confessions of a brand ambassador

In August of my junior year of college, I received an email from a company called Riddle & Bloom that said they were looking for campus ambassadors to promote Vera Bradley. I had just switched my major the semester before from Exercise Sport Science to Advertising and Public Relations and was desperately looking for ways to get hands on experience in the world of marketing. Upon receiving the email, I figured it would be a great opportunity to get the experience I wanted while also making a little “easy" money on the side. I applied, received the position and began my journey with Vera Bradley. Here are a few things I learned from this job.

1. Real friends take photos of you.

You find out who your friends are when you ask them to take photos for you. Surprisingly, not everyone wanted to take time out of their day to take 1,000 photos of me with various bags (shocking, I know). But I couldn’t have done it without the help of a few very great friends who were always there to help me get the perfect shot.

2. Making duffel bags look natural in photos is not easy.

Also, blankets are not photogenic. Making your photo look organic is one of the biggest goals of a brand representative and not always the easiest task. Throughout my time with VB, I had to adapt to new products and figure out innovative ways to make the photos look as natural as possible. This is one of the most applicable lessons I learned as it pertains to my future career in marketing.

3. The brand becomes you, you don’t become the brand.

This is something I learned much later and had a lot to do with honing in on my own personal style. Instead of shaping my outfit around a certain piece’s look or basic function, I would build my outfit and aesthetic first and then choose a piece to highlight that fit the aesthetic I had created. This allows for consumers to connect with the brand on a personal level by associating it with me.

4. The first photo is almost never the best photo.

But once you have a good photo, the rest don’t matter. Take note of what angles and

positions you like the best and find variation within them. Pull inspiration from other people’s content and transform it in a way that is organic to you.

5. This is not easy money.

*gets on soap box* I know you have heard this before so I will just leave it at this, influencers and brand ambassadors don’t have super easy lives. There is a lot of organization, deliberation and thought that goes into creating content. It is marketing, it is hard work and it is important.

6. Spread love and be an inspiration in whatever you do.

No description needed.

I have so much love for Vera Bradley and Riddle & Bloom after this process. If becoming a brand ambassador sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to try it out. Also, please enjoy my very first and very last photos for Vera Bradley below.

xoxo,

lex