The term “brand champion” may sound like marketing jargon, but it plays a crucial role in ensuring the success of any business. A brand champion is an individual or group who passionately promotes and drives the growth of a brand, taking on the responsibility of maintaining and enhancing its reputation, both inside and outside the organization. In this blog post, we'll delve into the concept of a brand champion, explore why they’re so important, and share how you can cultivate brand champions for your own business.
Who Exactly is a Brand Champion?
A brand champion is someone who embodies the values, mission, and narrative of a brand, making them a strong advocate both internally (within the organization) and externally (in public settings). This person can be an executive, an employee, a customer, or even an influencer. The key factor is that they are emotionally invested in the brand and committed to its success.
It’s critical to emphasize that brand champions are not just your traditional spokespeople or marketing leads. While those roles do contribute to brand awareness, a brand champion does more: they live and breathe the brand at every touchpoint and seek to promote it naturally in their day-to-day interactions.
Brand champions help bridge the gap between what the company says it is and how the world perceives it. For larger organizations, this role may be formal and highly structured. In smaller companies or startups, brand champions often emerge more organically from within the team—or even among loyal customers.
What Makes a Brand Champion Different From a Regular Ambassador?
While the terms “brand champion” and “brand ambassador” are often used interchangeably, they aren't exactly the same thing. Understanding the difference is important for building effective marketing strategies:
| Brand Champion | Brand Ambassador |
|---|---|
| Usually an internal (but sometimes external) figure closely tied to the brand’s mission and core values. | Usually external influencers or partners who have been selected to represent the brand formally, often in exchange for payment or incentives. |
| Provides long-term value by acting as a steward for the brand’s culture and goals. | Typically involved in more short-term campaigns or promotion-focused interactions. |
| Main goal is to cultivate genuine, long-lasting relationships with brand loyalty. | Focuses on promoting products and increasing brand awareness. |
| Role can be formal or informal, existing without financial incentives. | A more official role, often tied to a contract or campaign duration. |
Both brand champions and ambassadors are important parts of the marketing ecosystem, but brand champions take a deeper, more continuous role in propelling the brand forward.
Importance of Brand Champions for Businesses
Why do brand champions matter in today’s highly competitive marketplace? A brand champion’s enthusiastic support of a company or its products might seem like a nice-to-have, but its importance runs much deeper. Here are some key ways brand champions benefit businesses:
- They boost credibility: People trust people. When a brand champion speaks out about your brand, others are far more likely to follow that person’s lead. Brand champions offer authenticity, a quality that's essential in building consumer trust.
- They maintain brand integrity: Brand champions work to ensure that the core values of your brand are not diluted over time. In large organizations, as operations scale, it can be easy to drift from those early values that made you successful. Brand champions act as true north, guiding the brand back to its original vision.
- They provide internal motivation: For employees, having brand champions in leadership roles or among the team can be immensely motivating. These figures drive company culture, fostering pride and ownership among staff, and raising overall engagement levels.
- They generate organic awareness: Some of the best marketing results come from genuine word-of-mouth. A customer who loves your products or a coworker who is passionate about the company acts as a permanent and organic marketing asset. Brand champions spread the word about your products through their networks, creating a ripple effect.
- They offer valuable feedback: Brand champions aren’t just promoters; they also understand the brand’s challenges, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Their deep emotional investment means they will give you honest, thoughtful feedback—insights that superficial followers may not provide.
How to Identify Potential Brand Champions
Not every customer or employee is likely to fulfill the role of a brand champion. Identifying the right people is half the challenge. Here are some signs that someone could be a potential brand champion for your business:
- Passionate about the brand: Keep an eye out for customers or employees who consistently rave about your products or services, online and offline.
- Deep understanding of the brand: Real champions “get” your brand on a fundamental level, understanding not just the products but your company's story, mission, and values.
- Boldly vocal: These individuals aren’t shy about advocating for your brand. They’ll happily talk about it in casual conversations or proactively promote it through social media and other channels.
- Emotionally invested: Any individual who shows a profound connection to your brand is a potential long-term advocate. If someone shows genuine concern for how the brand grows and evolves, they could become a great champion.
- Loyal: Long-term customers who are repeat buyers or employees who have been with the company for a significant time and remain highly engaged in their roles often make excellent brand champions.
How to Cultivate Brand Champions
Once you’ve identified potential brand champions, the next challenge is nurturing and empowering them. Here are steps to take to cultivate brand champions:
1. Invest in Company Culture
For internal brand champions, a strong and supportive company culture is a top priority. Employees who are treated well and who feel valued at work are more likely to take pride in their contribution to the organization’s success—a key ingredient for cultivating brand champions. Prioritize initiatives that build relationships between teams, communicate company values clearly, and make everyone feel like they are contributing to the overall company mission.
2. Recognize and Reward Advocacy
Recognition is key. It's important to make sure that those who are advocating for your brand—whether internally or externally—feel their efforts are being noticed. Simple gestures like shout-outs during company calls, gifting customers, or giving public recognition on social media can make all the difference. Some businesses have gone a step further and introduced rewards programs for individuals who go above and beyond in advocating for the brand, such as employee recognition platforms (Bonusly).
3. Create Branded Content that Champions Can Use
Make sure advocates have the tools they need to communicate the brand message clearly and effectively. This could be as simple as sharing branded materials like videos, blog posts, or infographics, or creating product samples they can distribute among friends and family. The better the tools you give them, the more likely they will spread the word.
4. Build Community
Strong champions feel part of something bigger than themselves. Create opportunities for champions to connect, not only with the brand but also with each other. Online communities, either through social media groups or forums, work well in building relationships. After all, communities breed loyalty and loyalty breeds champions. Take a look at how brands like GitLab foster their contributor community, driving future brand advocacy.
5. Maintain Long-term Relationships
Effective champions are cultivated over time. Don’t treat brand champions like temporary tools to be used during seasonal campaigns or launches. Instead, engage with them regularly and grow the relationship so that it flourishes naturally over the long term. This could be as simple as listening to their feedback, involving them in beta tests for new products, or sending them updates about changes within the company.
Conclusion
Brand champions can play an integral role in the long-term success of your company. Their genuine advocacy, combined with deep emotional connection, elevates a brand far beyond traditional marketing and advertising efforts. Whether they are employees contributing to a healthy internal culture or loyal customers spreading the word in their networks, brand champions hold the keys to maintaining authenticity and trust in today’s fast-paced, social-driven marketplace.
By identifying, nurturing, and empowering these advocates, companies can unlock an army of passionate supporters that will help propel the brand forward for years to come. Even in the face of competition, these champions will always carry the banner for your brand, ensuring long-lasting success.
