The Five Traits of a Great Brand Ambassador
Some of you will be lucky enough to land a yearlong campaign, working in the sun for a cool brand at the best events and festivals, working 10 hours a day, 6 days per week and sometimes earning more pro rata than anyone you know, other times you’ll be booked for four hours, for one day, working to demanding targets in terrible weather.
One thing is for sure, if you want the sexy jobs, you’d better be better than everyone else in every job you do, especially the not-so-sexy ones.
We have been recruiting and training the best brand ambassadors in the UK for over 10 years, here are our top 5 tips to develop your career in this great business.
1.Have personality
This is the sole purpose you are being booked – to represent brands, your agencies and yourself. We are in the business of ‘engagement’ – connecting brands with customers. You are on the front line, the difference between a great experience and bad one. It is a big responsibility.
2.Don’t blag.
You really need to have some kind of interest in the role being offered and the brand and or product / service being promoted. You will be selected based on your suitability and experience (be it life experience or work experience). You need to be a great fit for the brand and the required role – it really isn’t in your best interest long term to feign an interest if you don’t have one. You might manage it for a day or two, but any longer than this it’ll be obvious and may affect your chances of being booked again.
3.Fail to prepare? Then prepare to fail
We have said since the day we opened our doors for business that the most important part of the process across everything that we do is the briefing – the preparation that happens before going ‘Live’. Wherever possible we work to the process of VWF2F (Verbal, Written, Face-to-Face), a process we have developed over more than 10 years. Face to Face to briefing – meeting the brand that you will be representing and understanding what makes them tick and their objectives is priceless preparation. However, preparing yourself in advance of this training by thoroughly reading and digesting the written briefing material means that not only will you get the most from the training, you will stand out – you will be remembered as someone that really wants to be the best BA you can be.
4.Get the basics right
There is a basic requirement in life to be reliable, punctual, well turned out, positive and trustworthy.
Reliability is key – If you let your agency down, you will not hear from them again. It is that simple.
Punctuality is also key – for calls, replies to emails and messages, training days and of course on the live dates of activity. We have seen some in the past let themselves down by arriving late for training (!!). Come on! This is the first occasion that the client will meet you – arrive late for this and it is quite likely you won’t even make it to the live activity.
Take-pride and be positive! This business is not all about being ‘The Next Top Model’ but appearance is a big part of it. You wouldn’t want to be served in a great restaurant by an ungroomed waiter looking like they were out ‘til the early hours, would you? The same principle applies- we can all look great by making an effort, read your brief, give yourself enough time to get ready and arrive looking great, with a smile and ready to be your very best.
Get the basics right, be trustworthy and you will have your choice of great campaigns, fail at these basics and you’ll soon be back looking for a new agency.
5.Make yourself desirable
If you keep in good contact with our agency team, are fun to deal with, respond quickly to communications and are reliable you will quickly be noticed and be seen as part of the agency. Enthusiasm is great –and I agree with the words ‘if you can be the most enthusiastic person you know, you won’t go too far wrong’ – make a name for yourself.
These are some pretty hard and fast guidelines to making it as a brand ambassador and beyond. If you feel you can’t apply yourself enthusiastically and reliably to a job offered, then don’t take it. You’ll let down the client, your agency and yourself and may not get another chance to show yourself at your best!
