvoisier partnered with blogger and social media influencer Signed, Blake to promote a specific values-driven campaign. Blake created the content to appeal to her followers and align with her overall aesthetic. She’s not directly selling the product. Instead, she’s talking about her own beliefs and showcasing an aspirational lifestyle that Courvoisier fits right into.

An endorsement from a beloved influencer can earn a lesser-known brand a lot of street cred, which is why brands pitch their partnership ideas to prominent influencers. However, chances are, those influencers already partner with other brands. This makes teaming up with a highly influential personality expensive and competitive.

Instead, businesses with a smaller influencer marketing budget often prefer to enlist micro-influencers as brand ambassadors. The audience is smaller and the stakes are lower with these relationships. Plus, they give both parties the opportunity to grow together.

Some micro-influencers, college ambassadors, street team members and similar individuals will actually approach brands they love and sign up for ambassador programs. This stamp of approval from a well-known brand is a feather in the cap of an emerging professional or aspiring authority.

Generally, an influencer marketing campaign will be a custom-made project. It may only last for the duration of one product-specific marketing campaign, or it could last for years. But a pre-built brand ambassador program can serve as a one-size-fits-all solution for long-term partnerships. The latter provides a framework the company can use to partner with a range of ambassadors.

And, in terms of the actual influence being wielded, think of it this way:

• Companies work with prominent influencers to boost their business’ brand.
• Brand ambassadors (who don’t have A-list status) partner with companies to amplify their own personal brand.

Brand Ambassador vs. Brand Advocate

Brand ambassadorship and brand advocacy are similar in that both involve people who shed a positive positive light on a company. However, brand advocates are usually enthusiastic, engaged fans rather than paid partners. You can think of advocacy marketing as word-of-mouth marketing in the digital age.

For instance, a B2B business might turn satisfied clients into brand advocates via case studies . Unlike an ambassador, a client-turned-advocate may not spread the word about the business to their own network. Instead, the brand will gather positive testimonials, produce content and promote it to their own audiences.

In a B2C context, a brand advocate might tag their favorite company in a Facebook post about how happy they are after purchasing a new product. Or they might alert their Twitter followers about an upcoming launch or event hosted by the brand. There’s no formal partnership here, but this type of user-generated content can have a positive impact for the brand.

Companies may use their social media channels to encourage brand advocacy through calls-to-action. Any customer that responds by using a branded hashtag, writing a review or sharing their own stories can be a brand advocate.

Brand Ambassador vs. Employee Advocate

A brand advocate doesn’t necessarily need to be an external party. Employee advocates are brand advocates who promote your business from within the organization.

Of course, your target audience knows that an employee advocate has a different perspective than an outside brand ambassador, given their more intimate relationship with the company. Depending on their role, it might also be their job responsibility to present their employer in a flattering light.

Despite this bias, it’s still valuable to take advantage of employee support and convert employee advocacy into content marketing ROI .

You might encourage employees to re-share your company’s LinkedIn posts with their network or involve team members in video content.

Or, in the case of Les Mills, staff members will commonly participate in social media content of all types — from footage of classes to more personal, interactive posts. This not only builds upon strong employee advocacy, but may also kill two birds with one stone by contributing to the staff member’s individual followings. Notably, as various Les Mills staff members post fitness — Les Mills class — related content, the mutual posting between company and employee creates an advocacy ecosystem of sorts, further enhancing Les Mills’ reputability in the fitness space. 

          View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by LES MILLS (@lesmills)

Employee advocates can be thought leaders in the industry or just highly engaged staff members. Either way, businesses can use this form of advocacy to tap into the workforce’s spheres of influence and brand loyalty to amplify key messages.

Companies can even begin exploring brand ambassadorship through employee advocacy initiatives. The trial-and-error of working with internal stakeholders on various types of content can inform the development of a more formal ambassador program.

The Business Case for Brand Ambassador Marketing

The term “ambassador” comes from the Latin “ambactus,” meaning servant. In that sense, a brand ambassador is more than just a fan of your products and services. Rather, their role is to serve your business in meaningful ways.

A successful brand ambassador program can have a range of benefits for businesses:

• Gives brands access to larger audiences.
• Presents an authentic and trustworthy message that will resonate with followers.
• Organically increases brand awareness among new potential customers.
• Fosters a sense of community among happy customers and new followers alike.
• Demonstrates the value and features of your products and services in fresh ways.
• Generates publicity.

To sum this up, brand advocacy helps expand your reach and build trust with your audience members.

Industry studies have shown that 76% of people believe content shared by other consumers is more honest than content produced and posted by brands. And more than 80% of people seek out recommendations when making a purchase of any sort, whether in a B2B or B2C content.

If people are out there looking for other peoples’ opinions, establishing a strategic brand ambassador program only makes this easier for curious consumers.

How to Kick off a Brand Ambassador Program

Looking to partner up with ambassadors and amplify your brand? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to go about it:

Outline your Brand Ambassador Marketing Strategy

The key to generating results from content creation is to define actionable and measurable goals. If you want to know what an effective brand ambassador marketing strategy looks like, you’ll need to articulate what success means to you. From there, you can build an overarching strategy and identify the steps that will get you toward that goal.

Define your Ideal Brand Ambassador

The ideal brand ambassador might be a micro-influencer, a college student or a thought leader in your industry. A social media content creator overseas could be a great brand ambassador for you to partner with. Or you may prefer someone in your area who can participate in events and spend time discovering (and discussing) what happens behind the scenes at your business.

What is a brand ambassador in the context of your key business objectives? Knowing this will help guide your search for potential partners.

Find People that Fit the Bill

With an idea of who you’re looking for and what criteria they should meet, you can start exploring the community at large for people who align with your vision. You can make a shortlist of influencers to approach, or you might put out a call for social media brand ambassadors.

Win Them Over

In order to attract the right brand ambassador, you’ll need to present the benefits and practical considerations of partnering with you.

For instance, if you’re looking to attract informal brand ambassadors on social media, let them know they can share an exclusive referral code to their followers in exchange for some special perks like free products and an invite to a VIP event.

Additionally provide as much information as possible about the timeline, expectations and compensation. And be transparent about your brand’s values and practices, too. This way, potential ambassadors can determine whether a partnership with you would align with their own priorities and core values.

Carry Out a Mutually Beneficial Partnership

Now it’s time to put your plans into action. Depending on the ambassadorship program you’ve created, you might be finalizing partnership agreements, co-creating content, shipping out merchandise and other activities. This is certainly the exciting part — but your work isn’t done quite yet.

Analyze the Progress and Results of your Ambassador Marketing

As your ambassadors begin promoting your brand and engaging their own audiences, you’ll need to keep an eye on how things are going. Since you set measurable goals in the first place, you’ll already have a plan for how to measure them.

If you’re working with several social media ambassadors, you might be tracking how many new customers have used their referral code. Or, if you chose a celebrity to act as the face of your brand, you can see if you’re getting the number of media placements you desired.

What is a Brand Ambassador in Your World?

Given how broad the brand ambassador umbrella can be, it can be tempting to cram a lot of ideas and ideal partners into your approach. On the flip side, the endless possibilities can cause a little analysis paralysis and keep you in your marketing comfort zone.

Starting with a focused, small-scale program is a low-stakes way to see how you can leverage brand ambassador partnerships to build your business.

As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. With brand ambassadors at your side, you’ll get to experience just how awesome it is to collaborate with like-minded creatives and grow together.

Editor’s Note: Updated August 2023.

By Jessica Barker

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The 50 Best Brand Ambassador and Influencer Marketing Campaigns

Finding and documenting the best brand ambassador and influencer marketing case studies is no easy task. Social media changes quickly, and if you aren’t paying attention a great campaign idea can pop and dissipate in no time. That’s why we’ve documented the best influencer marketing examples in a variety of industries over the past several years, saving each for analysis and reflection later.

This monster list is by no means the end of the line, as it seems brand ambassador marketing is just getting started. Our examples focus on Instagram, but cross into YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitch, and more to provide brand marketers with a good cross section of how to do it right. We analyzed each program, and then took a random sample from each to arrive at some stats including average amount spent per post, total number of influencers engaged, and the average number of followers per influencer.

The 50 most impactful Instagram brand ambassador, influencer marketing, and microinfluencer case study examples.

Click the links below to jump to a section by industry. Brands are listed alphabetically by name under each industry section.

• Activewear (4)
• Fashion and Accessories (11)
• Automotive (4)
• Consumer Electronics (4)
• Health and Wellness (5)
• Financial Services (1)
• Food and Beverage (5)
• Makeup and Beauty (4)
• Software (1)
• Travel and Hospitality (3)

Activewear Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Influencer marketing and activewear go hand in hand. The origins of the most popular activewear brands today are rooted in competition against others and against yourself. It’s no wonder that microinfluencers and social media celebrities working in the activewear category tend to have big personalities, and create content that’s truly worthy of the game.

Adidas Originals: Bringing a new generation of cool to the forefront of limited edition marketing

The concept of #adidasoriginals is simple: Release limited edition, region-specific shoes in stores around the world, then promote the concept using Instagram influencers in each key region. While there are a lot of details wrapped up in the execution, Adidas seems to be firing on all cylinders to continuously innovate and bring new designs to market. Their Adidas Originals brick and mortar stores are complemented by a robust e-commerce presence, and marketing is handled almost exclusively through social media influencers.

By engaging popular counterculture and street style influencers, Adidas has also revitalized their classic lineup, seeing a resurgence in sales worldwide since beginning the Originals initiative. Another interesting side effect? It’s never been more popular for followers to post their own take on the Adidas look in hopes of becoming an Adidas Instagram influencer .

Adidas Originals 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $500.00
• Number of influencers engaged: 1,500
• Average followers per influencer: 45,000

Lululemon: Authentic brand ambassador marketing with experts

Lululemon may be the brand that started brand ambassador marketing as we know it. Their initial store concept featured tie ins with local Canadian health and wellness experts. That same concept was later duplicated to their global footprint of retail locations , encouraging customers to spend more time in store and buy more product. Brand ambassadors are now prominently featured on the Lululemon website, and annual events are held to celebrate ambassadors and everything they do for the company. The brand supports efforts of their brand ambassador team by promoting their unique skills, classes, and even charitable giving (see above).

Separately, Lululemon engages in influencer marketing to capture health and wellness minded Instagrammers and deliver on the go messaging to millions of consumers worldwide. Not afraid to make use of microinfluencers – or those with under 50,000 followers – the brand maintains the local market focus that made it a multi-billion dollar company in the first place.

Lululemon 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $820.00
• Number of influencers engaged: 475
• Average followers per influencer: 32,000

Nike: Lifting up athlete brand ambassadors and microinfluencers

As one of the best known brands in the world, Nike maintains equity and leadership position by engaging an army of fitness brand ambassadors around the globe. These athletes are featured doing what they do best in Nike gear, and are often flown to exotic locations to complete an adventure travel look. Nike has been a brand that has relied on athlete endorsements from the very beginning. Now, athlete can mean anyone with an Instagram account that can bring top tier physical and mental fitness to the table.

Interestingly, Nike isn’t afraid to use microinfluencers to accomplish their global mission, engaging Instagram brand ambassadors with as few as 10,000 followers. This hyperlocal approach to influencer marketing creates a groundswell of pride for Nike one relationship at a time, a true feat for such a large organization. By staging photography and helping influencers produce exciting active life visuals, Nike also levels up their brand ambassadors by taking their photos to another level. This in turn creates an aspirational desire to work with the brand, encouraging free or for product participation.

Nike 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $1,500
• Number of influencers engaged: 3,200
• Average followers per influencer: 158,000

Under Armour: Creating a sub-brand around influencers

Since facing financial difficulty from 2016-18, Under Armor has emerged as a brand on the move thanks to one mega-influencer: The Rock . His positioning as the ultimate Under Armour brand ambassador has spawned a movement of no-nonsense, hard working, grit-driven brand advocates. Beginning with simple apparel, Under Armour has created an entire sub-brand for their top brand ambassador, recently extending the line from clothing to headphones . The honest and raw commentary of The Rock underpins the entire initiative, and merchandise (including his rugged Bluetooth headphones ) is flying off the shelves.

While The Rock serves as the campaign foundation, additional athletes and microinfluencers have been engaged to extend messaging further, faster. Within a year Under Armour has positioned itself as the anti-Nike (also on our list) by showing that they aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. This truly authentic persona is radical for such an established brand, but may be the very thing that was needed to propel it from financial catastrophe to standout success.

Under Armour 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $550
• Number of influencers engaged: 1,250
• Average followers per influencer: 23,000

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Fashion and Accessory Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Fashion and clothing is all about brand. In a world of fast fashion and disposable looks that change weekly, influencer marketing has become the driving force behind an entire industry. Reduced costs and faster supply chains are also revolutionizing the speed and cost of influencer marketing, and have made channels like Pinterest and Instagram indispensable to brand managers. Some of the top fashion brands in the world – and a few you may not have heard of – are using influencer marketing to break through and win new customers.

DSW: Upscaling a discount brand with aspirational influencers

When you’re a discount shoe retailer vying to compete in the luxury fashion world where brand rules all, influencer marketing makes perfect sense. DSW uses aspirational travel influencers that are slightly outside of their core demographic to build global luxury equity. The strategy has paid off so far, and DSW seems to be expanding the program, running more and more paid promotions with luxury, fashion, and lifestyle influencers around the globe. The strategy appears to be paying off. In the third quarter of 2018, DSW reported a massive 17.2% revenue increase to $833 million, complete with a positive outlook for future sales.

DSW 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $225
• Number of influencers engaged: 4,100
• Average followers per influencer: 17,400

Fashion Nova: Using influencers to seed sales and promotions in real time

Fashion Nova wasn’t known by most even a few years ago. Today, it’s one of the most recognized online retailers in the women’s fashion. Their body positive, sizes for all shapes clothing has had a huge impact on the way women share their fashion experience, largely due to Instagram. By using an army of microinfluencers to dominate target markets region by region, Fashion Nova constantly brings new awareness and fanaticism to the brand. The brand ambassador program has had a remarkable effect, it’s also caused women the world over to seek out Fashion Nova for sponsored posts. By showing that women of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities can be featured, Fashion Nova has beaten out competitors that don’t show as much diversity, and encouraged women everywhere to apply to become a Fashion Nova Instagram influencer .

Fashion Nova 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

Forever 21: featuring micro-instagram influencers as a reward for sharing looks.

Forever 21 has had some monumental Instagram influencer problems, including claims 0f copyright infringement and other politically sensitive topics. That said, their relentless pursuit of microinfluencers has resulted in strong sales around new product lines, such as their NASA branded line of clothing. In fact, over 80% of Forever 21’s featured Instagram influencers have fewer than 2,000 followers. That’s impressive for a global brand that needs to sell sizzle as much as bargain-priced fast fashion looks. The influencer program seems to be working for the brand that’s known for bringing in the moment pop culture into their merchandise. Microinfluencers may play a big role in helping these trendy styles catch fire at the grass roots level around the world.

Forever 21 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Number of influencers engaged: 10,900
• Average followers per influencer: 7,300

H&M: Sharing is caring with #HMxME and Nyden

The Swedish fashion brand known for outrageous styles at affordable prices created the Nyden sub brand in early 2018. The idea behind their new initiative? Partner with Instagram influencers to collect real time market data that would inform style development, simultaneously creating customers from committed Millennials willing to share their opinion through Instagram polls. When a new style is being prepared, a select panel of curated Instagram fashion influencers will use Instagram Stories to poll their followers about colors, looks, features, and details of specific garments. The data is then returned to H&M, where it is used to predict if a particular style will be a hit or a miss. There’s downside in this strategy too. Every competitor can see what’s happening in real time, creating a risk of fast fashion idea theft. So far H&M seems to be continuing the Nyden project with success, engaging fashion Instagrammers far and wide.

H&M and Nyden 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $125
• Number of influencers engaged: 7,500
• Average followers per influencer: 14,800

M. Gemi: Creating influencer momentum with an ever expanding line

Disrupting the hand made shoe industry seemed like an impossible task, until M. Gemi came along that is. By acting as a referee and logistics coordinator for previously disparate Italian shoe makers, M. Gemi created a manufacturing engine capable of churning out new styles without sacrificing quality or craftsmanship. It’s a business model that is increasingly stealing market share from entrenched brands by cutting out inefficiencies and leaning on an increasingly easy to access industrial design ecosystem. But making shoes and selling them are two different things. That’s where influencer marketing helped pave the way to success.

