The Significance of Brand Ambassadors

The Significance of Brand Ambassadors 

By: Liv Briley

Brand campaigns are designed to showcase a brand’s most recent products and convince consumers of why those products are worth purchasing. There used to be a greater focus on the products being sold than the person who was using them, but in today’s era of social media influence, it seems that every familiar face is the brand ambassador of some fashion, beauty, or wellness brand. 

A brand ambassador represents the brand’s style, values, and likeness to the public. Choosing brand ambassadors wisely can further a brand’s reach and build its reputation, but there have also been many cases when a brand ambassador’s moral or commercial failings have led to negative publicity and sales trends for the brand they represent. 

With the risk and reward ratio being so flexible, why do companies continue to put famous individuals at the forefront of their marketing efforts? 

The person a brand chooses as an ambassador speaks to their values, aesthetic, and target audience. The main purpose of an ambassador is to promote the brand to fans and followers and convince them that if you like the ambassador, you will like the brand as well. 

Influencer culture thrives on imitation, and there is no one people love to imitate more than A-list celebrities. When these figures wear the brand’s clothing or use their products in public, they elevate the brand’s status without saying a word. This marketing is invaluable, which is why brands are willing to pay a premium for highly sought-after public figures, particularly when those figures are already viewed as fashion icons. 

When thinking of star-studded ambassador casts, Lancôme is first to come to mind. With cultural superstars like Zendaya, Julia Roberts, He Cong, Lily Collins, Amanda Seyfried, Ni Ni, and Aya Nakamura featured in most of their promotions, it is no wonder the brand has maintained its status at the forefront of the beauty industry for decades. All of these ambassadors are known for their minimal beauty styles, which reflects the clean, natural aesthetic Lancôme presents in their campaigns, 

Luxury brands use their brand ambassadors by featuring them in campaigns and styling them for major events and red carpets. Florence Pugh, Kaia Gerber, and Yang Yang are all ambassadors of Valentino, but the ways in which they are utilized is slightly different. Gerber has walked in several of the fashion house’s shows and is now being featured in their Black Tie campaign, Yang Yang was the star of a summer campaign highlighting the pre-fall 2023 collection, and Pugh modeled the house’s designs at major movie premieres and this year’s Met Gala. 

Gucci recently underwent a brand shift from the vibrant, playful designs of Alessandro Michele to the more sophisticated choices of Sabato De Sarno, who will show his first collection at this year’s Milan Fashion Week. Each of these designers’ choices of brand ambassadors reflects their collections and visions for the brand. In Michele’s tenure at the house, he worked with stars like Jared Leto and Harry Styles, known for their bold, gender-bending styles. Recent campaigns under De Sarno’s lead have featured more Asian representation, with figures like Jungjae Lee and Xiao Zhan leading the charge. 

When a brand chooses someone to be an ambassador, it means more than simply dressing them for an event or featuring them in a show. Ambassadors are direct representatives of a brand and their values, meaning that any action, positive or negative, taken by the figure reflects on the brand and its leaders. While sometimes a risky endeavor, there is no publicity as influential as the publicity the right ambassador can create. While curating a brand image is about more than just the representatives chosen, the influence brand ambassadors play on the public perception of a campaign is all-too important in creating a lasting impression on audiences. 

For more fashion and lifestyle content, keep reading Square Magazine and follow us on Instagram @um.squaremagazine. 

All images belong to their respective owners.