Brand Advocacy/Ambassador Program for REI

REI.com The REI brand ambassador program will be based around groups. The strategy will be focused on place -- built around the company's network of stores as a means of getting people to the stores (Andersson & Ekman, 2009). The groups will promote different outdoor activities, using REI equipment of course. The groups will be run through the stores, and will require 1-2 people at each store to organize. The company will basically serve as the facilitator and coordinator for the groups, but the ambassadors will be running each group.

REI has around 140 stores, give or take, so a target should be for a group associated with each store. Other goals should be associated with memberships, which should increase 5%, and the program should have an objective of increasing sales to members by 15% in the first year. This will occur by getting them introduced to new activities that will spur sales. Members who participate in the groups will be rewarded with swag -- usually low cost items like water bottles, winter gloves and other items.

In addition, the company can reward with special events, like barbeques, exclusive members' nights at local microbreweries and that sort of thing. The groups could even compete in running races or kayaking or something with other groups from nearby stores. There are definitely some great opportunities to create exclusive events for members of these groups. Brand ambassadors who organize the groups can receive their own special rewards, perhaps in the form of exclusive offers on high-end equipment, discounts that might not normally be available to normal group or REI members. 3.

Internal buy-in is important, because brand ambassadors are just one component of a total marketing and brand-building strategy. It takes an entire organization to build a brand, not just a few people, and the customers who influence others are part of this (Social HP, 2015). Each store manager will host an information session at each store, where the strategy is outlined. The value of the brand ambassador program will be communicated.

Perhaps more importantly, it will be conveyed that the brand ambassador program is an extension of the community/co-op mindset that REI already has. Every customer is already a member, so REI has a certain level of buy-in already, and the new program is merely a way to extend that buy-in to include gaining more participation in the community and bringing in more people to the REI fold. Thus, buy-in at the internal level should not be difficult to achieve, since it builds on what REI is already doing.

It is important to remember that at each store, the company will have people who work on this project. This will increase the hours associated with the store a little bit, so there is direct incentive for employees to get on board with this program -- more hours and the opportunity to work more directly with the community and the customer base. 4. At each store, ambassadors will work with 1 or 2 key contact people.

Thus, there will be a constant flow of feedback and information between the company and the brand ambassadors. This will be necessary in order to organize the events and the benefits. Further, it will help the store to track the effectiveness of the ambassador program, by identifying the new customers that they have referred, and the people who are involved so that sales can be tracked.

The company will not spy on these conversations -- why would it need to do that? If the company does not trust the people in charge of the program, it should not put those people in charge. The key to running a program like this is to build it with people who are trusted, and all them to communicate naturally.

The flow of communication online can be recorded as can anything done on the company's email and chat systems, but offline, the company will not send drones or hidden microphones to record those conversations. This is REI, not the U.S.S.R. 5. The program will be headed by someone within the centralized marketing function at head office. The brand ambassador program will be a marketing initiatives, and will be evaluated.