Brand Ambassador Programs

How Businesses Are Using Brand Ambassador Programs To Increase Brand Awareness And Trust

Generating brand awareness and building brand trust are two major marketing goals all businesses have. One of the most effective ways to achieve these goals is by encouraging loyal customers to increase brand awareness and trust on your behalf. This is because positive word-of-mouth can be incredibly powerful, and because consumers tend to trust one another when it comes to brand recommendations. As a result, many businesses have established brand ambassador programs in order to turn their loyal customers into official ambassadors.

What are Brand Ambassadors?

Brand ambassadors are consumers who work closely with you to advocate your brand. Companies generally choose loyal customers who already have a history recommending your brand, and also have some online influence. Someone with tens of thousands of followers on Instagram is going to be more effective as a brand ambassador than someone who only has LinkedIn and a handful of connections.

Having brand ambassadors can influence their followers by recommending your products or services, incite conversations about your brand, and create content on your behalf. For example, a brand ambassador on Instagram might post a picture wearing a jacket your company sells.

To take advantage of brand ambassadors, you’ll want to establish a brand ambassador program. You’ll need to do a lot of research to identify individuals who will make good brand ambassadors. Consider making the program membership exclusive. People are more likely to take their brand ambassadorship seriously if they know that not just anyone can be one of your brand ambassadors. Additionally, you’ll need to provide some sort of compensation, whether you actually pay them or you give them free products. Many companies will provide their brand ambassadors with new products before they’re even available to the masses.

Examples of Successful Brand Ambassador Programs

The following are some of the most successful brand ambassador programs launched by some of the biggest companies:

• Red Bull – Red Bull’s brand ambassador program is called the Wings Team. They focus on students who have an exciting lifestyle to turn their brand into a lifestyle brand. Because their ambassadors are students, they are able to reach a college audience much more effectively.
• Lululemon – Lululemon essentially uses its brand ambassador program to sponsor local athletes, yoga instructors, and influencers. They provide incentive by partnering with their ambassadors to support their local philanthropic projects and initiatives.
• American Express – American Express has a brand ambassador program filled with social media influencers. They target travel and lifestyle influencers in particular since they showcase a luxurious lifestyle — one that obviously benefits from the extensive use of a credit card. They not only showcase the use of their American Express credit cards, but the rewards that they can obtain from their regular use as well.

Even the biggest companies in the world recognize the value of a brand ambassador. If you have loyal customers, then you should encourage them to become brand ambassadors by implementing a brand ambassador program. Use these three examples as an inspiration to set up your own brand ambassador program today.

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How to Tell Your Brand Story and What It Means To Generation Z | Stevens Tate

When deciding on how to tell your brand story, your intended audiences are a key component in any decisions you make. A great deal of time and effort goes into developing your brand story, especially in relation to making it appealing to your core market segment. While many companies focus their efforts on attracting the buying power of millennials, there is another sector who have money to spend, but who expect very different things from the brands they choose.

This sector is, of course, Generation Z. This generation encompasses all those born from 1995 onwards. Generation Z accounts for 25.9% of the population of the United States; by far the largest percentage of any age group. Currently, analysts believe this generation has in the region of $44 billion in purchasing power, and by 2020 they will account for a third of the U. S. population, so they are undoubtedly worth paying attention to.

Appealing to Generation Z

This generation lives in a world where everyone can have their voice heard, thanks to social media, and particularly channels such as YouTube, with its vloggers, product testers, and social stories. Generation Z is firmly based online, with recent research suggesting that 28% of this generation wants to be reached via online ads, compared to just 16% of millennials.

Their continual connection to the online world also means that they are more likely to be moved to action by real people than they are by celebrities. They are, as most people were at that age, looking for products over experiences. However, the challenge your brand story faces is how to make the products you sell feel current and therefore appealing to this younger age group.

Just a Click Away

As well as changing perspectives to appeal to this generation, you need to change how your story is delivered. Generation Z is very much a one-click generation. If it takes more than that to access or share the story, they are not going to read it or pass it on to others. Your story needs to be shareable through channels such as YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Moreover, it is not just about accessing the content; researchers believe you have an average of 8 seconds to capture the interest of this generation, once the content has been accessed. This is one of the reasons why audio / visual approaches to your story are essential.

