The unsung hero: The Brand Ambassador

It’s not as sexy as catching the bad guy or saving a kitten from a burning building, but make no mistake, the brand ambassador is a hero to the lasting impact of a brand. For the purposes of this discussion, there are two kinds of brand ambassadors: The steward and everyone else that lives the brand.

Beginning with the latter, everyone who represents the brand, be it sales, customer service or the new guy in the mail room, they all serve as a touchstone for the big picture. Not only should every employee know the history of the organization, but they should also know the “Who”, “What”, “How” and “Why”… the foundational factors that define a brand in relatable language. It may not be realistic to expect that everyone be able to fire off the Brand Promise verbatim, but who you are as a company, what you do, how the way you do things is different, and why, should be things that everyone knows and can comfortably speak to.

There’s usually one person responsible for disseminating that information: the Brand Steward. This can be someone in an internal marketing department, a C-level exec, or perhaps just that one person with the wherewithal and gives a damn about how your organization is represented out in the world.

It cannot be emphasized enough: consistency is key. The best brands have a steward that assures that the message and brand identity are always intact, always in a voice that speaks to your organization’s Brand Archetype, and does these things with measured consistency.

Here’s to you, Brand Ambassador. We salute your efforts, unrecognized as they often are, because it’s your attention that saves us all from squished logos on golf tournament signage, February advertising that is festooned with hearts and cherubs, and colors or fonts that are “close enough”.

Categorized in: Marketing