3 reasons brands use Student Ambassadors

You know what they say – never underestimate the power of word of mouth! Whether you’re a best-selling brand or an innovative startup, product or service promotion should form a big part of your marketing strategy.

Brands are increasingly looking for new, creative ways to promote their products and reach out to their target audiences. The rise of digital and social platforms provides a great way to spread awareness among a large audience, but it can often be deemed impersonal.

The use of face-to-face promotion through  on-campus ambassadors is becoming increasingly popular among brands wanting to stand out among fierce competition. So, if you haven’t considered recruiting a team of experience-hungry students to help spread your brand’s message, here are the top three reasons why you should:

1) INCREASED BRAND AWARENESS

It’s  no surprise that students are more likely to listen to their friends’ advice over a paid-for advert when making brand or product choices.

As we discovered from our on-campus research conducted at UCL, 90% of students regularly find out about their favourite brands through friends and course-mates. Good brand ambassadors provide visibility to your brand, boosting brand awareness and, ultimately, sales. Reaching out to the student market with peer-to-peer promotion can help form positive brand perceptions and boost the way students perceive your brand.

2) POSITIVE PROMOTION

As mentioned, students wield huge influence in raising awareness of a brand, but they can also serve as a trusted ‘vehicle’ for delivering a company’s message.  Out of those surveyed, 80% viewed face-to-face, experiential marketing as an effective and trusted way to reach out to students. Ambassadors humanise your brand and help translate and promote the brand in a positive manner, helping to build loyal advocates.

3) EXTENDED REACH

With students spending 52% of their time studying, 5% engaging in extracurricular activities (e.g. clubs, societies, sports and volunteering), 5% working part-time and 29% socialising, their network of friends is enormously vast and varied.   Through ambassadors, brands have access to this large network of students and can tailor their promotions to target specific societies or interests.

In addition, brand ambassadors usually have formed solid online communities and social networks. With  69% of students spending 10 hours or less a week on to Facebook, Twitter and similar sites, their influence shouldn’t be underestimated.

By choosing to use student ambassadors, brands  can increase product or service awareness, build an audience of loyal advocates and increase sales. By encouraging students to think more positively about your brand through meaningful, relevant experiences, brands can make friends for life.

Get in touch with our team for more information.