By using microinfluencers from around the world to showcase a jet setting, professional, and aspirational lifestyle, M. Gemi quickly garnered interest (and sales) around the world. New styles released every week – yes, each and every week – means a constant flow of new content for influencers to promote, and a new message that can be tuned to seasons, styles, and uses. As influencers naturally move from one brand to the other, M. Gemi’s ability to find and begin working with new talent remains an important asset to the brand, and keeps consumers engaged and interested. Influencers are provided with trackable discount codes that offer incentives for new customers and help prove program effectiveness.

M. Gemi 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $730
• Number of influencers engaged: 325
• Average followers per influencer: 62,200

MVMT Watches: Building fast awareness with Instagram influencers

How do you define the success of a brand ambassador marketing program? For watch brand MVMT, it was when they sold to Swatch for roughly $10M. Indeed, the entire MVMT brand was built with a scant marketing team and scrappy investing in influencer and digital marketing. The early attachment of the brand to living your best life with luxury influencers paid off – and quickly. Once the brand hit it’s stride the founders invested in more notable social media icons, and got more aggressive about bringing in new microinfluencers with the right look.

MVMT put their influencer first strategy to work by creating a landing page on their website where anyone could apply to be a part of the influencer program. Influencers were then categorized into tiers with dollar amounts attached to each, allowing a small MVMT team to scale the influencer program worldwide in a formulaic approach to brand ambassador marketing. The bigger the program got, the more influencers applied to be brand ambassadors. That created a self-propelled program that ended in the best possible way for the founders when they sold the brand to Movado Group for $100 Million. Not bad for a company built almost exclusively on Instagram influencers.

MVMT Watches 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $175
• Number of influencers engaged: 3,300
• Average followers per influencer: 132,000

Revolve: Bringing global glam to online fashion through curated influencer marketing

Revolve is a relatively new player on the fashion scene, but they’ve certainly made their mark quickly thanks to a curated use of Instagram influencers. The #revolvearoundtheworld campaign showcases specific looks curated and delivered to Instagram influencers to showcase on their feeds. The looks vary by  region, but typically revolve around seasonal, popular trends with a bit of added flourish.

The key to Revolve’s Instagram success is coordination and planning. By launching similar looks around  the world at the same time, Revolve simulates a viral sensation without having to rely on chance. Timed sales and purchase incentives add to the e-commerce domination, and help push what would be considered more pricey looks into mainstream adoption.

Revolve 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $475
• Number of influencers engaged: 2,150
• Average followers per influencer: 80,500

The Gap: Walking the line in a perfect Instagram world

Everybody knows The Gap. But in the era of fast fashion and intense competition, the company found itself being outshined by newcomers to the casual fashion world. Part of the challenge? Relevancy to the modern shopper. Beginning in 2016, The Gap began a transformative marketing campaign focused around brand ambassadors and initiatives like the #meetmeinthegap hash tag. The Gap makes ongoing efforts to integrate a variety of styles and voices around the world, encouraging more casual, ready to wear content from influencers on Instagram.

The idea of how to appeal to a wider audience while skirting the fine line between unattainable fashion and daily basics is novel in a world where Instagram displays the best of everything on demand. According to recent financial reports, company revenue is on the rise, though not as quickly as other brands in a similar space. Influencer marketing on Instagram seems to be creating a unique and more memorable look for the once ubiquitous brand.

The Gap 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $200
• Number of influencers engaged: 6,000
• Average followers per influencer: 34,100

ThirdLove: Taking a stand and winning on social media

ThirdLove sells fit for all women, regardless of body shape. That strong attitude about undergarments has propelled them into the spotlight during a time when body image in fashion is a central issue in women’s fashion. ThirdLove walks the walk when it comes to Instagram influencers, showcasing women in all walks of life and all body shapes with the same level of enthusiasm. They also aren’t afraid to call more traditional brands out on their body bias. The #weareallangels hashtag has maintained trending status throughout 2018 thanks to a series of posts from Instagram influencers promoting body positivity, comfort, and fit. For a brand that didn’t exist mere years ago, it’s the perfect example of combining a relevant and serious movement with the right social media brand ambassadors.

• Number of influencers engaged: 125
• Average followers per influencer: 58,550

Victoria’s Secret PINK: Pivoting to a new brand position with influencer marketing

Victoria’s Secret hardly seems appropriate for brand ambassador marketing. Their women’s undergarments have caused controversy and challenged margins on a once dominant brand. Victoria’s Secret PINK is a more casually-focused brand targeting college-age women. By bringing a younger, hipper, and more affordable set of products forward, the brand wants to connect with the casual value shopper more concerned with comfort during long days of classes and activities. To that end, the company also recently launched an always on brand ambassador program focused primarily on Instagram. By aligning with young, diverse, and authentic young women, Victoria’s Secret PINK is showing rather than telling.

The active lifestyle imagery shared by PINK brand ambassadors reinforces inclusivity, diversity, and an overall level of comfort and performance that push the brand in new directions. It may be unexpected, but it’s also a great example of standing out with content that customers may not expect to see from a brand that has traditionally been thought of as older, less realistic ideals of beauty and femininity. It’s a smart pivot that can only ring true through influencers as ambassadors.

Victoria’s Secret PINK 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $120
• Number of influencers engaged: 5,500
• Average followers per influencer: 37,500

Zara: Composed global elegance through carefully selected brand ambassadors

Often credit as one of the first brands to embody the fast fashion movement, Zara has always been on top of their Instagram game. But integrating influencers into their marketing mix has been strangely slower than other brands in the space. On first glance, it seems that Zara isn’t actively promoting their garments via influencers at all. That’s far from the truth, as Zara is actively using a small, but curated group of influencers to promote their looks. By creating scarcity, Zara makes it seem difficult and desirable to be featured as an influencer.

The result has been extreme desire and willingness to do more for less. For example, in April 2018 Zara launched a competition on Instagram. 100 lucky Instagrammers would become official Zara brand ambassadors and receive a package of looks every month. The catch? To enter Instagrammers had to post Zara content and tag the @ZaraInfluencer account. By segmenting their influencer marketing program out in this way, the brand has launched a sub brand in which aspiring fashionistas all over the world want to be among the chosen few.

Zara 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $1,425
• Number of influencers engaged: 350
• Average followers per influencer: 225,000

Automotive Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Car brands spent the days before social media talking about reliability, performance, and cost. Today, automotive and accessory manufacturers are selling lifestyle. That means showing what you can do in a brand new car rather than telling, and using influencers to do it. Everybody from highly visible entrepreneurs to style influencers have gotten in on the act, and the use of brand ambassadors in the automotive industry is showing no signs of tapping the breaks.

Autotrader: Bringing super influencer Doug Demuro into the brand fold

If you don’t know cars, you probably don’t know Doug Demuro. He’s had a history working at some of the most recognized luxury car brands in the world such as Porsche and Ferarri, and as a writer for automotive publications. But he’s best known for his silly but incredibly informative YouTube channel, where he covers cars you and I will probably never drive in excruciating detail. Everything from door latches to cup holders in the world’s most important – and expensive – luxury cars are examined. Doug covers all the quirks and features of each before taking them on a spin and then giving them a patented Doug Score.

As Doug’s popularity as an automotive influencer grew, brands started to take note. In 2018, Autotrader effectively bought Doug’s social media presence by hiring him on as a full time brand ambassador. Now Doug plugs Autotrader in all of his videos and blog articles, and even offers handy lists of cars for sale that match the content of his videos. It’s a match made in automotive heaven, and  has resulted in more attention for the brand than nearly any other initiative in the company’s history. A bargain when you consider the cost of buying the equivalent amount of advertising space.

Autotrader 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $5,000
• Number of influencers engaged: 1
• Average followers per influencer: 1,430,500

Ford: Teaching an old dog new tricks

While many brands are finding the influencer market fully saturated, Ford has discovered a hack to stand out from the crowd. The car brand is using animal – and specifically dog – influencers to showcase a more playful side of owning a Ford vehicle. By showcasing the pups having the time of their lives in various vehicles, the brand is communicating a lifestyle message without being overly literal. The freedom of heading out on an adventure with your furry friend is compelling, and it doesn’t hurt that animals tend to garner more likes, clicks, and shares on Instagram than any other category. When you mix in adorable dogs, people care a lot less about looking at an ad. Even the staunchest Ford hater can’t help but give a heart to Instagram animal influencers.

Ford 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $1,000
• Number of influencers engaged: 60
• Average followers per influencer: 44,000

Honda: Adding a fresh feeling of independence with Indy Car drivers

The Honda Civic may not seem like a race car, but followers on Honda’s official Instagram account may think otherwise. That’s because the brand has aggressively brought in top drivers from the Indy Car circuit to add an unmistakeable air of professional driver heritage to an otherwise basic auto brand. The strategy isn’t for the faint of heart, as pro racing sponsorships cost an arm and a leg. But for brands that can pull it off, the rewards are an added cool factor, and the brand equity of pro drivers, the epitome of cool.

Drivers are featured on the Honda Instagram account, but also make their own posts throughout practice and during race days. The content looks and feels like you are in the action, allowing followers to get an inside look at their favorite racers. Honda wins too; throughout the stories and posts you’ll find plenty of features-based content showing off new models of cars for the everyday driver.

Honda 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $100,000
• Number of influencers engaged: 35
• Average followers per influencer: 350,700

Porsche: A personal look at Instafamous car owners

Porsche is well known for their high performing automobiles with distinct German heritage. But what exactly does a Porsche owner look like? Many Millennials recall their parents’ dream cars, or wealthy old people with nothing but time and money to spend. That’s the exact image Porsche wants to shed, and they are using Instagram influencers to help make it a reality. Beginning in 2018 Porsche began seeking out owners that have prominent Instagram profiles and collaborating with them to produce authentic, behind the scenes content. The collaborations give an inside look at the lives of younger, trending drivers that already have an established following.

Porsche hopes this will rub off on the brand, encouraging Millennials and younger generations to add their lineup of sports cars and SUVs to the consideration set while reminding everybody that the brand isn’t just your dad’s dream car. The strategy appears to be working, as 2018 was a record breaking sales year for several popular Porsche models.

Porsche 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $9,500
• Number of influencers engaged: 20
• Average followers per influencer: 220,900

Consumer Electronics Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

The quickly changing world of consumer electronics is a high barrier to entry industry that’s become saturated with products from manufacturers the world over. New products and brands seem to pop up every day, and that means new ways to get around traditional advertising to attack a highly competitive space. From the latest headphones to top home theatre setups , influencers are now a core part of the marketing mix. What separates a gadget’s success from failure may have more to do with which influencers that brand uses

Beats by Dre: Leveraging brand ambassador endorsements to create cool

The best known headphones brand in the world didn’t start that way. Beats by Dre used high impact counterculture celebrity and social media influencer placements from day one to create cool. By positioning themselves as a new rival to traditional and less exciting companies, Beats was able to convince Millennial consumers to shell out $400 per pair of headphones. Even early negative reviews from audiophile blogs were no match for the groundswell of social media mentions, celebrity sightings, and music video appearances of the iconic over ear headphones.

But Beats by Dre didn’t stop at endorsements. They created a brand ambassador program that allowed for innovation, co-creating special editions and color combinations, or colorways, with brand ambassadors. These special editions became limited time collectibles, and further increased demand for the headphones. Each special edition also encouraged brand ambassadors to utilize their massive networks to promote the Beats by Dre, creating a shared interest with their most important representatives. Though this strategy is nearly a decade old, modern brands can take advantage of an increasingly flat supply chain that allows for rapid prototyping and innovation to do the same thing faster and cheaper.

Beats By Dre 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $17,500
• Number of influencers engaged: 150
• Average followers per influencer: 725,000

DJI: Taking drones made in China mainstream all over the world with influencers

DJI is most famous for kicking off the drone trend, which has grown to become a massive category in the consumer electronics space. As cameras become more sophisticated, smaller, and easier to manufacture the possibilities for capturing eye popping photo and video are limitless. It seems like Instagram influencer marketing is the perfect spot for DJI to develop and deploy their products on a global level. Recently, they brand has also launched a line of home appliances in key markets, including arguably the best robot vacuum in Australia .

DJI branched out in 2018 thanks to a saturation of influencer marketing around drones and drone videos. Launching a new line of camera products and accessories, DJI also incorporated new influencers into the mix. DJI began collaborating with less known producers, artists, and musicians on Instagram to produce amazingly creative videos using only DJI hardware and software. As the videos trend, followers become inspired to try their hands at making content on their own, and turn to DJI to get it done. As of this writing, DJI has dominated nearly 70% of the global market on drones, and has made significant inroads into cameras and software. Not bad for a Chinese company nobody knew about only 5 years ago.

DJI 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $575
• Number of influencers engaged: 725
• Average followers per influencer: 35,000

Nikon: Breathing new life into the original Instagram photo contest

Nikon takes photography on social media seriously. But that may be because for the past 50 years, they have held the Nikon Photo Contest, a call for photographers the world over using Nikon products to share their best snaps. Today, Nikon has evolved the strategy to become an entirely separate social media presence. By focusing on the photo contest and participants old and new, Nikon has created a remarkable and special space in the news feed that can’t be matched by anybody else. Combine that with ongoing lead collection from new contest entrants and it’s a recipe for one of the most successful rolling social media campaigns ever launched. Did we mention that submissions and usage rights are free?

Nikon 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $0
• Number of influencers engaged: 235,000
• Average followers per influencer: 415

Razer: Leveraging e-sports and Twitch influencers to smash the competition

Razer became famous in the early 2000’s for making precise computer gaming mice and keyboards with a cool, cyberpunk style. As the e-sports and gaming ecosystem grew, so did the company. Now makers of everything from gaming computers to chairs, Razer has added influencer marketing to promote their high end products to a wider audience. Using Twitch gamers on Instagram, Razer showcases their line of products beyond gaming, and seeks to attract an entirely new consumer audience. The recent launch of the Razer Blade laptop relied heavily on a campaign using photography influencers on Instagram. Showcasing the powerful graphics processing units found in each computer, Razer is making a play for Apple’s fan base: Graphic designers, photographers, and video producers.

Razer 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $1,100
• Number of influencers engaged: 390
• Average followers per influencer: 47,800

Health and Wellness Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Physical and mental health are top topics for Millennials seeking to find balance between the stresses of work and life. Brands are following the trend by creating products that are designed to disrupt previously inaccessible, expensive, or outdated business models. Instagram influencers are getting in on the action by providing personal experience stories to complement products and services that help them achieve their health and wellness goals.

Casper: Brand partnerships and travel brand ambassadors

When mattress company Casper set out to disrupt an entrenched industry, they relied on “sleep ambassadors” to get the word out. Seeing that traditional marketing and the mattress store distributor model were broken, the Casper team engaged young, hip brand ambassadors to provide authentic and transparent content on YouTube and Instagram. These early reviewers helped spark interest in the brand, and smart digital marketing followed up to push researching prospects to buyers.

In just two short years Casper grew to eclipse many rivals, leaning on a mail order product and targeted messaging to keep the game going. The addition of new brand ambassadors continues, as well as brand partnerships to touch a more affluent audience. Recently, a special branded Casper mattress was deployed on all international business and first class American Airlines lie flat seats, along with direct response coupons placed in the amenity kit on each seat. Travel influencers were then organized to review the bedding, pushing the Casper name with a totally new bent.

Casper 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $2,500
• Number of influencers engaged: 275
• Average followers per influencer: 140,900

ClassPass: Leveraging expert fitness gurus for authentic Instagram content

ClassPass has resources other brands don’t, like an army of highly motivated, energetic, and outgoing fitness instructors already adept at using social media to market their classes. By tapping into instructors in the ClassPass network, the brand has an unlimited – and free – trove of content to use any time in social media. ClassPass takes the most inspired images and promotes them on official brand channels, further encouraging instructors to tag, comment, and share brand messaging. It’s a strategy that seems to be working as instructors gain more prominence for participating in the ClassPass network. A further benefit to the brand? ClassPass gets the most authentic, expert-generated Instagram content 24/7 without having to slog through the process of Instagram influencer contracts , rights management, and authenticity issues other brands deal with on a daily basis.

