{"id":136152,"date":"2021-07-30T10:48:08","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T09:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=136152"},"modified":"2021-12-02T13:05:56","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T12:05:56","slug":"seeking-the-right-brand-ambassador-for-long-term-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/seeking-the-right-brand-ambassador-for-long-term-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeking: the right brand ambassador for long-term engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is there a public figure you just can\u2019t stand? Or a celebrity you\u2019ll go and see in anything, even if it\u2019s likely to be terrible? Are you more likely to give a new product a go if it\u2019s introduced to you by a face you know and trust? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Parasocial relationships \u2013 \u2018that feeling of closeness and authenticity\u2019 you can build with a person you don\u2019t even know, as YouTuber: How YouTube shook up TV and created a new generation of stars author Chris Stokel-Walker put it<\/a> \u2013 are a powerful part of modern-day brand awareness and engagement. There\u2019s no escaping its influence if you engage in media of almost any type.<\/p>\n

Type \u2018George Clooney coffee\u2019 into Google, for example, and you\u2019ll find that People Also Ask \u2018Does George Clooney own Nespresso?\u2019, \u2018How much does George Clooney get paid for Nespresso?\u2019 and \u2018Why does George Clooney do Nespresso?\u2019. No, he doesn\u2019t own Nespresso, but we associate him with the brand closely since he began working with them in 2006<\/a>, and he is said to have earned over $40million from a recent campaign. Why? Because brand partnerships can pay off, for everybody involved.<\/p>\n

The financial pay-off for brands, and their ambassadors, is undeniable \u2013 \u2018parasocial interaction mediates the relationship between celebrity images and purchase intentions [\u2026] It has significant implications for marketers and academicians,\u2019 reads a study from the University Business School in India<\/a> from May. \u2018Status affect[s] the strength of parasocial relationships, source credibility, and evaluation,\u2019 finds a report published in the International Journal of Advertising<\/a> earlier this year.<\/p>\n

For which brands are making smart choices for their ambassadors \u2013 and potential subjects of parasocial engagement \u2013 right now, you need only watch the adverts between shows on TV\/before YouTube videos\/in pop-ups. We\u2019re mid-Olympics 2020, and Dina Asher-Smith is busy creating with Muller<\/a>. Lynx has teamed up with boxer Anthony Joshua, YouTubers Calfreezy and Chunkz, and rapper Aitch<\/a>. Tapping into niches, subcultures and fandoms can also attract consumers to a brand \u2013 Subway is acknowledging its passionate-about-plant-based clients by teaming up with vegan Grime artists<\/a>, and Star Wars\u2019 Adam Driver is doing brand ambassador duty in a new campaign for Burberry Hero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The consumer, the follower \u2013 those watching and engaging \u2013 can benefit from brand ambassadorship, too. It\u2019s the consumers\u2019 choice, after all, whether or not to engage in a one-sided, fully-voluntary parasocial entanglement with Tom Hiddleston over breakfast \u2013 plenty of consumers were happy to be the recipient of a plate and a Centrum from his hand<\/a>, just as others suddenly weren\u2019t very hungry, actually<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Studies show that parasocial engagements like these provide feelings of companionship, as well as \u2018affection, gratitude, longing, encouragement, and loyalty<\/a>\u2019. It\u2019s that careful back-and-forth that makes ambassadorship so powerful for building long-term relationships with a customer and a reliable, resilient consumer base.<\/p>\n

Understanding which media personalities would be most likely to engage an intended audience, and keep on message authentically, was a key part of Zero Waste Scotland\u2019s Scotland is Stunning \u2013 Let\u2019s Keep It That Way<\/a> award-winning campaign of last year. \u2018Influencers were essential to this campaign, in particular for the under-25 audience,\u2019 said communications programme manager for the campaign Claire Munro. \u2018We wouldn\u2019t have been able to reach them as directly or persuasively via traditional media channels, stakeholder channels or traditional toolkit. They gave the campaign real pop.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018When deciding on an ambassador for your brand, look at who their audience is and what kind of content they use,\u2019 says Claire<\/a>. \u2018Does that marry up with your values and your objectives?\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an important question to ask, as \u2018authentic\u2019 personalities, and the choices they make, can cause real problems. There are plenty of examples where brands and ambassadors didn\u2019t make for ideal mixes. While Scarlett Johansson claimed to have \u2018no regrets\u2019 over her decision to work with SodaStream (a company headquartered in Israel with a factory on the West Bank) in 2014, the Hollywood actress stepped down from her ambassador position with Oxfam following its criticism of her affiliation with the drinks brand. Popular YouTuber Shane Dawson, who had found success across a range of mediums and with many brands, over many years, was swiftly dropped by both Target and Morphe<\/a> after controversy surrounding his older videos resurfaced.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s important that PR people fully appreciate who they\u2019re representing, their personality and what is a good or bad endorsement for them,\u2019 says Stokel-Walker. \u2018An influencer\u2019s stock in trade is their authenticity, but any bad decision an influencer makes to support or endorse a product will be picked up on very quickly.\u2019<\/p>\n

Want to start your own meaningful relationships with perfect brand ambassadors and a loyal \u2013 perhaps parasocially-tinged \u2013 customer base? Make sure you pick the right people, that share your purpose, aims, ethics, moral outlook and your brands\u2019 plans for the future. After all, it could be the start of a long and meaningful relationship, to everyone\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n

For more on influencer culture, read our feature on Chris Stokel-Walker’s YouTubers: How YouTube shook up TV and created a new generation of stars<\/em><\/a>. Find out more about choosing the right brand ambassador for your campaign with our interview on Zero Waste Scotland’s campaign ‘Scotland is Stunning – Let’s Keep It That Way’<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Understand how your PR compares to the competition and prove ROI with Vuelio Media Monitoring.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Is there a public figure you just can\u2019t stand? Or a celebrity you\u2019ll go and see in anything, even if it\u2019s likely to be terrible? Are you more likely to give a new product a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":136157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7365,7272,3695,3699,3703,3705,1449],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/423"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136152"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139360,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136152\/revisions\/139360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}