Connect with your target market through brand ambassadors to increase customer engagement and sales.AMBASSADORS

CREATED EXCLUSIVELY FOR AUSTRALIAN SME FOOD AND BEVERAGE BRANDS

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BRAND

Ambassadors give a ‘face’ to our brand, and allow us to communicate with our target market in a way that is engaging,

efficient, entertaining and educational.

Ambassadors allow us to deliver a huge amount of information in a very short space of time, and in a way that is willingly received by our audience. We are creating relationships with them, so it’s important to

understand their needs before we focus on ours.

By providing a relatable, aspirational or inspirational personification of your brand, your are able to influence your audience in ways that they

are receptive to.

There’s a rapidly increasing trend of people seeking out information and recommendations from other people, on which they base their

purchasing decisions….and what we’re getting is good old fashioned ‘word of mouth’ made infinitely more powerful by online

communication platforms.

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THE POWEROF A BRANDAMBASSADOR

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It’s exciting to be an SME company in Australia, and the opportunities for growth and success are abundant.

However, it’s always those companies who are smart with marketing that get ahead of the rest and really make an impact on their sales, brand awareness and the way they engage their customers.

SME Food and Beverage companies in Australia share many of the same challenges, and when it comes to marketing, it can be overwhelming, at times quite frustrating, and to be quite frank, there is a lot of money being wasted on ineffective and outdated marketing activities.

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT & INTERACTION

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT AND STRATEGY

BRAND AWARENESS & KNOWLEDGE

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MARKETINGCHALLENGES

Common challenges

Feel disconnected from customers, and don’t really know much about them. Missing out on opportunities to develop rapport and increase sales.

Struggle to be seen and heard in a busy market. Feel like people don’t really understand your brand and you are missing out on sales.

Lack of time, content and strategy to create and develop effective communication and activity with current customers and increase reach to target market.

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Truly Connected and effective communication with loyal customers

Consumer behavior is effortlessly influencedPersonalised content beyond simply advertising

Generalised information sharing

One directional advertising

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No marketing activities6

Where you want to be

Where you don’t want to be

EFFECTIVEMARKETINGTO YOUR TARGET MARKET

Brand ambassadors

make this possible

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HOW IT WORKS

Ambassadors are an extension and enhancement of our marketing and advertising activities. Billboards and flashy adverts used to sell stuff, and global brands held all the power.

With social media and the lean towards trust-based purchases based on personal recommendations and the 'humanising' of companies, now more than ever we are seeing how brand ambassadors allow a company to connect with their market in a personal and 'soft' way.

The consumer wants to trust and feel a personal connection with a brand, and ambassadors are the connector between brand and buyer.

We engage ambassadors who represent our brand both in their persona and their activities, and are able to engage with our target market in a way that develops rapport and positively influences their consumer choices.

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InformationalAn expert in their field who can provide brand focused information that is relevant to the target market.

AspirationalAmbassador has achieved something that target market believes is possible for them too.

InspirationalTarget market looks up to this ambassador, and is inspired by their incredible abilities and achievements.

RelatableAmbassador shares target market demographics, experiences, culture, activities, age, appearance, lifestyle, issues or any combination of these.

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74%of consumers say Recommendations are a key influencer in their purchasing decisions.

Inbound marketing costs about

50% Less to generate than traditional outbound marketing i.e radio & magazine adverts, flyers etc

Audiences everywhere are tough. They don’t have time to be bored or brow beaten by orthodox, old fashioned advertising We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in & be what people are interested in.” CRAIG DAVIS, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, J. WALTER THOMPSON

86% of people skip ads on tv and radio

18%

54%83%

OUTBOUND INBOUND RECOMMENDATION

HOW BRAND AMBASSADORS BOOST CONSUMER TRUST792

The average network of a non celebrity ambassador

MARKETING METHODS

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Adverts & Catalogues

Media

Your Brand

Online Content

Events

Social media

Celebrity

Actors, Musicians, Artists, Dancers

They all offer something different!

Athlete

Local legends to global champions

Expert

Nutritionists, Chefs, Scientists, Coaches

Employee

Factory workers to Senior Executives

Customer

Long term and current consumers

Everyday Hero

Great achievements and overcoming adversities

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WHO CAN BE A BRAND AMBASSADOR

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THE CELEBRITY

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THE ATHLETEAthletes are always an obvious choice when it comes to promoting consumables. They offer a health

and wellbeing focus, and are often good role models for children and adults! They are inspirational, and their participation in large, public, and often televised events offers a brand exciting and current

opportunities to entertain and further engage their target market and current customers.

Athletes bring a whole range of opportunities to a brand, including their fan base and sport-based networks, as well as great content for social media, and participating in face to face events and

activities.