Four social media platforms. Four different ways to advertise. Click here to learn more. 

Personal Products for Personal Experiences

While Generation Z is about the product rather than the experience that you are offering, they do want the product to provide a personal experience. This is where the more traditional approach to storytelling comes in, but using personas that they recognize – real people, in real situations, which they can imagine themselves in by buying your product.

While one could still use actors and showcase their lifestyles, using the YouTuber who Vlogs from his or her bedroom two streets over, could work even better with this generation because they seem more relatable to this younger audience.

Some Rules Still Apply

The differences between Generation Z and previous generations does not mean that you should throw all the rules out the window. High quality, consistent content is still a must when determining how to tell your brand story. Stories still need to have believable characters and situations. Your values, aims, and mission statement must again shine through; younger members of the Generation Z are also still under parental input, so, you need to bridge two or more generations with your approach.

However, you must tie all this together with a tech-savvy approach. Your brand story needs to encompass the online world in all its various forms. This generation uses different platforms for different activities, and you need to be able to tap into most of those if not all. Content that you provide for this generation needs to be in the form of micro-interactions; short snippets of mainly visual information, provided by someone that this generation recognizes and can relate to. Simple really, isn’t it?

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package design

5 Package Design Trends for 2018

Change happens quickly, and if you are caught unawares, you could be left with packaging that is outdated and stale. Recognizing and incorporating the following package design trends into your packaging ensures that your packaging is modern and beneficial to your image.

1. Minimalism

Minimalism, the use of elegant, streamlined, and visually simple packaging, never really goes out of style. There are numerous ways to achieve a minimalistic look, including using bold typography contrasted with stark white backgrounds, splashes of color on clean backgrounds, or a basic arrangement of simple shapes. If you incorporate this year’s top colors, including pink, purple, and color of 2018 PANTONE® 18-3838 Ultra Violet, you can make your minimalistic design modern and timeless, without isolating or overwhelming the viewer.

2. Go Bold

Color has always played an integral part in developing packaging and this year is no different. Use bold colors to evoke emotional responses in potential consumers and, consequently, impact their buying decisions. So, the primary color you use in your package design has a significant psychological effect on those viewing it, and you should choose it carefully. Be bold, but choose colors that represent the personality of your brand.

3. Handwriting and Handmadepackage design

Many consumers are looking for environment-friendly and ethical goods, including homemade items. Homemade products also create an emotional connection with the consumer, often evoking warm memories and nostalgia. The handmade package feel can be achieved through careful package design that includes text that looks handwritten. However, it is essential to ensure that your writing is clear and readable. You do not want to confuse or inadvertently mislead consumers.

4. Whimsy

Most consumers love goods that evoke positive childhood memories, or that engage their inner child. Using fun visuals, bright colors, and fantastic illustrations, including hand-drawn logos, is a great way to engage such consumers. Whimsy makes people smile and feel happier, so when your product packaging incorporates whimsy, you are creating this joyful connection between your customer and your product.

5. Eco-friendly

Going green is the best way to gain new customers and keep returning ones. It is not enough for your product to have eco-friendly credentials though; your packaging has to as well. Using packaging materials that are eco-friendly, biodegradable, and locally sourced is a great place to start. However, your design must also shout eco-friendly. Using earth-based colors in your packaging is one step, as are the inks you use in printing and the amount of packaging you use.

Incorporating these package design trends into your packaging will benefit your business in 2018. However, it is also important to employ them in a way that maintains your individuality and ensures that you are instantly recognizable to your audience, so using the same color scheme as you use in the rest of your marketing can be a great start.

Download Our White Paper Guide To Learn How To Perfect Buyer Personas For Your Business

Top Graphic Design Trends for 2018

With a substantial number of companies turning to the internet to market their businesses, it is harder to stand out from the crowd than ever before. However, knowing the graphic design trends that are most likely to occur in 2018 can put you ahead of the game.

1. Color Is Key

The key aspect of all elements of graphic design in 2018 is color – from multiple brand color schemes to the return of color gradients and the use of unusual color combinations. The colors you choose this year could make or break your web presence. The multiple brand color approach is already being piloted by companies like Dropbox. Rather than change their familiar and instantly recognizable logo, they introduced a new range of official brand colors including pink and purple, which are set to be central colors in design this year. It is worth noting that color of 2018 is PANTONE® 18-3838 Ultra Violet.