ClassPass 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Number of influencers engaged: 4,350
• Average followers per influencer: 10,700

Gymshark: Unlocking potential with influencer marketing

In 2015 nobody knew the brand Gymshark. In fact, the 19-year old founder Ben Francis was hard at work creating what would become a household name in the UK within a few short years. He started by designing and creating a line of handmade, high quality, and fashion forward gym clothing. The vision was simple: Make something he would want to wear. Instinctively, the brand began sending samples to YouTube-based body builders and personal trainers, asking for their input on the products. Interestingly, the YouTube influencers were fond of the product from day one, posting video reviews and wearing Gymshark apparel when working out.

The effect was immediate, launching a brand that would grow to disrupt athletic apparel in the UK and beyond. The YouTube sampling program was done in a time when influencer marketing was in it’s infancy, and therefore stood out. Today, it usually takes more than free samples of clothing to get the attention of prospective brand ambassadors. While it may be too late to grow using the exact method Gymshark did, brands could look to create the same effect by upscaling and customizing a similar program to modern times.

Gymshark 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Number of influencers engaged: 11,050
• Average followers per influencer: 8,200

Lola: Transformative marketing through brand ambassadors

Marketers have always had a challenging time finding unique ways to talk about sensitive health topics. Lola is shaking things up by tackling authenticity around periods. Starting the hashtag #FirstPeriodFriday, the brand features social media influencers sharing short, candid stories about their first period experience. The message is clear: Many young women have similar experiences, and it’s OK to share. The brand has garnered an overwhelmingly positive reaction from Instagram followers, the media, and people the world over for rethinking how information around women’s health is shared. By destigmatizing the discussion, Lola has also positioned itself as a champion for women everywhere, creating a groundswell of social media praise and fanatic new customers.

Lola 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $1,750
• Number of influencers engaged: 52
• Average followers per influencer: 140,000

Soul Cycle: Energetic instructors show what the cult of the cycle is all about

Soul Cycle probably doesn’t like being called a cult, but if you’ve ever gotten into the lifestyle you know that isn’t far from the truth. It’s easy to get addicted to the energy of the studio, and it’s an experience that has been seamlessly reproduced throughout the United States. A good part of that gravity comes from the instructors themselves, who have been trained to live and breath the Soul Cycle lifestyle. That same energy transfers to social media, where instructors are encouraged to connect with customers and offer off hours content, tips, and encouragement. That activity further cements an already embedded customer base, and makes it that much harder to imagine trying a competitor. Staff instructors are also encouraged via the official brand social media channels, with regular reposting and “behind the cycle” content that exposes them to new followers and growth potential. The result? One of the lowest customer attrition rates in the health and wellness segment, and happier, more engaged customers.

Soul Cycle 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Number of influencers engaged: 620
• Average followers per influencer: 11,750

Financial Services Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Financial services may be the last frontier for influencer marketing. Tough regulations, internal compliance teams, and marketers used to direct response have kept influencer marketing from flourishing as quickly as other industries. But as the landscape changes, banks, insurance companies, and investment firms are finding new ways to connect with prospective customers using influencer marketing and social media.

Chase Sapphire Points Credit Card: Travel bloggers as influencers

Can a brand ambassador marketing campaign work too well? That may be the case for Chase and the launch of the Sapphire Preferred card. The points card was launched in a time when post-recession credit wasn’t easy to get, and perfect credit scores were few and far between. In a bid to win customers from entrenched financial institutions, Chase released the most ambitious points card ever conceived, with an unheard of signup bonus equating to $1,200. Travel bloggers and influencers were engaged to cover the benefits of the card, and as a result signups skyrocketed.

It was widely reported that thanks to a smart campaign that targeted Millennials through travel brand ambassadors, Chase lost millions in signup bonus giveaways. Banks are long term thinkers, and so over the long run Chase expects to recoup this loss with dividends. Indeed, two years after released the Sapphire Preferred card, Chase released a Sapphire Reserve card with additional signing bonuses for those with near perfect credit. Using the same techniques over again, Chase saw record signing bonuses a second time around, and stole market share from competitors like American Express and Citibank.

Chase 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $15,000
• Average followers per influencer: 150,000

Food and Beverage Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Consumer packaged goods have exploded in the last decade with disruptive small players focusing on social media as a driver of awareness and growth. Entire segments of the market have been upended by cool, natural, and healthy brands replacing older, more processed incumbents. Influencer marketing has played a pivotal role in these new entrants catching on, as brand ambassadors showcase the latest and greatest on their feeds.

Boxed Water: Leveraging brand ambassadors to spread a green message

Boxed Water regularly combines charitable causes with brand ambassador marketing. That connection has become increasingly important to younger consumers, leading them to make decisions based on overall environmental or ethical footprints rather than brand alone. Leaning into this trend creates a doubly effective campaign that taps into Millennials’ preference for brands aligned with causes while delivering a wholesome message. Boxed Water developed an entire brand – from name to packaging – around this concept. The positive reaction is tangible, as consumers flocked to buy a more ethical solution that doesn’t include plastic.

Boxed Water also began an aggressive Instagram influencer marketing program, showcasing their water at festivals, grocery stores, and in daily life. Influencers are more apt to work with a brand aligning with one or more social cause. By designing a product that is so intimately tied to reducing environmental footprint rather than slapping a label or tag line on an existing brand, Boxed Water one upped incumbents and created an effect that can’t be easily duplicated.

Boxed Water 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Average followers per influencer: 75,000

RXBAR: Creating an e-commerce craze around a product nobody has tasted

At the beginning of 2018 RXBAR had become one of CPG’s greatest come up stories. Starting as a small brand with a staff of 4, RXBAR rocketed to prominence as the coolest health bar on the planet. A disruptive look helped, but what sent them over the edge was the strategic use of Instagram influencers and brand ambassadors. By snapping pics with the RXBAR lineup in the gym, outdoors, and everywhere in between, RXBAR created a lifestyle campaign that was impossible to ignore. A smooth e-commerce experience on Amazon.com and their own brand website also helped earn more customers by relying on positive reviews to build trust. After all, a totally new brand needs more than just cool packaging to create a worldwide phenomenon.

RXBAR 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Number of influencers engaged: 1,000
• Average followers per influencer: 17,300

Shakeshack: Using local microinfluencers to lend regional authenticity to Instagram content

Hamburger fast food restaurant Shakeshack has dominated the globe with a fast to market international strategy and careful location selection. Their tiny marketing team of five handles global communications – including public relations – for the fast growing chain. To shoulder the burden, Shakeshack employs a hyperlocal brand ambassador and influencer approach, contracting with individual boutique firms and influencers in each market they enter. This takes much of the daily grind off the plates of the marketing team while simultaneously creating a more authentic campaign experience around new store openings and new menu item launches.

Shakeshack makes extensive use of microinfluencers, and isn’t afraid to work with Instagrammers that have under 10,000 followers so long as they are engaging and true to brand. Often times, influencers are working for nothing more than free meal coupons and brand recognition. When you have a product that people love, the chances that influencers will work with you for free product goes up, even if that product is an $8.00 hamburger and fries.

Shakeshack 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $50
• Average followers per influencer: 6,750

Starbucks: Limited edition products launched by influencers

Starbucks has always been a popular coffee destination, but a growing global footprint combined with pressure from boutique coffee roasters caused the brand to undergo a radical transformation. In April 2017 Starbucks released a special surprise: The Unicorn Frappuccino. It was a dazzlingly colorful sugary treat that Instagrammers couldn’t resist. The drink became so popular that it caused back ups to form at Starbucks stores nationwide. Starbucks seeded this frenzy by inviting influencers to preview and share the limited time drink at release, stoking a massive fear of missing out reaction.

Since the success of the Unicorn Frappuccino, Starbucks has released several other limited edition beverages, all designed with visual aesthetic in mind. Their continued use of lifestyle influencers has helped create a new craze that has been helped by radical store redesigns to keep up with modern tastes. When flagship stores are renovated, social media influencers are invited in to experience the new environment and taste new beverage offerings. It’s an always on approach that started with a home run success, and revitalized a brand that was old news to consumers.

Starbucks 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $100
• Number of influencers engaged: 2,600
• Average followers per influencer: 20,000

Makeup and Beauty Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Cosmetics, makeup, and beauty may be the industry most reliant on brand ambassador and influencer marketing. Showcasing beauty has always been the hallmark of an industry bent on perfection, but social media combined with e-commerce has brought an entirely new dimension of authenticity, sales potential, and pure guilty pleasure binge watching to the marketing mix. While it isn’t perfect, selling beauty products online may be the best example of the power of influencer marketing.

e.l.f. Cosmetics: Grinding out a 500+ participant influencer marketing program

While fast fashion has become a household term to describe quick to imitate, affordable style design, fast makeup hasn’t caught on in the same way just yet. e.l.f. (stands for Eyes, Lips, Face) wants to change that. By taking popular but expensive makeup and making quick “dupes” costing a fraction of the price, the brand has catapulted into the limelight on price and well-timed PR alone. But price isn’t everything, and beginning in 2018 the brand began to activate influencer marketing around it’s core line of products.

By signing on young Instagrammers with a following, e.l.f. is seeking to build a reputation for quality as well as style. Following their successful PR strategy, influencers are asked to add e.l.f. products to their daily lists of “must-haves”. The brand further pushes these messages by reposting through their official Instagram account. By showing their products next to other luxury goods and lifestyles, e.l.f. is elevating their brand equity while providing social proof to impressionable followers. It’s a smart way to build brand when you don’t have the same cache in an industry obsessed with brand.

e.l.f. 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $450
• Number of influencers engaged: 625
• Average followers per influencer: 165,000

Free People: Letting the experts speak out with #TeamFP

Free People helps women get a handle on their beauty routines with high quality, natural, products. Seeing is believing, and a brand built on authenticity and transparency can use social media to further push that experience. Free People uses their own staff to test products, documenting the entire experience on social media. The effect is twofold: It helps employees learn about the products they are selling, and gives followers the most authentic look at products usage and results.

Influencers don’t have to be social media celebrities to make a big impact. Free People’s trial campaign using those closest to the brand helps further their position as one of the most authentic players in the cosmetics game.

Free People 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $25
• Number of influencers engaged: 10
• Average followers per influencer: 5,250

Glossier: Disrupting cosmetics with influencer marketing

Glossier is universally regarded as the brand that disrupted big cosmetics. By offering more affordable, but still glamorous lines of cosmetics around a “people powered” shopping experience, the company mission is to put beauty back into the hands of customers. But to keep that momentum, the brand needs a constant stream of new customers willing to share content about product preferences and use cases.

It can’t all be left up to chance, so Glossier works with a large contingent of social media celebrities and microinfluencers, asking them to share their honest experience with various products in Instagram Stories and posts. Glossier then selects the best content to be featured on their official Instagram channel. It’s living the brand mantra that beauty isn’t made in the board room, but by the people who use products every day. Celebrating those customers continues to help the brand maintain a foothold in an ever-changing competitive landscape.

Glossier 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $260
• Number of influencers engaged: 1,340
• Average followers per influencer: 57,000

Sephora: Beauty instructionals from microinfluencers get the job done

Sephora is all about the best tool for the job. The brick and mortar stores rely on cosmetics associates to select and prescribe the best products for each individual need, while the social media presence reinforces that expertise with instructional content around hair, makeup, and styling techniques. By working with microinfluencers to come up with new and interesting ideas, Sephora inspires customers to try new looks – and in turn try new products. By closely associating with experts in the beauty field, the brand also garners additional credibility as the single source for all things beauty. That’s a potent mix of expertise and glam that gets the job done for women the world over. Managing the army of microinfluencers can also happen at the store level by including associates that have a following of their own.

Sephora 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $75
• Number of influencers engaged: 2,900
• Average followers per influencer: 12,750

Shills Natural: Capitalizing off of the charcoal mask craze on YouTube

If you don’t know what a charcoal face mask looks like, you may have missed one of the biggest influencer sold products of the modern age. Protein shakes have nothing on this remarkable beauty product purpose built for the camera, and Shills Natural is at the heart of the movement. Beginning in 2017 and extending well into 2018, the brand has touted their famous black charcoal face mask on Instagram by using lifestyle influencers to show how the product works. The formula is simple: Create a video of yourself applying, drying, and then peeling off the rubbery black face mask. Then show off all the gunk it removed.

Simple, right? As it happens, this simple routine has taken social media by storm, creating a never ending stream of content as customers flock to try the bizarre – but effective – looking product. Since inception the company has gone viral by simply relying on a strange looking product and seeding it to Instagram influencers willing to participate.

Shills Natural 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Number of influencers engaged: 4,600
• Average followers per influencer: 16,000

Software Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Selling the intangible is tricky enough as it is. A complex environment of mobile apps, desktop programs, and websites that act like software means marketing in new ways. Smart software publishers are turning to influencer marketing on Instagram to explore new possibilities, and introduce a new generation of customer to the advantages of using specialized tools to get the job done.

Adobe: Putting customers as brand ambassadors first

While most people think of Photoshop face tuning for celebrities, Adobe has many important software products for designers, illustrators, and video producers. These products are not cheap, but in many ways have become the standard for creative development the world over. As Adobe continues to deliver products for high end tablets and smartphones, they have engaged in influencer marketing with creative partners around the world. By finding and contracting with artists. From surreal landscapes to vivid photography and video, Adobe influencers showcase how their desktop software and mobile apps bring a new dimension to the work. Influencers often teach classes and attend meet and greets with other artists, creating a network effect that extends influence even further.

Did you know Adobe has always celebrated their customers? Adobe makes frequent software updates to its many platforms, and each time includes a new welcome splash screen. Since inception in the 90’s, Adobe has used real commercial artists and illustrators to design those screens, providing credit to each by name. Their customer first strategy has paid off, and they have outlasted many competitor products that are no longer in existence.

Adobe 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $350
• Number of influencers engaged: 300
• Average followers per influencer: 110,000

Travel and Hospitality Brand Ambassador, Influencer Marketing, and Microinfluencer Case Studies

Brands are keenly aware of Millennials’ desire for the digital nomad lifestyle. The travel and hospitality industry is poised to gain immensely from Instagram influencers showing off lavish and exciting trips around the world. Even though the true nomad life remains out of reach of those not in tech and tertiary businesses, brands are selling the dream of living large in exotic foreign destinations via a host of Instagram influencers.

Away Luggage: Setting a new precedent in a stagnant industry

Away Luggage has disrupted the traditional brick and mortar model of selling baggage. Thanks to a sharp, minimalist design, exciting color options, and integrated tech (TSA be damned) Away has dominated the conversation about taking your show on the road. Combined with a price point that beats traditional luxury luggage brands like Rimowa, and it’s a recipe for Millennial travel perfection. Away began using Instagram influencers early on, but ramped the program up in 2018 to meet growing demand for lifestyle travel accessories. The brand showcases young, attractive Millennials traveling the globe in urban scenes, demonstrating style and versatility while romanticizing the experience. For luxury travelers on the go, Away Luggage is now in the consideration set alongside traditional luggage brands.

Away Luggage 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $525
• Number of influencers engaged: 135
• Average followers per influencer: 85,100

Carnival Cruise Lines: Bringing brand ambassadors into your world

When your product is a floating entertainment paradise, starting a brand ambassador marketing program is a no brainer. That’s because once influencers get into your world, they can’t really escape. A constant stream of content is a guarantee – including exotic destinations, top food, and dreamy views. Carnival Cruise Lines brings brand ambassadors aboard for the experience of a lifetime, and help them create content with the hashtag #choosefun. Influencers become a captive audience for the brand, allowing them to maximize marketing value by putting together an intensive program of events and activities.

Cruisers that have already taken the plunge end up sharing their experiences and fond memories in post comments, and influencers engage for further encouragement. The net result is Instagrammers get to experience the Carnival experience through the eyes of their favorite social media influencers, and in turn develop a new appreciation for cruises. The brand plans to expand the program in coming years, showing they are getting the results they want and are ready to come to the table for more.

