strategy

Brand Ambassador or Brand Liability?

In recent years, the word influencer has become part of everyday language. Influencers are popping up across all industries like mushrooms after the rain and new ones appear daily. In marketing, it sometimes feels like if a brand doesn’t work with an influencer, it might as well not exist. But there’s a catch: many influencers promote multiple competing brands at the same time, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of these partnerships. As a result, audiences often fail to associate them with any one brand.

That’s where brand ambassadors come in. Not the kind who post once for a fee and move on to the next client, but those who genuinely believe in a brand and maintain a long-term connection with it. While influencers are great for reach, ambassadors bring trust—and no brand can survive today without trust. A well-structured brand ambassador program can be a valuable addition to your communication strategy—if you know how to set it up and what pitfalls to avoid.

In this article, we’ll break down what brand ambassadorship really involves and how it differs from influencer marketing. We’ll explore why this approach can be a great move for brands and also what can go wrong. Many companies tend to overlook their most important audience: loyal customers. It’s true that in brand awareness campaigns, they’re not the first priority. But they’re often the ones with the greatest potential to become true brand ambassadors.

What Does Brand Ambassadorship Involve?

A brand ambassador is typically someone who knows the brand well, has firsthand experience with it, and supports it even outside of paid campaigns. They use the brand’s products or services regularly, understand them in depth, and can speak about them with genuine authenticity. The role itself can take many forms — sometimes it’s a celebrity, other times a loyal customer. What matters most is that the partnership isn’t random but built on a relationship that benefits both sides.

Unlike influencers, ambassadors usually represent only one brand within a given category. Their goal isn’t broad reach, it’s depth. Ambassadors have a stronger bond with the brand and often participate in a wider range of activities—from product testing to providing internal feedback.

The key difference lies in the overall approach: influencers function as a marketing channel, while ambassadors are part of the community. An influencer speaks to the audience; an ambassador speaks from within it. And audiences are becoming increasingly skilled at telling the difference between what’s real and what’s staged.

Some examples? Internationally, think George Clooney and his long-term partnership with Nespresso, Serena Williams for Nike, or Zendaya for Lancôme. In the Czech Republic, examples include Lukáš Krpálek for Under Armour or Klára Vytisková, who has worked with several local design brands.

Audiences expect brands to be meaningful and authentic—and if they sense that an ambassador is just "playing a part," the effect is lost. That’s exactly why this model is becoming more sought-after—not because it offers greater reach than influencer marketing, but because its impact tends to be deeper and longer-lasting.

Photo by Collabstr on Unsplash

Why It (Can) Work

Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits a brand ambassador program can offer.

One of the biggest advantages is the previously mentioned authenticity. People are more likely to trust someone who genuinely knows and uses a brand long term. An ambassador with a strong personal story can feel far more authentic than any claim made in an ad campaign.

But it’s important not to overlook another key benefit: reach. Especially when an ambassador is part of a specific community or has their own follower base. Ambassadors often connect the brand with people who would be difficult to reach through traditional advertising—spreading brand awareness in an organic, hard-to-replicate way.

The third major benefit? Longevity. While a one-off influencer partnership can fade quickly, an ambassador stays with the brand longer—building it consistently across seasons and media.

As the platform MarketingWeek notes, ambassadors aren't a commodity—they’re a indicator. If a brand naturally attracts people who genuinely want to represent it, that’s a sign it’s doing something right. In that sense, ambassadors aren’t just “the face” of a campaign—they’re a real asset.

What If It Doesn’t Work Out?

It all sounds great in theory—a brand finds someone who truly loves it, and that person spreads the word. But reality is often more complicated. If a brand ambassador program is poorly executed, it can do more harm than good.

One of the most common and critical mistakes is choosing the wrong ambassador. And it’s not just about someone who doesn’t “fit the feed.” The real issue arises when the ambassador doesn’t align with the brand’s values or when their public image invites unnecessary controversy. Consistency and trust are key. If the ambassador is seen as just another hired face rather than a genuine fan, both authenticity and the impact of the partnership go out the window.

