Unprofessional or mismatched attire will not only lead to sending the wrong message about your brand, but also may dissuade consumers from engaging entirely.
Selecting the attire for your promotional engagement may seem like an insignificant task, but what brand ambassadors wear strongly conveys messages to potential clients and consumers about the positive attributes of your brand. The two best approaches to selecting uniform requirements are to both create your own branded attire and to provide detailed instructions as to anything that a brand ambassador should or shouldn’t wear. Here are some suggestions for brand ambassadors and their brands on what to do and what not to do when prepping attire for an activation.
1. DO: Keep a supply of extra promo clothes in your car.
Promo opportunities come up at the last minute due to client needs or last-minute brand ambassador cancellations. Keeping a clean supply of standard demo attire in your car, along with your clean branded attire for any programs that you’re currently activating, will make you more likely to be able to quickly hop on opportunities that you may otherwise not be able to work.
2. DON’T: Wear excessive jewelry.
Having on a lot of jewelry will not only take away from the look of your clothing but will also make you disproportionately stand out from other brand ambassadors who are activating alongside you. Simple rings and earrings that don’t draw a lot of attention to your overall appearance work best.
3. DO: Ask questions about your attire.
The biggest mistake you can make as a brand ambassador is making any assumptions about the program, such as what items you’ll need to bring, purchase or will be provided on-site. Such miscommunications and false assumptions can lead to a cancelled shift if you arrive unprepared and unable to execute the activation. The same goes for attire. Wearing incorrect clothing or missing a necessary article of clothing may make you feel out of place at best and sent home at worst.
4. DON’T: Wear open toed shoes.
Unless your uniform requires it, such as sandals for a beach event or high-heeled shoes for a formal event, it’s best to wear closed toed shoes. Not only will they make you look more professional, but they may keep your feet from getting hurt by broken glass or other sharp objects.
5. DO: Exercise uniformity, such as buying identical clothes.
Even when you request brand ambassadors to wear similar clothing, such as a particular color dress or sweater, your brand ambassadors may wind up looking extremely different due to size, style and color variations. When in doubt, purchase your team exactly the clothing you’d like them to wear.
6. DON’T: Assume sizes are accurate!
One brand ambassador’s size small could be another brand ambassador’s size extra small or medium. Body shapes and sizes are rarely ever uniform. For group activations, be sure to carry a few extra sizes to swap out once your team arrives on site. For remote and individual activations, ship out your attire with enough lead time to send out replacements if the attire doesn’t fit.
7. DO: Bring extra attire to account for the temperature.
Whether it’s the extreme cold, the oppressive heat or when the temperature fluctuates during the day, it’s always best to bring along extra clothing to keep you comfortable during your activations. Keep a change of clothes in your car to add additional items to your wardrobe as necessary and wear clothes that you can easily swap out to meet your comfort level.
8. DON’T: Have other brand names on your clothes.
Wearing other brand names and logos on your attire will certainly separate you from the uniformity you wish to active and will lead to brand confusion by consumers. It’s best to purchase demo attire that lacks any other brand identities whatsoever, except for a small brand logo (as they almost always appear somewhere on your attire) that isn’t easily noticed by your target audience.
9. DO: Invest in comfortable shoes.
Along with extreme temperatures, very little will make you feel more physically uncomfortable than standing for an extended time in the wrong footwear. While you may look great in stylish shoes, your discomfort will be hard to hide from consumers. Always ask your agency or client what footwear is allowed or not allowed and invest in footwear that not only makes you look great but feel great as well.
10. DON’T: Wait until you arrive at the promo event to get dressed!
One of the easiest mistakes to make is to assume you’ll have both the time and location to get dressed when you arrive on-site for your demo. Traffic, parking, finding the activation location and additional tasks provided when you arrive will quickly eat up the time that you had set aside to get changed. Always get dressed before you arrive or plan on arriving early enough to account for any issues that may pop up.