Carnival Cruise Lines 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Estimated average cost per post: $1,125
• Number of influencers engaged: 40
• Average followers per influencer: 255,000

Ritz Carlton: Millennial brand ambassadors revitalize an aging brand

The iconic hotel chain undergoes a rolling #rcpartners Instagram influencer campaign. The year-round initiative is punctuated by regions and influencer categories to give the noteworthy brand a constant pop. Influencers are invited on all expenses paid trips to experience five star hotel service and share with their fans. Influencers that do particularly well have been rewarded with follow up adventures to other properties, making them official brand ambassadors.

While a free product strategy isn’t the cheapest thing for a luxury hotel chain, it does emphasize the power of influencer marketing. Brand ambassadors for Ritz Carlton are often the exact opposite of the old school image the brand portrays. Young, vibrant couples are often featured in romantic and dreamlike vacation scenes. That’s no small potatoes when the affluent wedding crowd comes to the table.

Ritz Carlton 2018 Influencer Marketing Stats:

• Number of influencers engaged: 25

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The gap’s styld.by campaign uses bloggers to build connections, starting a brand ambassador program from scratch the lululemon way, 5 companies who are doing integrated marketing right in 2018, about the author.

Anne Guitteau

Anne is an accomplished Creative Director for premium lifestyle brands. In her spare time, she studies and works with fibers while maintaining a healthy Pinterest habit.

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The Ultimate Guide to Brand Ambassadors

September 28, 2023

Recommendations from individual people are much more influential than advertising messages from a brand.

While most brands pour money into paid advertising campaigns to build brand loyalty and convert more customers, recruiting individual people with loyal audiences to promote the brand for you is often much more effective.

These individuals are brand ambassadors, and they spread the word about your brand to their friends.

In this post, we'll explain what a brand ambassador is, the benefits of working with brand ambassadors, how to select brand ambassadors, and some guidelines you can use to work with brand ambassadors.

What Is a Brand Ambassador?

Brand ambassador definition: an individual who actively promotes a brand to their friends and followers. Brand ambassadors usually receive an incentive to promote your brand, like free products, cash bonuses, or discounts.

The most effective brand ambassadors are usually community leaders who have earned your ideal audience's trust and are savvy at strategically promoting products and services.

While many think influencers are brand ambassadors, most ambassadors are just community leaders who genuinely love your brand. Some excellent brand ambassador examples include loyal customers, employees, and partner brands.

What Is a Brand Ambassador’s Job?

The brand ambassador's role is to promote brands to target audiences.

How to promote a brand as a brand ambassador is something both the brand and the brand ambassador need to consider. It might include spreading the brand's mission and values, increasing awareness for a new product or service, or even helping to promote an important company announcement.

Brand ambassadors often promote the brand online to their social media following or in person through community clubs and organizations.

Benefits of Having Brand Ambassadors

Here are just a few reasons why brand ambassadors are among the most underrated marketing partners that can significantly move the needle for your business.

Increase Brand Awareness and Loyalty

If your brand ambassadors are consistently mentioning your product or service, your brand awareness will grow exponentially.

In addition, if potential customers regularly see your brand ambassadors using your products or services, you’re essentially getting free brand impressions.

For example, if you go to yoga and always see the yoga teacher wearing Lululemon clothes, you might notice this and eventually decide to buy Lululemon clothes – even if the teacher never actively promotes the brand.

This is because most people want to mimic the leaders they respect, so even if the leader never actively promotes the brand, it still sends a strong message that Lululemon is the cool brand their leader trusts. As a result, you also build brand loyalty as customers want to be part of your community.

Reduce Marketing Expenses

Building trust with potential customers through branded marketing campaigns usually requires multiple interactions. Unfortunately, each interaction requires money to initiate, regardless of whether you're using paid or organic marketing campaigns.

Depending on the complexity of your product, this also usually increases the average time to close a new customer.

In contrast, brand ambassadors are typically happy to recommend your product in exchange for a free sample, discount, or cash bonus.

@dermguru Exactly how to apply snail mucin according to a dermatologist #snailmucin #snailmucinessence #snailmucinskincare #howtousesnailmucin #dermtok #dermguru #skintok ♬ original sound - Dermguru

Example: A dermatologist talking  about how to apply snail mucin.

These incentives are cheaper than most multi-touch marketing campaigns. Brand ambassadors also tend to drive higher conversions since a product/service recommendation from a trusted source is much more compelling than a biased branded marketing messaging.

As a result, you can reduce your average customer acquisition cost, which allows you to either reduce overall marketing expenses or maintain the same budget and acquire more right-fit customers.

Increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The true value of a customer isn’t just the profit made after they purchase a product or service from your brand. Instead, the value of a customer is the total profit they generate for your brand over their entire lifetime.

Most companies rely heavily on remarketing campaigns to bring customers back to their brand and incentivize them to buy again to increase CLV.

However, if you partner with brand ambassadors who constantly talk about your brand and use your products, they’ll do the remarketing for you and keep your brand top-of-mind with your ideal customers.

As a result, happy customers are more likely to return and spend more with your brand.

Collect More Customer Feedback

Most brands rely on customer surveys and customer success teams to gather feedback and better understand their customers.

The problem with customer surveys is that it can be costly to generate enough responses, and it’s difficult to ask follow-up questions, limiting the quality of your data.

In addition, customer success teams often only deal with the disgruntled subset of customers. Unfortunately, these customers might not be the best fit for your brand, so only collecting data based on their opinions and adjusting the product according to their wishes isn’t always a great option.

Brand ambassadors solve these problems because they have direct contact with your customers (both happy and dissatisfied). They can also give you more detailed information on that general audience’s pain points and desires.

This also allows you to see which customer segments (e.g., yoga enthusiasts, runners, CrossFit enthusiasts, etc.) are most profitable and satisfied.

You can also generate more qualitative insights from brand ambassadors by asking them to get on a phone call with you so that you can ask more detailed follow-up questions to your responses.

Increase Social Media Presence

If your brand ambassadors actively promote your brand on social media platforms, you'll naturally also increase social media engagement rates, grow your follower count, and increase your brand's reach.

As a result, your brand ambassador program will not only help your brand get in front of your ambassadors' audience but also increase your overall online presence, amplifying your other marketing efforts.

For example, this single post generated outstanding engagement and helped the brand earn more followers, impressions, and likes:

Source: Richie Kotzen

Selecting the Ideal Brand Ambassador

Most companies looking for brand ambassadors  assume that the best ones are social media influencers because they have the most reach. But it’s important to remember that both customers and businesses can be a brand ambassador. That’s right, even you and I can be brand ambassadors! But how does that work?

While you can invite popular influencers (e.g. individuals) to be ambassadors for your brand, they might not have the brand ambassador skills  (e.g., engaging, knowledgeable, professional, etc.) that you need. Oftentimes, they require either an affiliate link, set contract end date, or a substantial fee to promote your product. As a result, your brand ambassador program becomes more of an influencer marketing  campaign.

Additionally, influencers don't always have the most loyal followers, which can lower conversion rates. If the influencers aren't current customers of your brand, it also means that they might not understand your core values and could send the wrong message to their audience.

But the ambassador definition in business may include individual contributors that are thought leaders in their space as well as other businesses. Think about it – some of the best brand ambassadors for a business are their own users who may (willingly) gush all about your business to their target market .

For these reasons, we recommend that you primarily target community leaders with an affinity for your brand, like  employees, partners, and loyal customers.

Not only are these individuals typically happy to promote your brand for minimal compensation (free products, a discount code, small prizes, etc.), but they also deeply understand your brand's values and can speak authentically about their experiences with your brand and why they love it.

This authenticity improves conversion rates and general brand sentiment among potential customers. In addition, community leaders tend to have stronger trust with their tribes than influencers.

As a result, they may only need to recommend the product/service to a handful of people to drive plenty of sales, whereas an influencer might need to promote it more heavily to generate the same number of sales.

As you're recruiting brand ambassadors, here are a few things to consider:

• How strong is this person's affinity for your brand?  
• How well connected are they with your ideal customer, and how strong is that relationship?
• Are they relatively outgoing and likely to actively promote your brand?

Leveraging Employee Ambassadors

Earlier, we mentioned the brand ambassador meaning  and that employees are among the ideal group of brand ambassadors. Here are are a few specific reasons why employee ambassadors are particularly advantageous:

• They have a strong affinity for your brand; they're already dedicating most of their waking hours to its vision and mission.
• They deeply understand your brand's mission, vision, and values, so they'll know how to accurately represent it.
• They also know who your ideal customers are and can highlight how the product/service solves their pain points.
• Employees want to work for successful companies, so they're already incentivized to see the brand succeed. They are more willing to help promote it for minimal rewards (bonuses, prizes, etc.), making them cost-effective advocates.
• It's easier to keep employees actively engaged in your program when you can easily send them reminders and nudges. In contrast, many third-party brand ambassadors get busy, and their engagement drops off, requiring more active re-engagement efforts from your team.

For these reasons, we strongly recommend that you leverage your own employees  first and then reach out to other partners and customers to join your brand ambassador program.

As an added bonus, employees are excellent for testing your brand ambassador program.  They'll be more understanding of any hiccups in the initial iteration of your program.

Brand Ambassador Guidelines

Once you have brand ambassadors, creating guidelines is important to ensure they accurately represent and effectively promote the brand. Here are a few things to include in your brand ambassador guidelines .

Guidelines on Representing the Brand

These guidelines will help you avoid a potential public relations crisis by providing specific instructions on actions and messages that are acceptable and unacceptable.

In this section, here are a few things you can discuss:

• Off-Limit Topics:  You don't want your ambassadors to say anything offensive, misleading, or false statements, so outline that in your guidelines. Also be sure to mention whether or not you permit controversial topics (e.g., political views).
• Incentives : Tell your participants the incentive they can expect for promoting your products/services (bonuses, free products, etc.) and the terms to earn those incentives.
• Content Restrictions : Add a line stating that any content they publish must be their own to avoid copyright issues.
• Agreement Termination : Outline that you reserve the right to terminate the partnership.

Guidelines on Promoting the Brand

Once you have the legal aspects out of the way, set your users up for success by giving them specific promotion instructions.

Here are a few specific instructions you can provide:

• Verbal Promotion : Provide exact scripts they can use to promote your brand and new product launches. Many people feel awkward verbally promoting brands, so giving them specific scripts can help increase adherence.
• Posting Platforms : If you're trying to grow a particular social media account, you may request that your ambassadors post on a specific platform(s).
• Posting Frequency : Set specific posting frequency requirements. This will help set expectations for the effort required to become brand ambassadors, and you can hold them accountable.

It's also a good idea to include examples of social media posts and templates that they can use to ensure they're optimizing posts effectively for maximum reach and engagement.

For example, ensure they include hashtags, craft catchy hooks, and use images. While most social media influencers already know these basics, some of your brand ambassadors may have stronger in-person followings and aren't necessarily social media savvy.

Here’s a great example of a social media post that you can swipe as a template to give to your brand ambassadors. Some things you can highlight that this post does really well is:

• Crafting an excellent hook.
• States the problems it solves.
• States the specific reasons why he likes it.
• The benefits he has received from the tool.

Another option is to use a brand ambassador tool like GaggleAMP  and pre-write the text (or at least provide guidelines) to ensure each person hits the key points you want to convey.

If you’re looking for some inspiration, here are a few examples of brand ambassador guidelines:

• Printful’s Brand Ambassador Terms .
• Plexus’s Brand Ambassador Policies and Procedures .
• LeliaMae’s Brand Ambassador Terms .

Building Your Brand Ambassador Program

Begin your program with your employees to learn the mechanics of managing a brand ambassador program, and then begin reaching out to content creators and other community leaders to participate in your program.

You'll probably have to test different management strategies to find a method that works for your brand and your team, so enroll only a handful of ambassadors in the initial iteration of the strategy.

Smaller brand ambassador programs often use spreadsheets, project management software, and email to manage their programs. Those who are serious about creating a successful brand ambassador program usually opt for brand ambassador software that gives a birds-eye view of all brand advocates' general engagement, and it allows managers to send personalized engagement requests at scale.

This makes it easy to re-engage or remove inactive brand ambassadors and easily identify and reward the most successful brand ambassadors.

GaggleAMP is an example of one of these brand ambassador platforms, though it's designed specifically for employee ambassadors. Here's a brief overview of how it works:

Step 1: You Send Personalized Engagement Activities to Your Employee Ambassadors at Scale

First, you can select an engagement activity for the platform you want employees to engage on (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and the action you want them to execute (like, comment, share, etc.).

Next, you can use the AI-powered writing tool to generate pre-written text so the employee doesn’t have to think of what to say. You can also add a link to a specific post you want them to engage with or share.

When it’s ready, you can assign it to a specific employee or group of employees.

Step 2: Your Employee Ambassadors Complete the Assigned Engagement Activities and Schedule Them to Publish

After you assign the activity, employee ambassadors receive a notification (via Slack / Microsoft Teams  or email), and they can log into their personal Gaggle account to view the activities you've assigned them.

They can then complete the engagement activities (or simply approve the pre-written post) inside their personal Gaggle and schedule them to publish throughout the week.

This way, they can complete all of their engagement activities for the week/month in one sitting, which helps boost your program's average engagement and participation rates.

Step 3: Track Engagement Metrics and Program ROI

Finally, you can track specific engagement analytics, like which employees generated the most impressions and engagement. There's also a public leaderboard that ranks employees by participation. This is a fun way to encourage employee engagement and reward your most active users.

GaggleAMP also offers an advanced analytics dashboard with detailed ROI tracking and benchmark metrics. This makes it easy to track your program's performance and identify the most successful ambassadors, strategies, and campaigns.

You can try GaggleAMP free  for yourself today, or schedule a demo  to learn more about how it can help you drive sales with employee advocacy.

If you want more detailed information on how to run a brand ambassador program, we have an entire guide  dedicated to the topic.

Start Growing With Brand Ambassadors Today

Brand ambassadors can be powerful marketing partners, but many brands find it challenging to keep ambassadors engaged for an extended period of time and ensure they always promote the right initiatives.

To solve these problems, we built GaggleAMP.

It’s an employee advocacy and brand ambassador organizational platform that allows you to create and assign engagement activities so your brand ambassadors always know when and how to promote your brand.

You can try GaggleAMP for free  today or schedule a demo  to see it in action.

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The Complete Guide to Branding for Travel and Tourism

By Kyla Steeves

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Your tours and activities shouldn’t be the only unforgettable thing. Guests should remember your tour name , too. That’s where the importance of branding comes into play.

As a marketing tactic, branding personifies your tourism business. It gives you a voice, looks, personality, and values — which makes you more relatable to your guests and other travelers. Ultimately, a well-defined brand helps you appeal to the right audience, as well as leave a lasting impression.

If you want to create a brand identity or tweak your current one, this article is just for you. We outline what you need to know about positioning and differentiating your business — which includes:

The importance of a tourism branding strategy

How to create a memorable travel brand.

• 15 travel branding ideas

So let’s get started:

Frequently, tour and activity operators lose sight of their brand when they rely heavily on Online Travel Agents (OTAs) for bookings. Although these channels help to expand your reach, they don’t necessarily do your brand justice. That’s because you’re just another listing on their site — meaning you get absorbed into their brand identity instead.

Think of it this way. A traveler who books your tours and activities on Tripadvisor encounters the Tripadvisor brand throughout the booking journey — not yours. Consequently, they don’t get much of a chance to become familiar with your business. When it comes to referrals or repeat bookings, they’ll remember Tripadvisor, but will have a harder time recalling your name.

Although this may seem like it isn’t a huge deal — since you can give a glimpse of your brand in-person — it’s not a long-term solution. While listing on OTAs is still a great marketing strategy, it’s important to build your brand outside of these sites. And here are four main reasons why:

1. Branding gets more bookings

When your tour and activity company looks polished and legitimate, guests will be more likely to book with you. That’s because professional translates to trustworthy. With a unique brand voice and beautiful brand design, you’ll make your business stand out as the best option for a safe and unforgettable experience.

2. Branding improves recognition

Without a doubt, your brand is the face of your business. Guests won’t just remember your name, but your logo as well. So whenever they interact with you — whether it’s browsing your website, reading your emails, or seeing your Facebook ads — they’ll be able to recognize your business instantly.

