Staffing is a HUGE part of what makes or breaks event marketing. Call them what you will: promoters, models, brand representatives, road warriors…

At Factory 360, we call each of them Brand Ambassadors or BAs. Here is our brand ambassador definition:

brand am·bas·sa·dor noun\brand am-ˈba-sə-dər, əm-, im-, -ˌdȯr, -ˈbas-dər\: term in marketing for someone hired to embody and promote a brand’s products and/or services at a particular event(s), whether short-term or long-term.

Each BA is different – they all bring a new quality to the campaign.

As the event marketing leader to our clients, how can we make the practice quick, efficient, and results-driven to find the right fit? We keep our clients’ brand identity top of mind and want certain qualities in the Brand Ambassadors we select.

The following five traits are what we look for in every Brand Ambassador we bring on to our team. They are our TEAM MEMBERS. Without them, our agency fails and, therefore, we hold each of them accountable to the same standards of excellence we hold the corporate team.

Shhhh! Here’s our list:

Personality:

Every person we work with must have a shining star in them. We like to work with people that can personally grab consumers’ attention. Maybe they have a sparkle in their eye, a contagious smile, or a way of carrying themselves. We need them to communicate all talking points or key information with ease and without sounding rehearsed.

Reliability:

We do not tolerate last-minute cancellations. This may sound harsh, but the point we are trying to make is that we need someone we can count on. Emergencies arise. It’s life. However, we want to work with staff that will be there when they confirm a time and a date. It is never a good sign when a Brand Ambassador cancels the first time they are scheduled to work or arrives late. We anticipate this for our clients by scheduling backup representatives for each event – as a fail safe.

Professionalism:

The Brand Ambassadors we hire are often given premiums, uniforms, or special tasks. We seek those that will act responsibly with these. There is also something gratifying about finding a Brand Ambassador who keeps open communication with us as their supervisors when something goes wrong or they have a question. If there is a problem and we know about it immediately, we fix it together as a team.

Special Skills:

We seek Brand Ambassadors that enhance consumers’ experiences by serving as an extension of our clients’ product/brand. If our client is a restaurant chain, perhaps we hire someone who is a foodie or used to work as a waiter. If our client is pushing their mobile app at a technology convention, then we look for people that have previous experience in IT. This may seem like a difficult task, to find the suitable pairing of Brand Ambassador and client, but you’d be surprised.

Versatility:

It’s Event Marketing! Things always change and activations or people get moved around. As a team, we have to be prepared for anything. Having Brand Ambassadors that go with the flow and keep on their toes ready for anything are great. We want staff that is flexible and rolls with the punches along with us.

Author: Adriana Orpinela, Account Coordinator