Are Your Brand Ambassadors Losing You Money?

Brands spend small fortunes and dedicate countless man-hours to make sure that they are represented professionally to their customers. Just like your logo, your collateral, and your product, the people you hire to staff an activation play a huge role in how people perceive your brand, and whether they want to buy your product or service.

Think about it: When you go into an Apple store, you are immediately greeted by a friendly, knowledgeable, and approachable Apple employee. These “geniuses” are there to answer any and all of your questions (no matter how stupid) and to get you jazzed about the latest and greatest Apple products. Rest assured: everything about the “genius” is designed to welcome and disarm you, all the way down to their everyman’s wardrobe of ripped jeans, an Apple t-shirt, and a baseball cap. Creating an attentive, yet easy-going customer service experience has been crucial to Apple’s success, and they carefully select and monitor each of their employees to ensure that Apple is being represented in a consistent manner each time a brand-consumer interaction takes place.

The people promoting your product or service can make you or break you when a customer is making that crucial decision between your company and another company. During a face-to-face experiential interaction, the people that represent your brand create a first impression and help to establish and ultimately build relationships with your most valued customers.

That’s why at The Pineapple Agency we take the time to carefully and strategically vet all of the staff that will assist in our client’s activations. Through the years, we’ve established a few fundamentals to consider when selecting the right staff:

Industry/Product Knowledge

For Exede Internet, we wanted tech savvy ambassadors who could learn about the client’s internet service and be comfortable speaking to individuals with varying degrees of computer and internet literacy.

Brand Lifestyle, Values, and Demographic

With Astroglide, we carefully selected brand ambassadors that lived the ‘get freaky’ lifestyle and that were relatable (in terms of age, personal preferences, and cultural diversity) with the parade attendees and the brand’s target audience.

Friendliness/Approachability

The Sphero Gum Ball activation represented a unique challenge with an unknown product to many guests at the Mall of America, therefore it was critical for us to find staff that would work well together and create an engaging experience to go out into the crowds, wrangle people in, and give them a hands-on trial with the Sphero ball.

Authenticity

Wherever possible, finding people that already use our client’s product/service and love the brand are the best candidates, as they are already sharing their experiences and want to spread the love to all the attendees at the event.

Just imagine if Apple had rude, unknowledgeable, and disinterested employees working in their stores. Most likely they would lose customers, even if the products stayed the exact same. That personal connection is critical and can even help convert potential customers who are on the fence about making a purchasing decision.

So the next time you’re looking to staff a live, in-person experience come chat with The Pineapple Agency and let us help you find the perfect staff to help activate your brand! We make it our business to understand the intricacies of your brand and align that with a perfectly selected group of staff who are able to promote the brand, educate the desired audience, and create a strong, emotional connection with your brand during the activation.

Want to learn more about experiential marketing?

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