3. Branding makes you memorable

Many think of branding as a logo and a slogan. But it’s so much more than that. From start to finish, a brand is a visual, emotional, and tangible experience that you create for your guests. When you get this right, guests will remember for a long time — not just a couple of weeks after the tour or activity. And those that think of you will be loyal to you.

4. Branding increases your value

Brand equity is the value of your brand name. Having a well-known brand name will help establish your company as a leader in your niche and give your business a boost for further expansion — like opening up a tour office in another location. Since brand equity is all about brand recognition, you can increase your value by building a stronger brand and delivering consistent exposure — which brings us to the next section

If you’re starting your own tour company and haven’t defined your brand yet, make this a priority. Early branding will provide your team with direction, and help customers grasp what your tourism business is all about.

Even if you’re well-established, it’s never too late to fine-tune your brand.  Instead of targeting a huge customer base, try thinking of fresh business ideas in tourism and hospitality, and narrowing your focus on a particular niche. Why? Because it can give you a competitive edge and improve your online visibility.

So follow these steps to build a better brand identity:

1. Craft your brand story

Every business has a backstory. There’s always a reason why a company comes to be. Sometimes, it sparks out of an opportunity, but more often than not, a tourism business starts from passion — passion for adventure , the destination, or the community.

Knowing why you started will help to uncover your brand values — which are the building blocks of a compelling brand story. By writing them out and sharing publicly, you’ll have principles to guide your business decisions, as well as a reference point to build trust and credibility.

To dig deeper into your company’s purpose, ask yourself the following questions:

• How did you start your tour and activity business?
• Where’d you get the idea? What inspired you?
• How is your company different from your competitors?
• What does your tour and activity business strive to do?
• What makes your team outstanding?

Work these answers into your brand story to tell who you are as an operator and what sets you apart. Keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be lengthy — brief is best. Nor does it have to be perfect; authenticity goes a long way.

2. Identify your target audience

It’s easier to match your brand to your target audience than the other way around. Depending on your offerings, you might already appeal to a particular group of people — different types of travelers like different types of travel experiences. So branding before knowing your target audience could lead to something that doesn’t make any sense.

For example, let’s say you run a craft beer bike tour. It’s safe to assume eco-friendly, locavore millennials will want to try this experience. But if you build a brand that speaks more to DIY, suburban mothers, there’s going to be a disconnect, and you’ll have a much harder time reaching those initially interested.

Who’s most likely to book your tours and activities then? Where are they from, how old are they, what’s their lifestyle, interests, and personality? These are just a few examples of demographic, physiographic, and geographic attributes you should consider.

Use this information to create a brand identity that your target audience will strongly identify with. You can also use it to gain insight into their communication style, preferred method of booking, and where they hang out online. All of which can help you with your marketing efforts.

3. Align with your destination brand

What’s a destination brand? It’s a shared vision that aims to generate visitor interest by promising a unique travel experience based on everything a place offers. Usually, a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) builds the destination brand and provides direction for local businesses to follow suit.

Take Ireland as an example. Most travelers visit the Emerald Isle for the pub culture, castle hopping, and traditional folklore. So Tourism Ireland promotes it as a destination to “fill your heart.”  This brand position makes new visitors believe they’ll have heart-warming moments while also giving tour and activity operators insight into what they want out of their trip.

That’s why it’s a good idea to find a role within your destination brand. Visitors arrive with preset expectations thanks to it, and naturally, book things to do that match. If you deliver on what they’re looking for, they’ll have a positive and memorable experience — which impacts their perception of the destination, as well as your business.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to copy and paste the destination brand. You can still express your brand identity while playing a part in the overarching destination story. It just comes down to making a connection between the two. Like with the above example, a bus tour company might make its brand more enchanting to go along with that of Tourism Ireland.

4. Figure out your brand voice and tone

Your personality, attitude, and values shine through when you communicate with others. The same applies to your tour and activity business. Every written message — whether online or offline — reveals your company’s characteristics and mission. That’s known as your brand voice.

A clear and distinct brand voice helps to position yourself in the marketplace and associate with your target audience. However, it’s got to be the same across all channels to be effective. Being sassy on social media but helpful on the blog only makes readers confused — which means they won’t get an accurate picture of your business.

On the other hand, your tone of voice is interchangeable because it reflects your mood. Its purpose is to have an emotional impact on the reader based on the context of the message. For example, a serious tone works well for a payment request whereas a booking confirmation is better off sounding joyful.

To figure out your brand voice and tone, start by:

• Reviewing your company’s mission statement and values
• Looking at your current content for common themes
• Considering how your target audience communicates
• Evaluating your destination’s brand messaging

Whatever you come up with, break it down into three or four words. These will be your primary voice characteristics for all of your messaging. You can further describe your brand voice in a content style guide with the do’s and don’ts of writing accordingly. As for the tone, you have a little more flexibility with its use, but it shouldn’t stray too far from your brand voice.

5. Give your travel brand a makeover

Here’s where the fun begins. There’s nothing more exciting than putting together a look for your tour and activity business. From a memorable logo to unique typography, you get to make your brand pop while giving your guests a great first impression.

Visual elements also contribute the most to brand recognition. For example, when someone thinks of Google, the first thing that comes to mind is the primary colours. In the tourism industry, Contiki stands out to young travelers with imagery that plays on the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). So what does your brand design need to get noticed?

• Logo: This is the foundation of your brand identity because it goes everywhere —  on your website, social media, merchandise, promotional materials, and more. Whether it’s a logomark or logotype, the design should be simple, memorable, timeless, and accurately symbolize your company’s mission and culture.
• Typography: Believe it or not, fonts come with personality traits. While Serif fonts (Arial, Verdana) come across as reliable and mature, Modern fonts (Impact, Rockwell) give off a bold and progressive vibe. Knowing this, you can use a specific font to influence how guests perceive your business.
• Colour Palette: Similar to fonts, colours have an emotional impact on people. For instance, red means passion, green is natural and blue goes with trust. With the right mix of colours, you can reveal a lot about your business while making your guests feel a certain way.
• Imagery:  Photos and videos show the kind of experiences you offer. But images also engage and inspire viewers — helping them picture having the experience, too. That’s why you should use imagery wherever you can. Just remember that brand images should be cohesive too, so consider using presets to promote uniformity.

6. Build consistency into your tour website

This is where everything comes together. Not only is your website a digital storefront, but it’s also the face of your company. Online visitors go there seeking more information about your tours and activities. While doing so, they get a clear picture of who you are as a business, too.

For this reason, it’s important to have brand consistency throughout. That means every page should resemble the other. From the look to voice to feel, your brand should be apparent no matter where someone clicks.  

There are several ways to show off your brand on your website. So here are a few must do’s to get you on the right track today:

• Create an About Us page: Sometimes, online visitors want to learn more about your business beyond the Booking page. So share your brand story with them in your About Us section. Here, it’s a good idea also to outline your mission and core values. That way, a conscientious traveler can see what makes you an ethical tourism example .
• Use relevant keywords: Once you know your target audience, you can figure out what search queries they frequently use for travel shopping. These terms will dictate what long-tail keywords you should sprinkle throughout to optimize your website — which includes page titles, headers, body text, meta-descriptions, image alt-text, and your URLs.
• Maintain a uniform design: Your brand should be recognizable based on your look alone. So on your website, make sure you use the same colour palette, typography, and imagery on every page. As well, place your logo at the top, and create a branded favicon (the icon next to the URL) to remind visitors where they’re browsing.
• Remember your brand voice: You have written content everywhere on your website. So there’s a perfect opportunity to strengthen your brand by ensuring all of your copy sticks to your brand voice. You may even consider keeping a blog to establish this further. Just remember that whoever contributes should follow your content style guide.
• Customize your booking process: After taking the time to build your brand into your website, it’d be a shame for your Booking page to miss the mark. Online visitors shouldn’t feel like they leave your site when they go to book. That’s why it’s best to use an online booking system that doesn’t lead to a separate domain and allows for some customization.  

15 extra travel branding ideas

Branding your tour and activity business isn’t a one-and-done type of job. The more you do, the more your brand strengthens over time, especially if you make branding part of your strategic planning process . So here are a bunch of additional ways you can help build your brand:

• Hire a professional photographer to take high-quality images of your experiences
• Do the same with a professional videographer
• Partner with a travel influencer that fits your brand
• Create a Facebook contest to create hype for your brand
• Only post content on social media channels that your target audience uses
• Make your tour guides into brand ambassadors
• Contribute guest posts to publications within your industry
• Send out a survey asking guests what they think of your brand
• Come up with different slogans and test which one drives the best results
• Use Answer the Public and Quora to get blog topic ideas that are relevant to your audience
• Customize your booking notifications with your brand voice
• Design templates for your email marketing that follow your brand design
• Come up with a brand hashtag for your guests to use when posting about their experience with you
• Reward your guests for referrals with a discount code
• Let your staff take over social media to show the human side of your business

Need a little help strengthening your tourism brand?

Join the 30-Day ‘Things to Do’ Challenge for Tour Operators

Complete one small task every day that’ll help your brand shine online.

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Lady Boss Blogger

Launch, Grow, And Monetize Your Blog And Instagram

50 Brands Currently Looking For Brand Ambassadors

July 31, 2019 by Guest Blogger

The difference between being a BRAND AMBASSADOR v.s. an INFLUENCER:

• BRAND AMBASSADORS tend to have smaller social media audiences and generally purchase the product at a discounted price. They earn money when they successfully get people to purchase products from the company using their personal promo code.
• INFLUENCERS tend to have larger social media followings and generally get the product for free and may even get paid to promote it. They can also make money through promo codes and affiliate programs.

If you want to learn how to make money as an INFLUENCER OR BRAND AMBASSADOR, check out the following courses:

• Make Money As An Influencer – get paid for your Instagram posts
• Start A Money Making Blog – start and monetize a blog
• Start And Monetize Email List – become an entrepreneur

If you want to learn how to grow your influence on social media or blogging, sign up for one of the following FREE COURSES that interests you:

• 3-Day Become An Instagram Influencer
• 5-Day Master Affiliate Marketing
• 7-Day Make Money Blogging
• 21-Day Build A Better Blog

If being a BRAND AMBASSADOR sounds like something you’d enjoy, here are 50 companies that are currently looking for them!

0. LadyBossBlogger

This brand is looking for women who are passionate about entrepreneurship and learning how to make money online as a blogger and influencer. They sell results-driven online courses.

In order to be considered, you have to…

• Have an active Instagram page 
• Have a public profile
• Follow @LadyBossBlogger and @ElaineRau for a chance to become their brand ambassador/influencer

1. Sand Cloud

This is a brand that is dedicated to saving marine life. They sell things like beach towels, clothing, and accessories.

As an ambassador, you will…

• Help spread the word about them through social media
• Receive discounts on products
• Get the chance to be featured on Sand Cloud’s Instagram

2. Enjoy Leggings

This small brand is looking for potential brand ambassadors who have a lot of followers on social media to spread the word about their brand.

• Get free leggings!
• Get sneak peeks at new products
• Get the chance to be featured on their social networks

3. Izzy and Liv

This brand is looking for ambassadors who embody the definition of black culture, are confident in their own skin, and can express themselves through fashion.

In order to be considered for the brand ambassador job, you have to…

• Have an active social media presence on either Instagram, YouTube, or a personal blog
• Have a strong following on your social media

As an ambassador, you will…

• Earn free products and discounts.
• Spread the word about their brand through all social networks such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Blogging, etc.

4. Happy Earth

This brand sells apparel to raise awareness about environmental issues.

• Receive a personal code for discounts AS WELL AS a discount to share on social networks
• Preferably do something good for the earth! Join in with your community to plant trees, pick up trash, etc.
• Be a voice for the movement of environmental cleanup

5. Brava Fabrics

This brand offers a very attractive Ambassador program with free products once you are accepted! The fair fashion label from Barcelona, Spain is known for their unique designs, high-quality materials and sustainable manufacturing. They are currently looking for ambassadors with at least 500 followers and a public, active account. Should you be accepted after the quick and easy application process, you will receive the following benefits:

As an ambassador, you will get…

1-3 free garments of your choice

20% discount on your orders

15% for your followers & friends

10€ store credit for each sale

6. One Tribe

This brand is more bohemian-style; they sell tops, dresses, pants, jewelry, accessories, and even have certain collections you can shop from.

• Share the custom code you made with your friends and family. Every time that code gets used, you will receive 25% commission

7. Unemployed Denim

This brand has a bunch of comfy-cozy clothes that you can wear anywhere. Obvious to their name, they have a ton of denim as well. On their website, you can see where they’re accepting brand ambassadors on the map of the US! They’re always looking to expand their team, so fill out an application to find out more on being a brand ambassador.

8. Breezy Swim

Breezy Swim sells the cutest swimsuits as well as some apparel and accessories. They’re looking for ambassadors all the time!

• Receive 15% commission of the sale price every time their personal code is used
• Receive deals and discounts on apparel
• Get invited to exclusive events and photoshoots

9. Poppy Apparel

This cute shop sells almost every type of clothing and accessory you can think of! In order to become an ambassador, you must fill out an application and post a picture on Instagram.

If you are accepted as an ambassador, you will…

• Get paid 30% of the profit when someone uses your code
• Get paid every 5 sales
• Post to your social network to spread the word about them

10. Pura Vida

Pura Vida sells adorable bracelets that give back! They’ve donated over 1.5 million dollars to over 170 charities. If you want to be a part of this movement that supports artisans, Pura Vida is the brand for you. You must be active on Instagram AND Facebook and be over the age of 18 to apply to become a brand ambassador.

11. Trendy and Tipsy

This shop sells dresses, tops, jackets, vintage apparel and SO much more. They have a Trendy Girl Gang Ambassador Program for people who are passionate about their brand and want to spread the word. Your Instagram must be set to public and you have to constantly create content about their products.

• Be featured on their social network pages
• Receive 15% off discounts for you and family
• Get credits every time someone uses your 15% off code

12. The Honest Company

If you’re a mommy who uses this brand for your babies, The Honest Company is looking for brand ambassadors! They provide safe and non-toxic products for babies and for women as well. They are looking for ambassadors in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Baltimore/Washington DC and New York/New Jersey.

• Have the opportunity to receive free products
• Receive $15 an hour (37.50 for 2.5 hour store visits, $60 for 4 hour store visits)

13. New Balance

If you love footwear, this might be the place to apply to be a brand ambassador. You will get to represent this brand and receive promotion and prize products from the company.

• Be compensated for miles you drive from store to store
• Receive $15 an hour

This huge brand has a great opportunity for brand ambassadors. You will need to become an expert on all-things-Oakley before you can apply. This job is also a part-time position.

15. Forge Graphics

This brand works with Nike and Adidas and so could you!

Want to get some free shoes and a free t-shirt? Become a brand ambassador for ASICS!

• Receive a pair of free shoes
• Receive a free t-shirt

17. Winky Lux

This makeup brand is looking for ambassadors who are passionate about makeup and their brand.

• Get invites to private parties
• Have the chance to be featured on their social media
• Get quarterly makeup kits
• A chance to earn a commission from referral purchases
• Receive Winky Lux branded merchandise

18. Tweezerman

Tweezerman is looking for individuals who have a large following base. In their words, “a YouTube Beauty guru, Beauty Obsessed Blogger, or Instagram Superstar.”

• Receive a welcome tool kit
• Have the opportunity to participate in new product launches
• Get invitations to exclusive events
• Represent the brand at photoshoots and events
• Showcase your social media
• Be willing to feature products on your social media

19. Lash Factory

Lash Factory is ALL THINGS lashes!

They have mascara, lashes, eyeliner, and even lash enhancer. If you love trying new products, reviewing them and have an established blog or YouTube channel, apply to be Lash Factory’s ambassador!

20. Pop Beauty

Give your friends $5 off their order of $15+. When your friends shop with your referral link, you get 15% off your next purchase of $15+!

21. The SkinCare Boutique

This skincare line has all things skincare; including bundles, primers, and even virtual consultations if you’re not sure what’s right for you. As an ambassador, it’s important to them that you know specific details of all of their products.

• Post one picture/video every other week using The SkinCare Boutique
• Endorse their brand respectfully and positively
• Share your specific discount code for your friends and family

22. Pixi Skincare

All you need to do is join and you’ll get rewarded while you shop and when you refer anyone to them as well. 

