Are brand ambassadors only for big companies?

Are brand ambassadors something that only very large businesses can use? I’ve got quite a nifty web start-up and am keen on getting an endorsement to prove my credibility – what should I do?

A brand ambassador’s usefulness can be assessed by looking at the following four factors:

• Influential: Do they have a positive influence over your (potential) consumers?

• Connectedness: Will your consumers be able to connect with your ambassador, or the things they have to say?

• Credible: How credible is the brand ambassador to talk about what it is they are saying about your brand.

• Cost: The greater the cost to you the better they have to be at 1, 2, and 3.

The best way to get a brand ambassador is to create your own, and they become not only the ambassador for your brand, but for the category itself.

Think of Steve Jobs for Apple, or the ‘Will it Blend?’ guy for Will it Blend?

It’s cheaper, and you’re more in control of them. You could be your own brand ambassador.

Another type of ambassador could just be a really super satisfied customer. Again, doesn’t cost you anything and it’s credible.

With ambassadors, think about how you can have them integrated into your brand story.

Paying for endorsement is something that only the super rich and established brands want to get into. It’s a pretty direct relationship between what you pay and the value you get.

There are far more interesting ways to build a brand rather than piggy back off someone else’s.