2. Image Authenticity

There has been a move away from stock images over the past few years, with businesses realizing that visitors and customers wanted and trusted authenticity. This move will increase this year with the winning pictures being carefully chosen, purposefully created, and impactful. Images that include photos of real people, which are really connected to your company are going to be essential, especially when it comes to your social media presence.

3. Think Fonts

 

In your written content, the focus of your font choice needs to be on providing a quality reading experience. However, the fonts you use in your design have multiple other purposes. One of these is to encourage an individual to stop scrolling and find out what you are all about. Graphic design trends for 2018 include using handwritten and bold fonts to create eye-catching features. Of course, color comes in here as well; fonts can be colorful, as long as the color engages and intrigues your visitor.

4. Getting to Grips with GIFs

GIFs are quite literally everywhere. While they are great fun, it is hard to see how they can be used seriously within your graphic design. However, while the GIFs you regularly share on your personal social media may not be right for the job, it is possible to create them specifically for your needs, website style, and your customer segment.

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5. Brutalism Bares All

Although brutalism has been around for a while, it is set to be one of the significant graphic design trends of 2018. Clear lines, bold yet limited colors, and functional typefaces are at the heart of this approach. This striped-back approach does not work for everyone, and it needs to be used carefully, with the question, “Does this fit my brand story?” being repeatedly asked during the design process. Websites that use the brutalist style well include EPIC Ireland, particularly in their headers and menus; Fake Music; and Tennent Brown Architects.

From bright colors and 3D modeling to brutalism and flat graphics, if the trends of 2018 tell you anything, it is that there is no one right way to stand out from the crowd. It is about choosing the typography, color palette, and design approach that best encapsulate your brand, its image, and its story.

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Logo Design Trends For 2018

Your business logo encapsulates your business. In one simple graphic, your potential customers learn everything they need to know about you. Logo design done right embodies your brand, makes you instantly recognizable, and creates a timeless appeal.

One of the critical mistakes that businesses of all sizes make when designing their logo is following the wrong trends. Another is following trends too tightly, and not adding that spark that makes them stand out from the crowd. Do you remember when everyone decided to include pixilated images in their logo? But, can you name any of the individual companies that tried that?

logo design

Think Social Media

One of the key trends for logo design in 2018, is designing with social media in mind. Logos on social media need to be short, punchy, and fit neatly into a square field. That does not mean that square logos are the way forward; it just means that the finished logo should fit, and be visually balanced, within a square.

 

logo designConsidering Context

Designing your logo is not just about the logo itself, but also how it is presented to your potential audience. One trend that is gaining momentum, and which is likely to continue to do so into 2018, is placing your logo in a real-world context. That includes ideas such as showing the logo on wall signage, business cards, and stationery. Taking this approach creates a visual link with the audience, so when they then see your signage with your logo, they automatically think back to what they have seen, and read about that logo and therefore that brand.

 

Mindful Monogramslogo design

Monograms and single letter logos are ideal for social media. They play on a classic idea that has been placed on everything from letterheads to cufflinks for centuries. However, it can be challenging to make monograms and letter logos unique. If you are going to use your business initials to create your monogram, then be watchful of unintended words, shapes, and puns that can be created.

Making this type of logo stand out, and say something meaningful about your brand, can also be difficult. Colors, shapes, letter styles, and letter combinations need to be well chosen to ensure that you do not create a logo that looks just like everyone else’s.

 

logo design

Going Back to Basics

Logos that include geometric shapes and clean lines are set to be on trend in 2018. These logo designs come back into favor regularly because they are, when done right, elegant and timeless. However, you need to avoid these types of logos becoming over simplistic and boring. You also need to ensure that your logo design stands out; after all, there are only so many shapes and shape combinations that can be used to create a geometric design.

 

Bringing Back Colorlogo design

Working in a digital medium gives you unprecedented access to colors in tones and shades that have been near impossible to create or show in a logo before. This is one of the reasons why there has been a surge towards brightly colored logos. However, when using color, it is not enough to just use blocks of bright, intense colors. To stand out, your logo design needs to consider intensity, saturation, shades, fading, and mixing of colors. Moreover, the colors you use must still reflect your business and its brand.