23. PMD Beauty

PMD beauty is totally innovative! They have product systems that allow you to lip plump at home, microderm at home, and much more. They also have bundles like the “fresh face kit” and the “plumped up lip kit.” If this sounds interesting to you, apply to their ambassador program.

24. Althea Angels

Althea, a beauty company, is looking for content creators, YouTubers, bloggers, and influencers to become a part of their ambassador program.

• Be able to review products you receive
• Attend events for Althea
• Receive a welcome gift
• Receive an exclusive discount code
• Get Althea studio access
• Get seasonal annual shopping credits

25. The Better Skin Co.

This skincare company is looking for influencers who have at least 5,000 followers as well as over 200 likes on your 10 most recent posts. Fill out the ambassador form to see if you’re a match for their company.

26. Orglamix

Orglamix is a beauty and skincare company looking for ambassadors to receive free products and promote their brand. Your Instagram must be public, have over 500 followers, and the search is only open to USA residents.

• Receive a 40% off discount in exchange for high-quality pictures
• Receive a $10 gift card for just signing up!

27. Evy’s Tree

This hoodie company is looking for women who share the same values as their company: sharing love, kindness, and compassion. You must maintain a minimum of 5,000 followers across ALL social media platforms, spread the word about Evy’s Tree products and business using high quality photos, and spread the Evy’s Tree mission.

• Have the chance to be featured across all Evy’s Tree social media
• Be the first to know about new products
• Receive commission

28. Amazing Lace

This clothing company is looking for both content influencers and brand ambassadors. Content influencers will receive free merchandise for an occasion if they’re going somewhere and can post pictures. Brand ambassadors will receive merchandise continuously who will be able to build an impact for their brand. They ask that you email them to apply.

Arvo sells watches for both her AND him! They also have a little bit of apparel, including sweatshirts, socks, and hats. Applications for brand ambassadors are currently open! They’re looking for energetic ambassadors to promote their motto, “be good, do good.”

30. Outdoor Products

Do you love the outdoors? Hiking and walking trails? Outdoor Products is looking for individuals involved in their community and outdoor enthusiasts! As a brand ambassador, they expect you to use their gear as much as possible. When you share your referral link on your Instagram and someone buys something, you receive 15% commission. You must be following Outdoor Products on at least two social media outlets.

• Actively post on your social media
• Include in your bio that you’re an Outdoor Products ambassador
• Encourage others to use your referral link
• Create and submit original photos and videos of you using Outdoor Products gear
• Contribute to their social media accounts

31. Trek Light Gear

If you love camping and being outdoors, check out this brand. They sell hammocks, apparel, lifestyle gear, and so much more. They call their brand ambassadors, “badassadors.”

In their words, “you don’t have to be a photo/video pro – but it helps. You don’t have to have a large social media following – but yeah, it helps.” They’re looking for people who embody what their brand is all about.

32. Discount Dance Supply

Discount dance supply is the place where dancers get all of their essentials: leotards, shoes, tights, etc. They’re looking for dancers with a big social media presence who can spread the word about their latest dancewear trends. Social media ambassadors and college ambassadors are both welcome!

• Be provided with the latest dancewear
• Post artistic photos on a regular basis

33. Yoga Tech

If you’re into fitness and yoga, you have to check this brand out. They have the cutest athletic wear and they’re super affordable. They’re looking for people who are dedicated to their brand and enjoy their products.

• Get complimentary outfit packages
• Samples for contests and giveaways
• 10% commission on sales made from your channel
• Customized discount code for you and your followers

34. Blue Planet Eyewear

This eyewear company sells sunglasses and even reading glasses. Each pair of glasses is made with recycled materials to help eliminate waste. They also have a Visualize Change Program where with every pair of glasses they sell they give a pair of corrective glasses to someone in need.

• Free and discounted products
• Personalized referral code

Mophie is the #1 selling mobile battery case brand in the United States. If you’re interested in finding out the ins and outs of this company, apply to be one of their brand ambassadors!

36. Kona Surf Co.

This surf company sells apparel for women, men, and even kids. They also have custom surfboards available. They’re looking for dedicated friends and followers to help support their brand through community outreach and social media. Fill out the form on their website and wait to hear back if you’re a match for their company!

37. LAJ Apparel

Love Ann Joy is a Christian-based apparel company. They’re looking for motivated individuals who are ready to be their voice, presence, and influence.

• Share LAJ Apparel’s daily word posts
• Share posts of you in their apparel
• Provide feedback on merchandise and new products
• Participate in monthly meetings

38. Liquiproof

Liquiproof labs has products in order to take care of your fashion and accessory needs. These products protect and clean all your favorite items. If you have an engaged following and are interested in goodies from this company and learning more, email them!

FINDRA clothing brand is interested in people who love the great outdoors. If you love traveling and want to promote clothing from people who do too, apply here!

40. Not Sorry Apparel

This brand has a plethora of different kinds of clothing from Christmas sweaters to swimwear. They’re looking for people who want to spread the word about their brand across all social media platforms. Every post for them must include a Not Sorry hashtag and post at least 4 times per month.

• Get a free clothing item each month
• Gain experience
• Gain networking opportunities

The lemon collection has adorable loungewear for women. As an ambassador, you’ll be eligible to receive free clothing as well as exclusive offers!

42. Sunny Co. Clothing

Sunny Co. Clothing has swimsuits and a bunch of apparel: hats, tops, skirts, accessories, and hoodies.

• Receive a free hat and swimsuit
• Earn commission for referring friends
• Share photos and meet new people
• Get exclusive discounts

This brand is looking for brand ambassadors to share and promote their companies around college campuses. If you’re obsessed with your Instagram and love fashion, this might be the job for you. Nuyu has ambassadors in 30 schools across the country!

• Earn up to 20% of all sales
• Receive unique learning experiences
• Work with other ambassadors across the nation

44. Cashmere & Company

Cashmere and Company is a super cute brand that has every kind of clothing item you could think of. The requirements to become an ambassador include:

• You must be over 16 years old
• You must post 4 Instagram posts a month
• Put their company name in your captions
• Keep photos high resolution and fun
• Receive 20% off all products as long as requirements are met
• Pick a free clothing item monthly

45. Calamity Jane’s Apparel

Calamity Jane’s Apparel has the option to get a monthly subscription box or you can buy your favorite pieces separately. I love the idea this company has and the clothes are great! It was founded by a stay-at-home mom. They’re looking for brand ambassadors all over the country!

• Bring awareness to the brand
• Get a congratulatory box of goodies
• Free monthly t-shirts
• Exclusive coupon codes to use for yourself and friends

46. She Inspired

This women’s clothing brand has all the things you need for a great night out: adorable jackets, dresses, and tops! Some requirements include:

• Creating content and buzz for the brand
• Answering questions from the community
• Giving feedback on products
• Attend events for the brand
• Get a flexible schedule
• Get exposure to your social media

47. Lay Low

Lay Low Apparel is a comfy cozy brand based out of New York. They want to involve more people in the company by finding great brand ambassadors.

• Get a referral code and every time someone uses it you will receive 20% commission on the order total
• Be paid through PayPal, Venmo, or Cash App
• Get 40% off discount code

48. The Great North

This brand has graphic tees, sweatshirts, and tanks for both men and women. They provide free products, vacation incentives, cash bonuses, and more to their successful brand ambassadors.

• Receive 50% off products
• Receive a referral link for your followers to use and receive commission when it’s used
• Receive international exposure

49. The Copper Closet

The Copper Closet sells new apparel as well as clothes that are pre-loved! They have different levels of brand ambassadors which are listed in the link, follow it to find out!

50. Timberland

This huge brand is looking for hard-working people with a strong social media presence to promote Timberland.

• Receive free products before they were for sale
• Help design new products
• Receive special promotions
• Go to events

51. Born Tough  (BONUS)!

• Receive 15% commissions on what you sell

Now go out there and become a brand ambassador for one of these great companies! Or go here to learn more about hiring brand ambassadors . Good luck!

Reader Interactions

Dara Hitch says

November 23, 2019 at 8:45 AM

How do I get my brand on the next list? 🙂

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ID90 Travel Brand Ambassador Program

Travel. share. earn..

ID90 Travel Brand Ambassadors are on a mission to inspire the worldwide aviation industry to travel more and save the most! They serve to share the benefits of ID90 Travel with their coworkers, family, and friends, while aiming to be the go-to person for non-revvers in their community. As a brand ambassador, you’ll earn ID90 Travel credits by participating in challenges and posting about your travel and experiences with ID90 Travel.

Follow our Brand Ambassadors on this year-long program as they continue to explore the world and spread the love of travel.

Applications are closed.

Applications will reopen in 2024. Follow us on social media (@id90travel) to be updated when the applications open back up!

Meet the #004 Ambassadors

IG: @aviatrixamanda, TT: @aviatrixmakeupartist Hey, my name is Amanda! I started in the industry as a flight attendant and I am now a CFI and line pilot as I build 1500 hrs of flight time. In addition to flying, I make time to travel the world as much as possible! I look forward to the opportunity to encourage those around me to seek out new adventures!

Aryanna Montes

IG: @Aryanna_montes, TT: aryanna_f My name is Aryanna I am from beautiful California, living in sunny Arizona! I am so excited to explore the world and meet others who also love to travel as much as I do. I am a spontaneous traveler and love sharing my tips & tricks. Non-Reving is my favorite sport!

IG: @ft.bryanino, TT: @hike.w.me Hello! My name is Bryan. Currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada as a flight attendant. I enjoy long walks, may it be at the beach or the mountains, if there’s a view, I’ll hike with you. My mature palette only allows me to throughly drink red wines and taste local cuisines. I am also a bonafide plant father and cuddling with my three kittens (Shadow, Cloud and Brownie) is my favorite pastime.

IG & TT: @Datscharsjuan Aloha Ka Kou! My name is Char. I am born and raised in Hawai'i. I have been in the airline industry now for 15 years. It is my career to travel, and I take full advantage of me time on my layovers. However, I also enjoy sharing baecations and family trips with my husband and two kiddos. I’m looking forward to exploring new destinations, meeting new people and expanding my passport pages.

IG: @ceemetravel, TT: @monaliisa314 Hello! My name is Cymmone and I’m from Toronto! I love to travel and am so blessed that it’s my job. Travelling for me is escaping reality and creating memories and adventure. I’m looking forward to exploring new destinations and sharing it with you all!

IG: @cyn_city23 I’m Cynthia, I’m a Flight Attendant from San Francisco, California. I’m looking forward to making some extraordinary memories this year. My travel plans include exploring new countries and just making my passport proud.

IG: @daksh_16 Hello, I am Daksh Handa, I am from New Delhi, India. I am looking forward to an awesome and exciting partnership with ID90 and grow together. My travel plans for 2023 include exploring North and South America.

IG & TT: @diana.janisbel My name is Diana and I am a Miami based flight attendant. I plan to take at least one trip every month this year and hopefully be able to visit 30 countries by 30! I look forward to connecting with others in the program and share our adventures.

IG & TT: @theluckycoconuts Hi, my name is Gigi. I'm a Seattle based flight attendant with Alaska Airlines. I'm looking forward to exploring new cultures, experiences, food and showcasing them to my fellow travellers and hopefully inspire people along the way to explore more and see the world.

IG: @hannnahp Hi I'm Hannah, this is my 5th year being a flight attendant and I'm from central PA! People always ask "do you see yourself doing this for the long run?" and my answer is always "yes!!" This career has really opened my eyes and I'm so grateful for the people I've met along the way, I don't think I could ever do anything else. With the help of ID90's ambassador program, I'm most excited to push myself into taking more solo trips and gaining more confidence in doing so!

IG & TT: @Jetsetta2.0 My name is Honorine from Toronto, Canada. I'm super excited to expands my collaboration skills in working with other talented creators and Id90. I cannot wait to know get to know everyone. I'm hoping to reach a milestone of 65 countries this year. Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Jamey Lendvay

IG: @jamey.lendvay Hello, my name is Jamey Lendvay. I am happy to be apart of the ID90 team. I currently work for Southwest Airlines and LUV the flight benefits to explore this beautiful world. I have a passion for photography and enjoy capturing memorable moments.

IG: @jiggajtan Hi there! My name is Jessica, and I was born in Northern California, grew up in Oahu, Hawaii, and currently reside in Las Vegas, NV. I am an avid outdoor enthusiast, and just don’t know how to keep still or stay in one place! It helps that my job allows me to continue with my “bad habit.” I am looking forward to expanding, and utilizing, my knowledge on all ID90 has to offer, adding more experiences to my memory bank!

Jevaughn Smith

IG & TT: @jamaicanman43 My name is Jevaughn Smith, I'm from the British Virgin Islands but living in the states. I am a traveler, working as an engineer and also currently a nursing student now. Last year visited 22 completely new countries for the year 22 and I can't wait to partner with ID90 to meet and further share the amazing attributes of travel with others all over the world!

IG & TT: @simplylocal.life I'm Jhunelle, an island girl born and raised in Jamaica. I'm looking forward to meeting other travel enthusiasts and industry workers through the ID90 Travel family. This year I hope to visit at least 3 countries plus enjoy some new first-time experiences.

IG: @j_amire Hello all, my name is Jordan and I’m from Sunny south Florida. I’m looking forward to connecting with my fellow ambassadors as well as connecting the world around me to the great travel opportunities that ID 90 offers. I have a few trips already planned this year to London and Dubai. I also plan to use this opportunity with ID90 to throw in a few impromptu trips. Some of my dream destinations include Mauritius and Marrakech.

IG: @mikeojohn Hello, my name is Michael Rice, I am from Delaware, I am looking forward to connect and bring wonder ideas through education in travel. I am planning to explore Southeast Asia in the coming spring and summer months.

IG: @nazytokleh, TT: @Snazzberries Hi I’m Nazy, an analyst based out of DAL! I have been to more countries than US states, and I love being able to share travel itineraries and best practices!

Sean Buffington

IG & TT: @seandbuffington My name Is Sean Buffington, I was born and raised in the beautiful city of Los Angeles, CA. I’m excited to join the ID90 Ambassador Program and look forward to expanding and sharing my knowledge of travel through challenges and community that would be formed while apart of this program.

IG & TT: @flywithshantelle Hello I’m Shantelle and I am from Arizona. I look forward to connecting with other fellow travel lovers and hitting up some new places this year including Hawaii!

Sherelle - The Caribbean Girl

IG: @sherellelazar, TT: @lafillecaribeenne Hi everyone! My name is Sherelle, and I am from Trinidad and Tobago. I am beyond excited to be part of ID90 Brand Ambassador program. My style of travel is about cultural immersion. Whenever I travel to a different country, I enjoy becoming and living like a local. Come along my journey of exploring every Caribbean country! I hope to inspire you to visit these beautiful islands where the sun shines the brightest!

IG: @ohhey_itswes My name is Wes and I'm a Texan born and raised currently living in Dallas. I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, attending festivals, and going to some international concerts!

What you get:

ID90 Travel Credits you can use anywhere in the world on hotels, cruises, and resorts

ID90 Travel swag

Exclusive demos and training on upcoming feature releases

Invitations to connect with the ID90 Travel leadership team

Features on ID90 Travel social channels

What we expect:

We will expect our Brand Ambassadors to post regularly to their public page to a sizable and engaged audience on either Instagram or TikTok and are willing to post content featuring ID90 Travel on their pages. We also expect our Brand Ambassadors to engage with ID90 Travel’s organic social media. Current or recent experience working in the aviation industry or non-revving is preferred. We welcome applicants from anywhere in the world regardless of language, country, seniority, or position in the aviation industry. You must be an active user of ID90 Travel to be considered.

See where our previous Brand Ambassadors have been

Moodie Davitt Report

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Spirits and Wines

Beam Suntory unveils digital platform to empower brand ambassadors in travel retail

INTERNATIONAL. Beam Suntory has created a Brand Ambassador Excellence platform to support its travel retail business. The spirits leader noted that the digital space has been designed to ensure brand ambassadors have the in-depth knowledge required to deliver premium shopper experiences.

The platform offers functionalities tailored to assisting brand ambassadors in day-to-day tasks and enhancing their ability to engage with travelling shoppers.  

