As craft brands look for more authentic ways to connect with customers, ambassador programs are becoming an increasingly valuable marketing tool.
With consumers seeking authenticity and inspiration from real people, brands are searching for ways to reach their audiences that go beyond traditional advertising or corporate-generated social media content. Enter the brand ambassador concept.
Businesses in almost every segment of the craft industry – from fabric and paint to yarn, tools and more – tap into the power of ambassadors to promote products. Whether they’re called ambassadors, affiliates or influencers, the function is essentially the same.
Benefits for both brands and ambassadors abound; if programs are set up and managed with clarity and shared expectations.
The Value of Ambassador Programs
For brands, having ambassadors multiplies their voice in the market, putting faces to a brand name and setting their products apart.
Benzie Design, a self-described “felt stitchery and wool wonderland” based in Plainfield, Illinois, relies on its Maker Team for outreach.
“Community is a core value of Benzie, but we were finding that our crafting circle was becoming stagnant,” says Renae Bradley, Benzie Design’s founder and creative director. “We started our Maker Team as a way for us to be introduced to new crafters.”
Since the program’s launch, team members have provided tutorials that interest a wide variety of crafters. “The group of makers provides the diversity we want to represent and encourage,” Bradley says.
Benartex, a fabric manufacturer located in New York City, sees major advantages in its Sewcial Stars program. “We get fabric into people’s hands to create projects for us and we use those project images on social media to promote the fabric collections,” says Stephanie Sheridan, marketing coordinator. “And quilters see other quilters using fabric in real projects.”
Aside from affiliate links, the exact results of these programs may be hard to track. Sheridan has heard from quilt stores that customers ask for fabric they’ve seen ambassadors use.
Brands typically compensate ambassadors with kickbacks from purchases, exposure to a wider audience, social media takeovers, free supplies or other perks. KnitPicks, for example, rewards ambassadors with points that can be used as discounts on purchases. Hive and Honey Candle Supply pays affiliates a commission on sales. Sewcial Stars receive free fabric from Benartex for their projects and opportunities to promote their pattern designs and social media.
For Lisa Swenson Ruble of Quilty Zest who served as a Sewcial Star in 2023, being an ambassador meant increased exposure for her quilt patterns. “I also do lectures and I teach classes, so it was potentially another way to get my name out there,” she says. Receiving free fabric was helpful, too.
“As a designer who is self-employed, being able to keep my costs down in that respect is really nice as well.”
Felting studio Benzie Design partners with makers through its Maker Team ambassador program. Team member Ashley of @ashleylewiscreates used felt to create colorful thank you notes and crayon gift card holders, showcasing creative ways crafters incorporate Benzie’s materials into handmade projects.
Benartex Fabric Sewcial Star@createwithclaudia shared a tutorial for making this super easy 36-inch floor pillow using Benartex fabrics, highlighting how ambassador-created projects inspire fellow makers with approachable, practical sewing ideas.
Making a Program Work
When considering an ambassador program, be sure to assess internal resources and interest to sustain the program for the long run. If you decide to launch a program, follow a few best practices to make it run as smoothly as possible.
Contracts are key and should define the scope of work, compensation, the term of the engagement, intellectual property rights and causes for termination. In addition, having clear expectations ensures both the brand and the ambassador are on the same page. For instance, Benartex requires its Sewcial Stars to complete six projects over the course of their 12-month term.
Benzie Design’s Maker Team members are required to sign a contract. “Not only does it provide helpful information about the Maker Team relationship and contribution expectations, but also outlines Benzie’s responsibilities,” Bradley says. “We also provide guidelines and checklists on how to submit a contribution.”
You can find brand ambassador contract templates online or refer to your organization’s attorney for more information.
Brand guidelines can also help shape the content that’s delivered, according to Faster Capital. This information guides ambassadors on the voice, tone and style that should be used when representing the brand. DMC, the embroidery floss manufacturer, states that its affiliates “must offer content suitable for a general audience and free of any offensive or illicit content.” Guidelines may even spell out requirements for certain words, slogans or mottos that must be included in social media content. Benzie Design, for instance, expects its Maker Team members to use the hashtag #benziedesign or link to their website.
Selecting Ambassadors
With the contractual framework in place, your organization is ready to identify ambassadors. You can search for potential candidates yourself – by looking through social media to see who your audience follows or engages with – or ask candidates to apply.
“The key,” according to The Branding Journal, “is finding someone who truly embodies your brand, enhances its image and effectively communicates to your target audience that your products are the perfect fit for them.”
After several years of running the program at Benartex, Sheridan has the selection process down to a science. Her team screens 80 to 100 applicants each year, with the goal of choosing 10 or 12 ambassadors – all carefully vetted. “We like to have a good mix of established pattern designers and giving new upcoming designers a chance,” she says.
During the selection process, look for creators who are relevant to your brand, feel aligned with your organization’s aesthetics and consistently engage with their followers. In terms of followers, Sheridan suggests not focusing solely on numbers. “Don’t be afraid to take a chance on someone that maybe doesn’t have a huge social media following or a huge pattern portfolio but who is eager, willing and excited to be a part of the program,” she says. “We’ve done that a few times and it’s worked out very well for us.”
Ongoing Management
An ambassador program is not a “set it and forget it” initiative. Sheridan estimates spending 10 to 15 hours on the program each month. Having a single point of contact who can strike a good balance between flexibility and organization is key. Consistent two-way communication between brand and ambassador is also critical, Ruble says. Zoom calls, private Facebook groups and collaborative Google documents are tools that can keep everyone connected.
Many craft brand ambassadors serve for just a year, which gives more makers a chance to participate and injects fresh perspectives into the content that’s created.
Brands can prompt ambassador work through campaign suggestions, photo contests, Q and A sessions, or other activities, while still granting ambassadors creative freedom.
In the end, ambassador programs are all about building relationships: between the brand and its ambassadors, between ambassadors and their followers, and between ambassadors themselves. These relationships serve to bring even more people into the craft industry and into the joy of making.
Janice Brewster Weiser
contributor
Janice Brewster Weiser is a writer, editor, book shepherd and serial crafter who publishes the newsletter Slow Stitching Circle on Substack. Connect with Janice on LinkedIn.