Celebrities were the first official brand ambassadors, when the concept was first officially termed back in the 1920’s. Celebrity ambassadors offer an existing, large network as well as their own strong personal brand (which should be fundamentally aligned with our brand).

Celebrities inspire and influence thousands and sometimes millions of people, and come to a brand with existing professional skills and evidence of audience engagement (likeability!).

The celebrity ambassador offers a brand the opportunity for increased credibility and brand awareness, as well as providing great content for their social media and other marketing activities.

Aspirational

Inspirational

Inspirational

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THE EVERYDAY HERO

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THE EXPERT

Cooking demonstration

The professional and qualified ambassador, who not only endorses a brand and it’s products, but is able to provide supporting information to further engage and enhance the target markets understanding of and experience with the brand.

This ambassador builds trusts, adds credibility to your brand, and is a great source of relevant and up to date industry information. They can provide great content for your marketing, particularly social media, they are often active in the media and offer some incredibly value benefits to your brand when it comes to face to face interaction with your target market, such as attending expo’s and community events!

Overcoming a terrible tragedy, summiting 7 mountain peaks, or making a life-changing decision at the age of 40….these are just some of the ways an otherwise average person can become a great conduit between you and your target market.

By engaging an ambassador who has achieved something remarkable, yet in every other was is the same as your target market, your brand can be represented in a way that your target market can really relate to. This very quickly builds trust, and can be a very effective way to build strong emotional connections between your brand and customers.

Informational

AspirationalRelatable Inspirational

THE CUSTOMER

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A customer endorsement of a certain product can be more effective than high paid ads or thousands of direct mail flyers.

Testimonials can make or break brands. Look at movie companies that spend millions of dollars of advertisements for the film’s opening weekend, only to have the movie flop after the first weekend because of negative word of mouth. In this digital age, a tweet or status update can potentially sway thousands of minds.

You may already have people who love your business and would be willing ambassadors. You just have to identify the right ones and empower them.

THE EMPLOYEEWhen employees make contact with existing or potential customers, they give meaning and dimension to a company’s brand promise.

The best employee brand ambassadors don’t stop doing this at the end of the workday. They continue to share the virtues and values of their company’s brand even when they are off the clock — in conversations with friends, family, neighbours, and on social media.

InformationalRelatable

Relatable

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HOW AMBASSADORS BENEFIT YOUR BRAND

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Increase brand awareness and connect you with your target market

Value for money investment compared to traditional forms of advertising.

Connect your brand with their networks and audience

Engage, educate and entertain your current audience

Delivers information efficiently and effectively, requiring minimal audience time and effort

Gives visibility and a persona to your brand that endears you to your target market

Allow your audience to experience your brand vicariously and build rapport and trust

Provide content for your marketing activities that can be used across multiple platforms

Adds credibility through association and through personal endorsement of your brand

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BRAND AMBASSADOR

ACTIVITIES

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Events Attend trade shows, industry events, corporate functions, community events and other strategic activities

Media Spokesperson and brand representative

Social Media Content creation, content sharing, network and relationship development

Promotion Direct promotion via their network, brand’s network or new (or increased) market sector

Visual content Images used across all advertising and marketing activities

Storytelling Their personal experience with the brand, their life experience, their day-to-day activities, journey, participation in key events and activities.

Blog Engage, entertain and connect through regular and generosity-based writing

Testimonials Written or audio visual endorsements of brand12

MEASURABLE OUTCOMESHaving a clear understanding of our brand and our objective, allows us to engage the right ambassadors..When we align our Brand Ambassador activities with our marketing activities and brand objectives, we can create clear and measurable objectives with short and long term goals.

For example:

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Increase product sales by 10% in 4 specific cities within 9 months

Increase social media network by 20% within 6 months

Increase Facebook post engagement (comments and likes) by 10% in 9 months

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STRIKE WHILE IT’S HOTAsk yourself these 3 questions:

1. Are we getting what we really want (and need) out of our current marketing activities?

2. Could we be connecting better with our customers, do they really understand us…and do we understand them?

3. Are there other opportunities for us to connect with more customers and really grow our brand?

NEXT STEPS……..

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I bring experience from 10 years in marketing; the last 5 spent working with brand ambassadors from around the world (and the companies who engage them), helping them create commercially smart, meaningful and effective partnerships.

When it comes to representing your brand, you want ambassadors who share your values and can promote your brand naturally, with integrity, and maintaining authenticity and credibility.

I really believe that the best brand ambassador is the one who is right for you, and that’s what I am great at helping you with!

I love working with brands to identify opportunities and the right ambassador for your brand then create a strategy that is intrinsically linked with brand objectives and marketing activities.

Let’s talk! 0468 601 717vickie@vickiesaunders.com

ABOUTME….