A centralised digital learning hub offers users 200 years of brand stories and industry knowledge. Assigned e-learning plans allow ambassadors to focus on the key priorities for their location – and keep track of progress – while earning points for different achievements and milestones.  

Calendar and campaign functions showcase launches, in-store activations, collaborations and limited-time offerings. A detailed portfolio section gives brand ambassadors access to product images, tasting notes and unique selling propositions.  

The news section keeps users informed via the latest articles from the Beam Suntory network, while push notifications highlight newly added content and information.  

Beam Suntory Senior Manager – Brand Ambassador Excellence Global Travel Retail John Galiatsatos said: “Travel retail brand ambassadors play a crucial role in bringing our much-loved brands to life for consumers.  

“They are our storytellers, connecting and building lasting relationships with our shoppers, and are a vital part of our mutual strategy with our retail partners to drive store footfall.

“The Brand Ambassador Excellence platform will help drive sustainable growth for our brands by ensuring our brand ambassador community is always well-informed and connected to our brands.  

“Beam Suntory is proud to accelerate our digital footprint and capabilities to provide this one-stop-shop to support our valued brand ambassadors.”  

Beam Suntory Managing Director Global Travel Retail Ashish Gandham remarked: “Beam Suntory GTR marked a significant milestone in 2023, officially surpassing pre-pandemic sales in this dynamic, growing channel.  

“Our outstanding brand ambassadors played a critical role in helping us reach this milestone, and we will continue to invest in giving them the resources they need to be effective.  

“Beam Suntory is pleased to introduce this best-in-class digital platform to further empower our Beam Suntory Brand Ambassadors. We aim to drive consistent ‘excellence in execution’ and deliver a premium experience to our shoppers at airports, border stores and within the cruise sector.”   ✈

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London, 4 April 2024

Expedia announces Virgil van Dijk as brand ambassador to encourage travellers to explore new destinations

Expedia® today released Liverpool Football Club captain Virgil van Dijk’s ultimate Liverpool travel guide. The northwest city is a 2024 trending destination, with searches up 100% year-on-year 1 .

Travel to the city is booming and whilst fans around the world may visit for the football, they stay for the city, as it is becoming a cultural hub and key UK destination. Expedia’s Unpack 2024 travel trends data crowned Liverpool one of its ten global trending destinations, as it sees an influx in travellers from the US, Ireland, Canada, Australia and Norway 2 .

To celebrate this trending city, Expedia has partnered with Liverpool Football Club captain Virgil van Dijk to release his Liverpool travel guide. Virgil has made Liverpool his home over the past five years and his guide reveals the top 10 things to do in the city, with many attractions sourced from his teammates. 

This is the first collaboration between Virgil and Expedia, as the Dutchman has signed a multi-year ambassador deal with the leading travel brand, a perfect partnership given Virgil’s love for travel and adventure.

Virgil said: “Travel is a real passion of mine. We visit so many cities through football, but don’t get to fully immerse ourselves in them, so any time off I get, I am always looking to head out on an adventure with my friends and family. That’s why I am excited to be partnering with Expedia, as we both believe that we are all made to travel.”

“The football calendar is incredibly busy of course but one day in the future I’d love to visit Japan, a country I am fascinated by. I’m a big fan of city breaks too. I love exploring new cities and cultures with my family. I love many cities including Amsterdam and Paris, but Liverpool of course for me holds such a special place in my heart which is why I’ve been excited to curate my Liverpool travel guide with Expedia. I hope it helps future visitors to this great city!” Virgil’s Liverpool travel guide includes:

• The Cavern Club – Virgil is a big music fan and no visit to the city would be complete without checking out the venue that launched one of the world’s most iconic bands – The Beatles.
• Royal Albert Dock – One of the most picturesque places in the city. When Virgil’s friends and family visit, he always tells them to head to the docks. You can even hire a boat to see the city in all its glory from the water.
• ArCains at Cains Brewery Village – Virgil loves gaming, so whether it is shooting hoops, playing video games, or beating your friends at foosball, the three-story ArCains is a hidden gem at Cains Brewery Village.
• The Municipal Hotel & Spa – A new luxury five-star hotel that is steeped in history. Located on Dale Street, one of the original seven streets that make up the city, the hotel building dates back to 1868. Inside you will find a state-of-the-art spa sanctuary, boasting a sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi, and luxurious pool with fantastic views of the city. Perfect for those who love a spa break like Virgil does.
• Lark Lane – If you are a real foodie like Virgil, he recommends heading down to Lark Lane for some of the best restaurants in the city. From neighbourhood cafes to bistros and wine bars, this bohemian hub has it all.
• Baltic Triangle – The Baltic Triangle has an industrial and creative vibe. Known for live events, the street food market and cool hangouts, this area of the city is buzzing day and night.  
• Probe Records – Vigil has a real passion for music, everything from Calvin Harris and Martin Garrix to Afrobeat. Probe Records is an iconic independent store in Liverpool, where many a famous face have worked over the years. You will find a great selection of vinyls and music memorabilia.
• Hub Studios at Cains Brewery Village – Liverpool is a city filled with art. Not just famous for its bigger museums like the Tate but smaller, independent studios like Hub Studios too, where up-and-coming artists can both create and host their great work.
• Crosby Marina – In the suburbs of north Liverpool you will find Crosby Marina. For a breath of fresh air, take a walk around the gorgeous lake, dunes, marshlands and wildflower meadows. And for those looking for a little more adventure, Crosby lakeside offers sailing, kayaking and all manners of watersports.
• Anfield Stadium – Virgil’s list would not be complete without including one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world – Anfield. Before making Liverpool his home, he already knew about the fan culture and atmosphere and now he gets to experience that week in, week out as Liverpool FC’s captain.

“Liverpool is synonymous with football but as travel experts we know it is so much more than that; it’s a cultural city on the rise.  It made our 2024 global trending destination list, and we couldn’t think of anyone better than Virgil to share his favorite places and things to do in the city.  As an avid traveler, we are thrilled to announce Virgil as our Expedia brand ambassador. We are starting in Liverpool but cannot wait to explore more of the world together.” said Michele Rousseau, senior vice president of global brands at Expedia Group.

Expedia is the official travel partner of Liverpool Football Club and has also released the ‘Finding Liverpool’ content series . This features Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Wataru Endō, Shanice van de Sanden, Missy Bo Kearns, Fūka Nagano and Jürgen Klopp, looking at Liverpool FC’s global fan base and how the club, the city and welcoming multicultural communities make it such a special city to visit.

For more inspiration on what to do and see in Liverpool, check out Expedia Live .

1 Based on global flight data on Expedia POS from Sept. 1, 2022 – Aug. 31, 2023

2 Data results based off hotel searches made for Liverpool in 2023 on Expedia global sites.

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The campaign marks the first time the travel company has signed an individual ambassador, with a May installment set to star Jürgen Klopp.

Liverpool FC’s Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk has signed with Expedia to curate a travel guide and feature in a brand campaign film all about his adopted home city.

Titled ‘Finding Liverpool,’ the three-part series gives a glimpse into the football team’s global fan base and how the club, city and communities make Liverpool such a special place to visit. The series features Trent Alexander-Arnold, Wataru Endō, Shanice van de Sanden, Missy Bo Kearns and Fūka Nagano.

Launching throughout April and May, there will also be a special Jürgen Klopp episode coming in next month.

The travel brand is the official travel partner of Liverpool Football Club and has teased that future collaborations could see van Dijk appear in brand advertising campaigns, editorial and social media content, PR activations and brand engagement events for the wider Expedia Group’s house of brands, which includes Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.

On the partnership, the center-back said: “Travel is a real passion of mine. We visit so many cities through football but don’t get to fully immerse ourselves in them, so any time off I get, I am always looking to head out on an adventure with my friends and family. That’s why I am excited to be partnering with Expedia, as we both believe that we are all made to travel.

“I’m looking forward to being able to inspire travelers to get out there and see the world. Whether that’s visiting my second home, Liverpool, my favorite city of Amsterdam or even Japan, which is my next dream destination to visit.”

The campaign will roll out across paid and owned social channels, along with partner distribution channels and out-of-home activations.

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Home » Current News » Asian Paints announces Virat Kohli as Brand Ambassador for new launch

Asian Paints announces Virat Kohli as Brand Ambassador for new launch

April 03, 2024: Paint and décor company Asian Paints has onboarded cricketer Virat Kohli as the brand ambassador for their upcoming new launch – Neo Bharat Latex Paint, according to an official release.  Neo Bharat Latex Paint is equipped with special polymer technology that provides superior finish, higher coverage and better washability. Asian Paints has consistently introduced innovative products that redefine standards, and Neo Bharat Latex Paint is set to galvanise the category yet again, the release said.

Amit Syngle, MD & CEO, Asian Paints, said, “Our upcoming launch, Neo Bharat Latex Paint, marks one of Asian Paints’ biggest moments in history, and having Virat Kohli as the face of this disruptive brand adds to our excitement. Kohli is credited today to transform the game and the Indian team in a way that many have not. His popularity cuts across regions, his persona exudes the confidence of the new India. Kohli’s influence and resonance with the masses perfectly align with this revolutionary product. Neo Bharat is set to not only redefine the paint category but also fuel the industry’s growth in India. We welcome Virat Kohli to the Asian Paints family and look forward to this journey together.”

Virat Kohli said, “Asian Paints for me represents more than a brand and is like cricket; being a part of almost every Indian home bringing joy and exhilaration to our lives. Aligning with this transformational journey, I am truly honoured to be partnering the launch of Asian Paints Neo Bharat Latex Paint, propelling Asian Paints to being a strong part of a new and progressive India”.

Asian Paints will soon unveil further details about Neo Bharat Latex Paint and launch a campaign for the brand with its brand ambassador. The campaign will go live across all mediums in the next few weeks, the release stated.

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Harini is a content management professional with over 12 years of experience. She has contributed articles for various domains, including real estate, finance, health and travel insurance and e-governance. She has in-depth experience in writing well-researched articles on property trends, infrastructure, taxation, real estate projects and related topics. A Bachelor of Science with Honours in Physics, Harini prefers reading motivational books and keeping abreast of the latest developments in the real estate sector.

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Ciroc respond to rumours of replacing Diddy with 50 Cent as brand ambassador

This news comes months after Diddy stopped working with Ciroc's parent company Diageo in January

Diddy has not been replaced as the face of Ciroc despite reports earlier this week claiming 50 Cent would take his role.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs – who has been in headlines recently after his home was raided last week amidst a sex trafficking investigation – parted ways from Ciroc and its parent company Diageo back in January after working together for over 10 years. The move came after the rap mogul raised concerns of racial discrimination and subsequently filed a lawsuit claiming mishandling of the liquor brands. He had a 50 per cent stake in Diageo’s DeLéon tequila brand and helped promote the popular vodka brand.

Rumours started circulating this week alleging that 50 Cent – real name Curtis Jackson – was offered $100million to be a new brand ambassador for Ciroc. TMZ claimed that there were even reports that Jackson was originally approached to work with the brand in 2007, but the anonymous source said Diddy swooped in and “stole the deal.”

To set the record straight, sources connected to the alcohol brand told TMZ that there were no plans to make 50 the brand’s new face. Yesterday (April 3), Jackson also shared a screenshot of a MediaTakeOut article about the now-debunked deal on his Instagram feed.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by 50 Cent (@50cent)

The news was unlikely since Jackson launched his own alcohol company called Sire Spirits in 2017, which makes Le Chemin du Roi Champagne and his award-winning Branson Cognac.

In November 2023, singer and former Bad Boy signee Cassie filed a lawsuit that accused Diddy of rape and physical abuse during their 11-year-long relationship. The case was later settled out of court. 

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Diddy was also accused of sexual abuse by Rodney ‘Lil Rod’ Jones , a producer on Diddy’s most recent record ‘The Love Album: Off The Grid’. Jones said Combs had sexually assaulted him, had parties where sex workers and underage girls were present, and coerced him to sleep with prostitutes. Diddy replied, saying Jones’ claims were “pure fiction.”

A week after Ventura’s lawsuit, two new allegations by two different women also came out with one  claiming that Combs drugged and sexually assaulted her  and the other  alleging that Combs and singer-songwriter Aaron Hall took turns raping the plaintiff and her friend in 1990 or 1991 – with Diddy allegedly turning violent days later.

Diddy has denied allegations against him last December, saying: “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.” That same month, he was also accused of the “gang rape” of a 17-year-old girl , which  he denies .

Last month, the rap mogul’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles were raided by Homeland Security in regards to a sex-trafficking investigation. The agency is looking into allegations that Combs had been drugging young women in multiple states. Diddy was not present at either residence.

Misa Hylton – the mother of Diddy’s sons Justin and Christian Combs – has since shared CCTV of the house raids , showing the “overzealous and overtly militarised force” that was used against them. She added that such an act was “deplorable”.

In the same month, 50 Cent revealed he is working on a docu-series about Diddy’s sexual allegations called Diddy Do It? He is yet to share a release date for the project.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website . In the US, visit RAINN .

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April Fools' Day pranks: Apps to translate baby stoner sayings, a ghostbuster at Tinder

Every april 1, brands and companies want to get some laughs – and attention – with goofy new 'product' launches. here are some ideas from companies such as sweetgreen, welch's and omaha steaks..

If you don't like Mondays, this one may especially be grating. It's April Fool's Day , when you should trust no one and question everything.

The roots of April Fools' Day may date back before to before the 15th century. But the modern-day April Fools' Day has become a day to prank a friend, family member, co-worker − or your customers.

Even though some companies have had April Fools' pranks backfire , marketers continue to issue spoof products in attempts to get some laughs and attention.

Already ahead of April Fools' Day, 7-Eleven has hinted at a possible prank product: In addition to new Lemon Lime, Green Apple and Sweet Orange flavored 7-Select sparkling waters, out now with partner Miracle Seltzer, there's a fourth flavor coming April 1: Big Bite Hot Dog.

The hot dog-flavored water "combines the mouthwatering experience of 7-Eleven’s iconic Big Bite Hot Dog into one refreshing beverage – ketchup and mustard included," the convenience chain says in a press release . "Say goodbye to the days of alternating bites of a hot dog with sips of a beverage, now those on the go can swap the bun for bubbles."

Krispy Kreme: A special doughnut deal for April Fools' Day

Will Big Bite Hot Dog sparkling water be sold? Its availability will be announced April 1. However, some reporters were sent a can of the drink. USA TODAY can confirm that it definitely smells like hot dog water and has a smoky aftertaste.

If you are interested in trying it, both 7-Eleven and Miracle Seltzer have hinted at having some to give away on their Instagram pages. (If you get a can, share with a friend as it's 16 ounces.)

Here's a roundup of many of the brand-related April Fools’ gag announcements. You've been warned.

Sour cream & onion flavored soda

Despite the proliferation of crazy-flavored products including Peeps-flavored Pepsi , Frank's RedHot sauce-flavored Vlasic pickles and Doritos Nacho Cheese-flavored liquor , healthy soda brand OLIPOP and Pringles are not really teaming up to bring to market a Sour Cream & Onion soda.

The product would have been "a match made in heaven … to bring the delicious, tangy flavor of Pringles’ Sour Cream & Onion flavor to life in liquid form with prebiotic benefits," the companies said.

Stoner lingo translation app

Another dream team prank product: Rosetta Stoned, a mobile app from Rosetta Stone and medical marijuana company Fluent , that "bridges the conversational gap between novice users and seasoned stoners in any social setting."

Da da decoder

Infant equipment site BabyQuip has its own language-bridging lark: the “Baby Translator” app, to decode your baby's secret language.

"Say 'goodbye' to restless nights as you decode your baby's coos and cries instantly, providing you with the understanding you need as a parent, all in one convenient app," it promises.

An AI-powered plush doll

Custom stuffed animal maker Budsies already makes selfie plush dolls with a built-in voice recorder. Its April Fools' spoof: Artificial intelligence-enabled dolls that "come programmed to learn everything about you and to become your new best friend."

A 50-pound Bearabuddy

Sorry to the 3,500 or so who have already signed up to buy Bearaby's Jumbo Benji plush toy, which is four times the size of its regular weighted plush toys and twice as heavy as its heaviest weighted blanket . This isn't actually going to be sold. But it is real and will be making its home in the lobby at The Child Mind Institute in Harlem to welcome children and their families. More weighted plushies are due the day after April Fools' Day, the company says.

