Often a notable celebrity or influencer, brand ambassadors are the face of the brand. They front campaigns and are often the first point of call for any new release.

From Mango teaming up with Hailey Bieber to L’Oréal collaborating with Charles Leclerc, most brands have an ambassador.

However, most brands also have the same concerns.

Pick the wrong ambassador and you lose your audience, pick the right one and you gain an entirely new one.

I sat down with some expert marketers to find out more about how retailers and brands can select the perfect ambassador.

Head of influencer at social agency SocialChain Sophie Berman believes that the rise of celebrity and influencer owned brands such as Rhode and Rare Beauty has made the landscape for more competitive. These brand’s weren’t built through traditional marketing methods, they were built through consumer trust, founder identity and social media .

She says: “Because of that, the most successful partnerships now are the ones that feel authentic and culturally relevant. Consumers are very quick to recognise when a collaboration feels transactional versus genuinely aligned.”

She highlights that their are three main things that make a partnership successful:

• Genuine alignment between the ambassador and brand values
• A clear understanding of the target audience
• Long-term consistency rather than one-off campaigns

Marketing director for fashion, home & beauty at M&S, Sharry Cramond explains that the most effective brand ambassador partnerships are those where the individual selected to be brand ambassador connects with the brand

She says: “Over at M&S a successful partnership is rooted in authenticity and shared values.”

Group creative director at marketing agency Mongoose Matthew Hocken adds that for a partnership to be successful, marketers need to understand what both parties are bringing to the table.

He says: “Too many brands stop at the announcement but need to figure out how it fits into your products, website, supply chain and employee schemes.”

He adds: “When doing the deal, brands need the confidence to be subversive or normative. Sometimes it’s going for the right tonal fit, other times you need to shake the change tree but know why you’re doing it. Some surprises are good surprises. Michael Cera, Cera Ve is a good example that was initially surprising, but completely obvious once you saw it.”

Cramond highlights that their content series with Melissa Holdbrook-Akposoe was so successful because Holdbrook-Akposoe was already engaging with the brand.

She says: “After seeing how naturally Mel was engaging with M&S, we brought her in to harness both her styling expertise and her highly invested audience, while also experimenting with new long‑form YouTube formats.”

“The result? A collective project reach of 22M and a higher‑frequency, younger shopper base. We absolutely Love That!”

She explains that when selecting an ambassador brands should look for someone who has a engaged audience that mirrors their target audience. M&S look at an ambassador’s content and consistency.

One question that run’s through Cramond’s mind when selecting an ambassador is do they align with M&S’s positioning? And do they have a track record of building trust with their audience.

Cramond says: “Our campaign with Mark (Wright) & Spencer (Matthews) is a great example of this, they brought their humour and names to a simple yet effective, social‑first piece of content to launch menswear that exceeded all expectations.

“The video generated more than 12 million views, alongside a quarter of a million engagements across likes, comments and shares, and drove over 25,000 clicks through to the M&S website. Crucially, it didn’t just perform – it created a cultural moment. The content resonated at scale, repositioning M&S menswear in a more culturally relevant, talkable space.”

Hocken believes that marketers should be looking for “opportunity”.

He says: “What opportunity is there for play, creativity, storytelling, friction and collaboration that takes the partnership away from corporate messaging and into the world of the audience? If you don’t understand that before you start, you’ve got a lot of hard, expensive work to come.”

Berman suggests that brands should look beyond follower counts as “audiences are increasingly sophisticated.”

She says: “Consumers are exposed daily to influencer and celebrity-led brands, so authenticity has become incredibly important.

“The right ambassador is someone who naturally fits the brand’s identity and already speaks to the retailer’s target audience in a credible way. For example, the success of brands like SKIMS shows the power of community and trust.

“Audiences feel invested because Kim Kardashian genuinely embodies the lifestyle and values behind the brand.”

Hocken adds that brand ambassadors enable brands to reach new audience as they can “speak human” for you.

Berman highlights that since social media has changed how consumers discover brands, people are increasingly trusting creators, celebrities and personalities they already follow. She believes that this gives brand ambassadors the ability to introduce companies to “entirely new communities”.

Cramond agrees with this sentiment, she highlights that ambassadors give M&S access to new audiences and demographics that may not already be following M&S channels.

However, brand ambassadors don’t just help them retailer gain new audiences, it helps them retain their existing consumer base as well as partnering with an ambassador helps keep the brand “fresh and relevant”.

She explains “They introduce new perspectives, storytelling and moments that reignite interest and deepen engagement. They also reinforce brand affinity.”

Cramond adds that the strongest collaborations allow ambassadors to have creative freedom and use their own voice, while working within a clear framework.

She says: “Ongoing collaboration is key.

“Regular check ins, shared insights and a clear feedback loop, ensure messaging remains aligned whilst feeling natural and engaging.

Berman agrees, saying: “One of the biggest mistakes brands can make in influencer marketing is over-controlling creators to the point where content no longer feels genuine. Audiences can spot overly scripted partnerships immediately.”

Hocken adds: “Ambassadors give existing customers a reason to stay engaged between purchases by anchoring the brand to a lifestyle, a face, and ongoing storytelling.

“It can also help maintain relevance in the market and in culture and a feeling of trust if the person is a long-term ambassador.”

Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter