Brand Ambassadors in the Retail World
In today's retail world, companies are striving to increase sales by any means possible. Working for a experiential marketing company based out of Toronto, I have been representing various brands and products to consumers through poorly designed retail programs, which have tended to saturate the buying process with unwanted samples and information that may not be relevant to the consumer. This push to in your face "Car salesman" type promotional strategy at the point of purchase is a relatively new phenomenon here in Edmonton, being the relatively small city it is compared to such Canadian hubs as Vancouver and Toronto, which have been saturated with numerous "experiential" marketing companies for a number of years
However, this style of promotion is not new in the retail world, brand ambassadors have been the face of companies selling products and services which may not even be relevant to that individual. For example, just recently, Turkish Airlines signed a deal with Kobe Byrant to become the face of the company. Now if you know who Kobe Byrant is, you'll know that he has absolutely nothing to do with the airline industry or for that matter, Turkey. However, Turkish Airlines felt his international status would help publicize and for that matter, increase sales of flights from Istanbul to Los Angele's. However, this deal came with an enormous backlash as almost a million Armenians living in Los Angeles have boycotted Kobe Byrant and the LA Lakers, still protesting the genocide of over a million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. This led me to ask, at what cost do these promotional strategies come at?
This past weekend, I was the "face" of Corona in various retail stores, promoting the "Easy drinking taste of Corona" to the consumers entering the store. Not only did I not sell a single case of Corona, I was bombarded by angry consumers who felt my presence at the store was absolutely unnecessary. Not only was I unable to sell any beer, I potentially represented Corona as a in your face "Car salesmen" type beer, that drive hard sales, which overall may have detracted from the company's original brand image. Furthermore, the manager of the particular store, was not pleased by the response of his clientele to the promotion which forced him to cancel the promotion in his store a day early. In regards to the retail value proposition, having a brand ambassador may come at a price to the consumers overall experience. Pushy sampling and key messaging in order to increase sales may negatively effect the company of the product and the overall retail location at which the promotion is taking place. Just think about those people who always want to straighten your hair at West Edmonton Mall, effective or ineffective? And are there ways to improve the overall experience of store patrons while also accommodating companies who find these strategies useful?
With companies utilizing print and television advertisements, seasonal discounts, club cards, and other promotional tools used to drive sales, is it absolutely necessary to have that one last individual trying to sell you a product at the point of purchase?
Gurshan Dhillon
References
http://www.matchmg.com/
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-15/kobe-s-turkey-ties-ire-l-a-armenians-like-kardashian.html
However, this style of promotion is not new in the retail world, brand ambassadors have been the face of companies selling products and services which may not even be relevant to that individual. For example, just recently, Turkish Airlines signed a deal with Kobe Byrant to become the face of the company. Now if you know who Kobe Byrant is, you'll know that he has absolutely nothing to do with the airline industry or for that matter, Turkey. However, Turkish Airlines felt his international status would help publicize and for that matter, increase sales of flights from Istanbul to Los Angele's. However, this deal came with an enormous backlash as almost a million Armenians living in Los Angeles have boycotted Kobe Byrant and the LA Lakers, still protesting the genocide of over a million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. This led me to ask, at what cost do these promotional strategies come at?
This past weekend, I was the "face" of Corona in various retail stores, promoting the "Easy drinking taste of Corona" to the consumers entering the store. Not only did I not sell a single case of Corona, I was bombarded by angry consumers who felt my presence at the store was absolutely unnecessary. Not only was I unable to sell any beer, I potentially represented Corona as a in your face "Car salesmen" type beer, that drive hard sales, which overall may have detracted from the company's original brand image. Furthermore, the manager of the particular store, was not pleased by the response of his clientele to the promotion which forced him to cancel the promotion in his store a day early. In regards to the retail value proposition, having a brand ambassador may come at a price to the consumers overall experience. Pushy sampling and key messaging in order to increase sales may negatively effect the company of the product and the overall retail location at which the promotion is taking place. Just think about those people who always want to straighten your hair at West Edmonton Mall, effective or ineffective? And are there ways to improve the overall experience of store patrons while also accommodating companies who find these strategies useful?
With companies utilizing print and television advertisements, seasonal discounts, club cards, and other promotional tools used to drive sales, is it absolutely necessary to have that one last individual trying to sell you a product at the point of purchase?
Gurshan Dhillon
References
http://www.matchmg.com/
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-15/kobe-s-turkey-ties-ire-l-a-armenians-like-kardashian.html
posted by Gurshan at
1:49 PM