A sleeping bag to go bananas over

The Dole Banana Peel Sleeping Bag, conveniently promoted as being available on April Fools' Day only, is made from actual banana fiber and "allows parents to escape into their own cocoon of sensory deprivation."

A full-body cleaning suit

Outrageous clothing company Tipsy Elves has a special product for April Fools' Day: The Mopsie. You don't need paper towels anymore, you can use your body to clean up those messes, with this "innovative, wearable microfiber towel jumpsuit" for "effortlessly soaking up spills and messes with ease." There's also a Baby Mopsie for "hard to reach places."

Korean BBQ deodorant

Kevin's Natural Foods , which has paleo- and keto-certified ready-to-cook and easy-prep entrées, is touting a new line of personal care products inspired by its food dishes including Korean BBQ Deodorant, Cilantro Lime Toothpaste, Lemongrass Basil Shampoo and Tikka Masala Sunscreen.

"These new face, body and hair care essentials will help fans prioritize self-care inside and out," the company says. 

Omaha Steaks' meaty sprays

Omaha Steaks has its own personal care prank product: Meaty Spritz sprays with flavors such as Omaha Fog, Hog Haze, and Cock-a-Doodle-Dew.

"The world’s first protein-infused, flavor-packed, portable pump spray … (to) enjoy all the mouthwatering flavors of your Omaha Steaks gourmet favorites no matter how far away from the kitchen you are!" the company says.

Sriracha toothpaste

Asian sauce maker Lee Kum Kee , which makes Sriracha Chili Sauce and Sriracha Mayo Dressing, is introducing – not – its Siracha Mayo Toothpaste. It's "fiery and creamy goodness … is sure to spice up your morning dental routine."

Post-salad dental kit

Need some less powerful toothpaste? Sweetgreen offered these fanciful personal hygiene products as part of its Sweetgreen After Salad Kit, which is "designed with your pearly whites in mind … offering everything you need to freshen up post-meal."

Choose from Miso Ginger Toothpaste, Spicy Cashew Mints, Lime Cilantro Dental Floss, and Sweetgreen Toothbrush and Floss Picks.

Fruit juice lip gloss

More personal care prank products: Welch’s Juicyfuls Juicy Fruit Lip Gloss – now available in five flavors: grape, orange, peach, strawberry and raspberry – made with real juice from Juicefuls fruit snacks so "you get that irresistible sweet flavor you love, all in a lip gloss that's as fun as it is nourishing."

Protein-powered seasonings

Quest Nutrition , maker of protein powder, snacks and other products, has a prank product line of seasonings including All Purpose, Lemon Pepper, and Garlic Herb, each of which deliver "21g of protein, 2g of net carbs and less than 1g of sugar."

If you want to try Quest's real products, you can use code NOJOKE for free shipping on online orders over $49 April 1-3.

Superpowered Superfeet?

These would certainly come in hand on a run, but – sorry – it's a jogging joke. Superfeet SuperBoost Power E-Soles gives you 8 hours of continuous battery-powered boost, for almost Iron Man-like propulsion. "All the comfort and support of Superfeet , now with electrifying performance," the company says in a video about the prank product. "It's like having a powerful electric motor in your shoes."

Scotch tape-branded Scotch?

This shenanigan seems like a blend that could stick: Scotch Whisky by Scotch Brand. The whisky "features a nose of cherry wood and a delightfully smooth finish that hits like a well-wrapped gift."

Who you gonna call when ghosted? This new title at Tinder

Dating app Tinder announced a new April Fools' Day hiring quest for a Vice President of Ghost Hunting to help combat "one of dating culture’s most prevalent vices – ghosting," a practice inflicted on 78% of singles already in 2024 (an untrue fact from Tinder).

Patrón's bringing back a beloved liqueur. No kidding.

Patrón patrons get some good news today. The premium tequila maker chose April Fools' Day to announce the return of its Patrón XO Cafe tequila-based coffee liqueur, which was discontinued in 2021. Since production ceased, devotees took to social media and signed a petition asking parent company Bacardi to bring it back.

Made with Patrón Silver tequila and Arabica bean coffee – the dry liqueur can be sipped straight, in cocktails and as dessert topping – Patrón XO Cafe will begin arriving in stores again later this month.

Say it with dead flowers

Don't forget to put roses on your April Fools' Day list. UrbanStems has this "special" delivery, The Dead Inside Collection, "an assortment of dead flower bouquets, dead plants, half empty vases, and more for the pessimist in your life." But, for real, check UrbanStems' social media accounts including Instagram for how to get 20% off an order of real flowers.

Cheesecake Factory's real deals

The Cheesecake Factory  also has a deal that's no joke: Sign up for the chain's Cheesecake Rewards loyalty program on April 1 to get an Any Slice, Half Price reward, redeemable for 50% off any slice of cheesecake or layer cake, with any food or beverage purchase (no gift cards).

Those who were members before April 1 will find something special in their account on Monday, too: either a free slice of cheesecake each month for a year, a free whole cheesecake, a free slice of cheesecake, $5 off $25 purchases, or $10 off $40 purchases. (All rewards redeemable by April 16; can be redeemed for dine-in, to-go and DoorDash.)

New merch from Dunkin', bonus points in app

Dunkin' announced it is going back to its roots and rebranding to just "Donuts'" on Monday, April 1. To celebrate the rebrand, the company is selling "Donuts'" merch, including sweatshirts that read "DONUTS," on ShopDunkin.com .

Additionally, Dunkin' Rewards members will receive 3x bonus points on any donut order through the mobile app on April 1.

Urban Outfitters launches 'Name Three Shirts' movement

Urban Outfitters said it is launching a global movement to "stand in solidarity against band-tee-shaming" by launching a new collection called "Name Three Shirts."

The t-shirt line "playfully mocks the gatekeeping attitudes of older generations who insist that band-shirt wearers should be required to name songs by those artists," the company said in a news release.

The line, which features revamped logos from bands such as The Grateful Dead, Joy Division and Led Zeppelin, is a "playful jab at the attitudes of older generations, and fights back against the misogynistic undertones of the infamous ‘name three songs’ line of questioning," Urban Outfitters said in the news release.

The collection of shirts is available online and in select Urban Outfitters stores starting April 1. You can shop the collection online here .

Auntie Anne's, Frontier Airlines collaborate on Pretzel Plane

Auntie Anne's pretzels and Frontier Airlines announced they have collaborated on the newest addition to Frontier's fleet: the Pretzel Plane.

According to a news release, the plane includes new in-flight entertainment featuring Auntie Anne's pretzels rolled seat-side, the "luxurious" smell of hot, fresh pretzels throughout the cabin and airplane-shaped pretzels if you're feeling hungry.

Moe's Southwest Grill, Sonic team up to introduce a Queso Slush

Two popular fast food chains announced a collaboration that is sure to be polarizing.

Moe's and Sonic announced a new beverage, the Queso Slush, a queso-flavored slushie. "The frozen goodness of a Sonic Slush meets the delicious flavor of Moe's queso."

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads:  @mikesnider  & mikegsnider .

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X  @GabeHauari  or email him at [email protected].

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Inside Mad Rabbit’s ambassador marketing strategy

Mad Rabbit, a tattoo care brand that sells products such as balms and body washes, is reaping the rewards of its ambassador program.

Mad Rabbit, which launched in 2019, has encouraged customers from the get-go to show off their tattoos and Mad Rabbit products on social media, co-founder Oliver Zak told Modern Retail. However, it wasn’t until two years ago that Mad Rabbit created a more formal ambassador program. In the past year and a half, that program has ballooned from 3,000 members to nearly 8,000.

There is a low barrier to entry; although Mad Rabbit considers applicants’ social followings, it aims to accept anyone who is a fan of the brand, Erin Murray, svp of marketing at Mad Rabbit, told Modern Retail.

A majority of Mad Rabbit’s ambassadors are not tattoo professionals, although some 800 are tattoo artists and apprentices. Participants get a variety of perks, including first access to new products, a trip to Mad Rabbit’s headquarters in Los Angeles and participation in focus groups. Ambassadors can participate in the program in three ways: through an affiliate model; through completing social media challenges for points, cash or rewards; or, both. About 75% of ambassadors do both, and in the past year, ambassadors have generated nearly $500,000 in revenue for Mad Rabbit.

Mad Rabbit had a $56 million valuation as of March 2023 . The brand first began as an online-only company but now sells at major retailers including Walmart and GNC.

Beyond being a revenue channel, Mad Rabbit also treats its ambassador program as a talent and hiring pipeline of sorts. It’s accomplished this through building an additional two tiers for tattoo artists: “sponsored artists” (who Mad Rabbit sees as making top-tier content) and a “pro team” (some of the top tattoo artists in the United States). The sponsored tier has about 60 people, while the pro tier has about 15, Murray said.

In order to be a sponsored artist, a tattoo artist has to go through an application process and have Mad Rabbit review the quality and style of their work. Once given the green light, sponsored artists can then tattoo at events alongside Mad Rabbit employees and receive “a ton of free product and other deliverables,” Zak said. Then, he said, “The hope from there is, after spending a year on the sponsored artists team, they then graduate to the pro team, which is a paid position, and they’re very much so figureheads of our brand.”

While Mad Rabbit wants to grow its ambassador program as a whole, it’s particularly focused on boosting its sponsored artists segment. “We’re trying to make [the program] increasingly immersive, especially as we expand into retail and go deeper into doing live events,” Zak said.

Brands in all sectors — but especially consumer goods — are increasingly relying on ambassador programs to get the word out about their products. According to eMarketer, 83% of marketers will work with influencers this year, a number that will surpass 90% in 2027. EMarketer also predicts that influencer marketing spending in the U.S. will increase 16% this year to reach $8.14 billion.

A well-constructed ambassador program can be crucial for connecting with a brand’s desired audience, Sky Canaves, senior analyst of retail and e-commerce at eMarketer, told Modern Retail. “The word authenticity tends to get over-used, but when it comes to creating ambassador programs that resonate, it’s really critical for brands to tap into their real-world fans — those who use their products and are passionate enough about them to talk them up naturally,” she said.

Today, many ambassador programs invite their members to be active participants in decision-making. Bubble asks its ambassadors to weigh in on product names and packaging, while Claire’s relies on ambassadors to help with in-store events and photo shoots. Both these brands appeal to younger audiences — demographics that want to see real interactions between companies and consumers, Sarah Engel, president at the digital media company January Digital, told Modern Retail. She recommends that all brands looking to resonate with Gen Z or Gen Alpha “strongly consider” ambassador programs.

Still, it’s important for brands to stay disciplined with their ambassador programs, Kimberley Ring Allen, founder of Ring Communications and adjunct professor at Suffolk University, told Modern Retail. Rather than recruit a wide-ranging group of ambassadors who may put little effort into the program, she said, brands should bring on people who believe in the brand and have a personal attachment to it.

Mad Rabbit’s decision to use tattoo artists as ambassadors falls into this second bucket, Allen said. “At the end of the day, you want to believe that this person who is telling you about this product… has first-hand experience and knowledge in it,” she told Modern Retail. “If the ambassador comes across as overly promotional, it’s not going to work.”

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Tattoo care brand Mad Rabbit is reaping the benefits of its ambassador program. Already, it's brought in 8,000 members who have generated nearly half a million in revenue for the brand in the past year.

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Hilton makes a splash in luxury lifestyle travel with its plan to grow NoMad by 100 hotels

Hilton has arisen from its slumber on luxury and lifestyle brands.

The hotel giant is taking a majority stake in Sydell Group, the parent company of the NoMad Hotels brand, both companies announced Wednesday. The deal puts Hilton in charge of expanding the NoMad brand, currently limited to hotels in London and Las Vegas. The plan is to eventually expand NoMad up to 100 hotels, with deals for 10 hotels in "advanced stages of discussion."

While the deal was only announced this week, Hilton leaders had been teasing for months that some play for a luxury lifestyle brand was in the works.

"Adding NoMad to our growing brand portfolio will create new offerings for guests seeking unique luxury experiences in some of the world's most desirable locations," Chris Silcock, Hilton's president of global brands and commercial services, said in a statement . "By pairing an already proven brand concept that's ready for expansion with the power of Hilton's commercial engine, we are accelerating our ability to drive growth in the luxury lifestyle segment."

If you're not familiar with NoMad, you're not the only one: It is only a two-hotel brand, after all. But this also enables Hilton to have more influence in the overall vibe as it beefs up the brand into its offering in the competitive luxury lifestyle space, which counts brands like Marriott's Edition and W, and Hyatt's Thompson Hotels as leading players.

Hilton's "buy small" is a similar growth strategy to what IHG Hotels & Resorts did with the smaller Regent brand , which the company took a majority stake of in 2018. Regent was an established brand before IHG came knocking, but IHG now has the final say in what it looks like as it goes global. Expect Hilton to do the same with NoMad.

The brand aesthetic NoMad is going for as it grows into the Hilton ecosystem will be to provide guests with a residential feel in some of the world's most desirable neighborhoods, per the company announcement. Expect a mix of "grand and intimate," "classic and playful" and "fun and elegant," per the adjectives Hilton uses to depict the soon-to-grow brand.

Details on the full lineup of amenities travelers should expect from a more robust NoMad portfolio with Hilton's involvement remain scarce, but the important thing is Hilton Honors members will now have an option in the popular luxury lifestyle space where Marriott, Hyatt and Accor's Ennismore offshoot currently dominate.

"We're excited to begin this new phase for Sydell, as we enter into a partnership with Hilton to expand the NoMad brand around the world," Andrew Zobler, Sydell Group founder and CEO, said in a statement. "Grounded in the idea of the hotel as a great home, the NoMad brand is dedicated to providing guests with accessible luxury, exceptional design and award-winning food and beverage. Hilton's expertise in both luxury and lifestyle, paired with its track record in scaling brands, makes for an exciting opportunity."

The flagship NoMad London hotel — a TPG favorite for its rich, moody furnishings, spacious accommodations and atrium restaurant — will appear on Hilton booking platforms later this year. The NoMad Las Vegas, which is part of the MGM Resorts and Marriott-affiliated Park MGM complex, is not included in the deal and will reflag to a different brand identity in the coming months.

"By fusing Sydell's chic hospitality with Hilton's unrivaled distribution and loyalty programs, we have created the perfect partnership — a marriage of Andrew Zobler's pioneering creativity with Hilton's best-in-class leadership," Jeremy Cooper, Sydell Group's chief investment officer, told TPG. "This unprecedented collaboration sets a new benchmark in the luxury-lifestyle hotel sector."

A new day at Hilton

The NoMad deal is a departure from Hilton's longtime "build, don't buy" growth strategy of organically developing brands instead of acquiring existing hotel chains like Marriott, Hilton, IHG and Accor are known to do .

But in the last month, Hilton has acquired two: Graduate Hotels and now NoMad.

There have been swelling murmurs in the hotel orbit in recent months over Hilton's ambition to snatch the world's largest hotel company crown from Marriott, especially as the gap narrows between each company's development pipeline and loyalty program membership count. For a while, it seemed like Hilton was focusing on the affordable end of the spectrum by developing new budget-friendly brands like Spark and LivSmart Studios to fuel more hotel growth.

But the company can't ignore the luxury and lifestyle end of the spectrum, where Hilton has lagged behind its competitors.

Hilton appears ready to put that line of thought in the rearview mirror, as Graduate Hotels will give the brand a viable lifestyle hotel product in various towns and cities with ties to a college or university. NoMad can be the glitzy luxury lifestyle sibling in some of the most popular destinations in the world.

Further, Hilton's upcoming partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World — with the expected snatch from Hyatt slated to finalize later this year — provides Hilton Honors members with a wide array of new options in the boutique luxury space.

Consider this a new day for luxury at Hilton — one that can play a vital part in making this company vault to the top position in the hotel conglomerate food chain.

Related reading:

• The award travelers guide to Hilton Honors
• How to choose the best Hilton credit card for you
• Hilton Honors elite status: What it is and how to earn it
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• Which credit cards offer the most lucrative rewards for hotel stays?
• The best hotel rewards programs in the world
• Best hotel credit cards