I think that it is important to differentiate between influencers and ambassadors. An influencer gets paid to push whatever product (someone like the Kardashians) to their followers. An ambassador is someone that you see as a good representative for your brand and your products, if they have an online following that is nice but not necessary. These categories are definitely not written in stone and there is often some overlap.
As a former manager (and still co-owner) of a ski brand that has a bunch of ambassadors who are choosen because we like them, think they align with what we want to be as a brand and are active in their communities (physical or digital). What we see on the business end is that having them as a representatives gives us a stable base in many markets and communities. Which in turn makes us much less exposed to fluctuations in the economy, and that has been a boon the last few years!
On the other hand, having a good group of ambassadors around us has made it much nicer to work with the brand and product development. It is still after quite some years like working with a group of friends.
So i guess this is my defence of all those gravel riders, adventurers, freeriders, guides and others that inspire and do important work in the communities. They are an important counter-balance to the racers, for both brands and the sport and as such are worthy of support. It doesn't hurt that they are good for business as well :)
Jan. 12, 2023, 12:07 a.m. - olaa
I think that it is important to differentiate between influencers and ambassadors. An influencer gets paid to push whatever product (someone like the Kardashians) to their followers. An ambassador is someone that you see as a good representative for your brand and your products, if they have an online following that is nice but not necessary. These categories are definitely not written in stone and there is often some overlap. As a former manager (and still co-owner) of a ski brand that has a bunch of ambassadors who are choosen because we like them, think they align with what we want to be as a brand and are active in their communities (physical or digital). What we see on the business end is that having them as a representatives gives us a stable base in many markets and communities. Which in turn makes us much less exposed to fluctuations in the economy, and that has been a boon the last few years! On the other hand, having a good group of ambassadors around us has made it much nicer to work with the brand and product development. It is still after quite some years like working with a group of friends. So i guess this is my defence of all those gravel riders, adventurers, freeriders, guides and others that inspire and do important work in the communities. They are an important counter-balance to the racers, for both brands and the sport and as such are worthy of support. It doesn't hurt that they are good for business as well :)