It certainly sounds enticing, doesn’t it? Free access to top brands and their products, the opportunity to build up your resume, and a job that doesn’t always seem like it is one.

So how do you do it? What kinds of responsibilities will you have? What skills will you gain?

Allow me to enlighten you.

How do you do it?

It certainly helps to be a Marketing major. Or a business major in general. You’re also going to need to have a genuine interest in the brand/product, because you’re going to be talking about it a LOT. Previous experience in a Marketing related role or internship helps too, but enthusiasm and education also come into play. It also helps to be enrolled in a large University, because brands want the most bang for their buck: the bigger their audience, the better.

So once you’ve evaluated your qualifications, Google is your friend. Do a search involving “Brand Ambassadorships [Your School].” A couple other good resources:

• http://www.mosaic.com/
• http://www.repnation.com/RepNationCom/Home.aspx
• http://www.volt.com/volt+workforce+solutions.aspx

And some brands known for hiring at big universities:

• American Eagle
• Victoria’s Secret PINK
• Microsoft
• Red Bull

It also doesn’t hurt to ask brand reps on campus about their jobs. They may be graduating soon and will need a replacement.

What kinds of responsibilities will you have?

It certainly depends on who hired you, what their program is, and whether or not you’re getting paid.

For my brand ambassadorship with iChill, I’m not technically employed, but am an Independent Contractor. I get paid a set amount every two weeks. My responsibilities are to pass out iChill, pass out promotional goods, take pictures of people with both, and secure sponsorships between iChill and events on campus. They expect about 20 pictures and 8 hours of work every 2 weeks. It’s a pretty sweet job.

My brand ambassadorship with Sony is a lot more involved. I have similar directives, but executed differently, and more often. My primary responsibilities are to drive traffic to the Sony Education Store (click here if you wanna help me out!), and to set up events to promote Sony products. In the background, I have to keep up with Sony happenings in the news, promote Sony on Social Media, build relationships with people on campus, and pass out promotional goods. And so much more.

What skills will you gain?

Just working for Sony has helped my professional development more than any class or previous work experience.

• You learn to be a leader, since you’re the basis of knowledge for the brand on campus and you have to make connections and make things happen in order to be successful
• You learn all aspects of Marketing: advertising (for your events and for your brand), promotions (to people of the physical products), event-planning, sales (even if you’re not directly selling anything, you’re still selling an idea), and more.
• You learn how to be a good communicator: how to talk to people to get mutually beneficial results.
• You learn responsibility. You are the only one who can keep you on track with your projects. If they don’t get done, there’s a consequence.

It’s easy to see how a person can benefit from a Brand Ambassadorship. I’ll leave you with this recruitment video from Sony – someday my job will be up for grabs, too!