Logo design trends are there to guide you in creating the perfect logo. However, the focus of your logo design must remain on designing a logo that represents your business positively and makes you both visible and memorable.

 

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Creating A Brand To Become President

Whether you are a fan of politics or prefer to stay on the side lines, the race for the presidency has always been about strategy and timing. This election has broken many barriers, but one thing for certain is that both candidates have established a presidential brand. Read more

food packaging design

FDA Nutrition Label Changes Impact Food Packaging Design

On May 20th, 2016 the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued new rules for nutrition labels and packaged foods. So how does this affect private label packaging or food packaging design in general? It’s been 20 years since any major revision has been made and to my assessment, a much needed one.

The purpose of this blog is to discuss the design only and not the new laws that revolve around the change including new line items and removal of some items.

Read more

competitive advantage examples

Strengthen Your Brand – Learn From These Competitive Advantage Examples

Listing the things you do well and considering them your competitive advantages is not enough these days. So many words like “value,” “innovation” or “trusted” have become passive to the marketplace. Prospects and customers want to know what you stand for, how you can improve their life and remove one of their frustrations. Your brand needs to connect on an emotional level.

To get to that emotion, a company must first uncover its core value, or inner layer. It’s the reason why you are in business. After that, you can develop the outer layer messaging to explain what you do and how you do it, while tying the message back to your core value. Read more

sales success story

Using the 3R’s Method To Tell A Sales Success Story

If you’re in sales, you know that one of your most important ways to build credibility is through success stories.

However, many success stories are more like success reports. They often consist of lifeless facts that every salesperson in the organization is told to present to every prospect. As such, they are usually presented as boiler plates, with bullet-pointed facts that are more relevant to a general audience than any audience in specific.

Here’s a somewhat tired template that you may be familiar with.

•State The Problem

i.e. “Life Charities was having a difficult time generating donations”

•State The Solution

i.e. “We showed them how to increase their donations through our car donation program.”

•Show Measurable Results.

i.e Life Charities increased their donations 3-fold in one year.

Oftentimes, the measurable results part is played up more than any other facet of the success story. This happens despite the fact that success is often achieved through a number of factors outside our control. Most audiences know better than to give you 100% credit for the success you are claiming as your own.

Also keep in mind that whenever you tell a success story, people expect it to have a happy ending. We don’t call them success stories because they give us a chance to wax on about our failures. I bring this up not to diminish the importance of results. In fact, don’t. However, if you’ve ever taped a sporting event or watched a movie where you know how it ends, you know that the real interest in any story comes from events leading up to the results, and not just the results themselves. How you stage those events can say more about you and your company than the actual results you’ve achieved.

A story is something that arouses emotion, while engaging, inspiring and motivating its audience. Using the 3-R’s approach to structuring and telling a success story will help you engage your audience far better than the standard problem, solution, and results triumvirate. Using this approach will turn a lifeless, factual success report into something that will involve your audience by helping them imagine a similar success.

The 3-R’s of a powerful sales success story. The three R’s stand for Relate, Rescue, and Resolve. Here’s how to put the 3R’s to work:

RELATE

Success stories are effective to the extent your audience can relate to them. It is critical that you be able to draw parallels between the problem you are describing and a problem or problems that your prospect is experiencing. Do otherwise and your presentation will be an invitation to mentally check out. It is arguably better to have no success story at all than to have one that has nothing to do with your prospect’s situation.

Don’t leave it up to your prospect to find the relevance between the problem you solved and the problem they want solved. Use words like “just like you,” or “similar to what you’re currently experiencing…” For this reason, the “You” word is one of the most important, if not the most important word in your presentation.

Just make sure you’ve done your homework. You’ll gain points by having equipped yourself with facts about your prospect’s current problem, but you could blow-up your entire presentation with a set of wrong facts or worse yet, faulty assumptions.

However you can, don’t make the company you worked with the centerpiece of your story. People relate to people more than they relate to companies. ABC Lugnuts Inc. may have had a problem, but talk more about Mr. Lugnuts, what he was experiencing and how he felt being faced with his problem. Perhaps he was frustrated with what had been tried in the past? Perhaps he was perplexed, confused, or convinced that there was just no workable solution to his problem. Again, RELATE: Any good story conveys emotions its audience can identify with.