Another frequent problem is short-term campaigns without deeper connection. Brand ambassadors aren’t influencers for one-off Instagram stories. Worse yet is when those stories are followed by similar ones for other brands—especially if the ambassador is representing multiple brands at the same time. Some people “influence” across dozens of campaigns, but when the same face shows up in four different ads within a month, credibility and exclusivity suffer. Even more so on a small market like ours.

That’s why brands need full awareness of who else their ambassadors are working with. This ties into another common pitfall: a lack of control over communication. Yes, authenticity means letting ambassadors speak in their own voice. But if a brand doesn’t monitor how that voice reflects on them, things can easily go sideways. Without clear guidelines and expectations, messaging can become inconsistent or even damaging to the brand.

And finally, there’s one major issue that doesn’t get discussed enough: the absence of strategy. Launching an ambassador program without clear goals, measurable KPIs, or a solid plan is a recipe for failure. Ambassadors need to be meaningfully involved. It’s not enough to pick someone, send them a product, and hope for miracles.

Photo by Franck on Unsplash

When It Works—And When It Really Doesn’t

As with most things in marketing, the best way to illustrate a point is through real-world examples. Here are two stories with the same goal, but dramatically different outcomes.

Serena Williams x Nike

Serena Williams is an American tennis legend. She stands for strength, perseverance, and breaking boundaries—all values that Nike has consistently promoted and communicated over the years. Their partnership spans more than 20 years, and it’s not just about ad spots with catchy slogans. Together, they create powerful narratives that resonate—like the “Never Done Evolving” campaign, in which Nike used AI and machine learning to simulate a match between 17-year-old Serena from 1999 and 35-year-old Serena from 2017. The campaign highlights her evolution as an athlete and showcases how her game has developed over time.

Nike doesn’t partner with Serena just because she’s famous, but because together, they tell a story that makes sense for both sides. Authenticity, longevity, and a natural brand connection. This is what it’s supposed to look like.

Gal Gadot x Huawei

On the flip side, there’s the infamous case where a brand-ambassador partnership went spectacularly wrong. Actress Gal Gadot, serving as a brand ambassador for Huawei, promoted the new Mate 10 Pro on her Twitter account. The problem? Observant followers quickly noticed that the tweet had been posted from an iPhone.

The incident spread rapidly across social media, drawing ridicule and criticism. Gadot later stated that the post had been published by a member of her team, not by her personally. Still, the digital footprint remained and the situation highlighted the critical importance of maintaining control over ambassador communications.

Brand Ambassador or Brand Liability?

Working with a brand ambassador can be a powerful tool but only in the hands of a brand that knows what it’s doing. Otherwise, it’s just another fleeting social media collaboration that no one remembers a week later. A successful ambassador program requires strategy, long-term commitment, and most importantly, a carefully chosen face—someone who genuinely believes in the brand and can represent it with authenticity and credibility.

As mentioned earlier, ambassadors are a signal—evidence that your brand is doing something right. When you attract people who genuinely want to represent your brand, the audience is far more likely to respond positively. If your brand has a clear vision, it naturally draws in people who resonate with it. Not because they’re paid to, but because they see themselves in its philosophy. These are people who would use your product even without a campaign and that’s exactly why their support feels so real and resonates more deeply than typical influencer endorsements.

To make it work, you need to build relationships with ambassadors—give them space, but also set clear boundaries. Ideally, you want a long-term partnership, because only time will show whether the collaboration holds up beyond seasonal campaigns. An ambassador relationship can’t rest on a name alone. It has to be built on shared values, audience alignment, and real-life relevance. Otherwise, it might go viral—for all the wrong reasons.

Still convinced brand ambassadorship is right for your brand? Then we wish you the best of luck.

But if you're just looking for a “quick promo,” you might want to think twice. Without a solid strategy, long-term vision, and the right match, you risk damaging trust rather than building it. In that case, classic advertising—or a well-structured influencer campaign—might be a better fit.

by Jakub Vlasek