A brand ambassador offers credence to the brand. The brand is
personified with the qualities of the brand ambassador and thus the brand is
transformed in identity to take in the characteristics of the brand ambassador
in value and spirit.
Celebrities are used as brand ambassadors in organizational
campaigns. Companies leverage the identity of the brand ambassador to have a
rub-off of the ambassador’s lofty image on the brand. The synonymous identity
struck between the brand and the brand ambassador is built by using repeated
associations in communication. The reach of such communication results in the
reinforcement of the personality traits of the brand ambassador as the tenets
of the brand itself. Cadbury was earlier faced with the worm infestation crisis
and since then it needed to reposition itself as a credible brand. The
engagement of Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador has adorned its
campaigns all these years and it has reinforced a great deal of trust in the
brand.
It has become commonplace for brand owners to project themselves as
their brand ambassadors in recent times. Vasanth & Co, is a home
electronics and household appliances retailer whose owner is H. Vasanthakumar,
a Congress party politician in Tamil Nadu. He is featured in the brand logo
itself, which is in the form of a quality and trust seal. In all the
communication campaigns of the retailer Mr. Vasanthakumar is starred. More
known as a trusted politician in the catchements of his stores than the
proprietor of Vasanth & Co, his identity has indeed helped promote his
brand of stores in Tamil Nadu.
We have been witnessing the emergence of
the yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his associate Acharya Balkrishna as the brand
ambassadors for the Patanjali brand in India. In fact the range of herbal and
ayurvedic products has been built on the aura of the yoga guru Ramdev. All the
Patanjali retail stores feature the image of the guru on their signboards! Whether
it is Patanjali Atta Noodles or Patanjali Cow’s Ghee, Ramdev signs off with his
yogic credentials, anchoring his stance as the brand ambassador!
Motivated by the owner turned brand ambassador concept, the owner of
the New Saravana Stores in Chennai has become the value retailing company’s
brand ambassador. The youthful looking hero-like owner dances to the
advertisement tunes amidst a show of expensive cars, pompous models and sartorially
elegant clothes! A non-entity otherwise, he has quickly become synonymous with
the brand and the whole audience now knows that it is the proprietor of the
brand himself who has become the brand ambassador! The ads feature popular actors like Tamanna and Hansika also (along with him), whose faces sway the audience's attention from the unknown face of the brand ambassador who tries too hard to sell himself. Has it worked for the
brand? Only time will tell us!
We may see many such owner-cum-brand ambassadors standing
by their own brands in future!
After all, a Trump is only known by his brand to the World!!