Don’t gloss over the problem you were faced with. One of the big reasons stories are more interesting than reports is that stories are comprised of conflicts that need to be overcome. Do what you can to help your prospect feel the pain that your client or customer was experiencing. Beware however. Don’t go overboard. There’s no need for big drama – in fact, avoid it. Your audience does not have the time nor the patience for a sideshow. A question like “Have you ever experienced a 20% drop in sales over the course of a month,?” can suffice. If your prospect answers yes, they know the pain. If they answer no, help them imagine what that pain feels like.

RESCUE

Don’t think that simplifying your solution is always the best route to take. A statement like “All it took was our product to turn things around,” is an overstatement that will lose your audience entirely. Talk about some of the difficulties you experienced before finding the best solution. This is an opportunity to show your prospect how you work as much as it is a way to show them that you can solve problems. You want your audience to hear angles singing in the background when talk when you describe the rescue. Skip through your success story without talking much about the rescue, and the only thing your audience will hear are thoughts wishing you were done.

Use dialogue. Nothing makes a story more interesting than dialogue. One of the reasons for this is that dialogue allows your audience to experience the situation as opposed to being told about it. “And then he said Jim, that just won’t work,” is much more interesting that telling your audience that at first, your client resisted your solution.

If you can, talk about the specific insight or realization you helped your client come to. Bring your audience to the doorstep of your “aha” moment. Help them see how you got there. However, maintain a sense of humility. It’s better to say something like, “after struggling with this a bit, it suddenly dawned on me,” than “the solution was obvious.” If you can, use “We” instead of “I,” by all means, do so.

If possible, show how you made your client a partner in coming up with the solution. Demonstrate that you are collaborative and work with, not for your clients.

Above all else, show how your solution is similar to a solution that your audience would be interested in. Help your audience see themselves sharing the same insight.

RESOLVE

Again, your audience knows that this story is going to have a happy ending. Otherwise you wouldn’t be talking about it. Measurable results are important. But even more important are the changed feelings that were experienced. Go beyond the numbers to explain the long-term effect your solution had on sentiments that were felt, like new optimism or an improved sense of purpose.

If you’re interested in learning more ways to use storytelling as a sales tool, visit Storytelling For Sales Workshops.

Click here to learn more about how to tell your brand story!

Our Father Who Art In Starbucks – Customers Support Brands With A Purpose

I recently came across a major marketing study conducted by this big public relations firm called Edleman. They interviewed 8000 people. And they found that 86 percent of us want to do business with companies that have a “noble purpose” – one that goes beyond selling stuff. 86 percent!

As if it isn’t hard enough to convince us their products will grow more hair, lose more weight and create less worry when we need an erection. Now companies have to demonstrate that they care about us as much as they care about making money. It’s as if brands are more like organized religions. Choosing between coffee shops is like deciding whether you want to believe in the gospel according to Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts.

Have we consumers turned into social responsibility freaks? Used to be when you were asked”Paper or plastic?”, you could pick plastic without getting stink eye from the person next in line. I mistakenly parked in a handicap spot the other day. I received a note under my windshield wiper that read “I was going to tell you not to park in a handicapped zone, but then I realized that includes the mentally handicapped too.” Clever.

I don’t know. Maybe it’s a Darwin thing. Have we evolved into eco-sexual, howling joiners who want the companies we do business with to become causes that make the world a better place? But then, maybe it’s something else. We’ve got a Presidential candidate gaining support who sells ties made in China and who complains that our country is being destroyed by cheap Chinese labor. Perhaps it’s just that we have different standards for the people who could run our country than for companies that could improve our lives.

Whatever the reason, the days when the Mcdonald’s menu board didn’t have to remind us that our Big Mac is 583 calories have gone the way of walking a mile for a Camel. Gone too are the days when employees are more interested in making money than they are in working for a company that is driven to support a meaningful reason for being. According to this same Edleman study, the more purposeful company is one that is going to do a better job of recruiting.

Companies can always stick their head in the sand and pretend this trend does not exist. But that would only make for a bad hair day – or an itchy bald spot. In truth however, I’m not sure companies have much choice.

As for us consumers and employees, it’s a new world for us too. And one that is going to take some getting used to. Imagine… companies with a conscience. Companies that actually think of us as human beings first and consumers second. What’s next? Honest politicians?