How to Build a Brand Ambassador Program with Influencers and Celebrities

A brand ambassador program is a long-term agreement where one or more personalities represent a brand over months or years, rather than in a single post. To build one, you define the goal, choose ambassadors whose audience and values fit the brand, agree on a contract covering deliverables, exclusivity and usage rights, plan content over time and measure both short-term results and long-term brand effects. Done right, an ambassador program builds recognition and credibility that one-off campaigns rarely achieve.

Interest is growing. Digiday reported in 2025, citing research from the agency Billion Dollar Boy, that 73 percent of marketers planned to invest in more ambassador programs within the next twelve months. This guide covers the practical steps – from choosing ambassadors to contracts and measurement.

What is a brand ambassador?

A brand ambassador is a person who represents a brand over a longer period and in several contexts: social media posts, campaigns, events, product launches and sometimes product development. Ambassadors can be well-known celebrities, popular creators or experts in a niche. What separates an ambassador from an ordinary influencer collaboration is time and depth: the brand becomes a recurring part of the person’s content and public image.

Why do brands choose ambassador programs over one-off campaigns?

• Credibility: when a personality talks about a brand repeatedly over time, it feels more like a genuine preference than a paid mention.

• Recognition: the audience starts to associate the person with the brand, which strengthens memory and brand building.

• Efficiency: Sprout Social reports that 71 percent of influencers offer discounts for multi-post or long-term partnerships.

• Better content: the ambassador gets to know the product and can tell more personal and creative stories.

• Collaboration: according to Sprout Social, influencers want long-term collaborations and want to be involved earlier in product development and creative planning.

How do you build a brand ambassador program step by step?

1. What is the goal of the program?

Start with what the program should achieve: awareness in a new target group, a repositioning, a product launch, sales in a specific channel or long-term brand building. The goal decides which ambassadors you need, how many and how you will measure success.

2. How do you choose the right ambassadors?

The most important criterion is fit – between the ambassador’s audience and your target group, and between their values and your brand. In the IAB’s 2025 creator economy report, creator reputation (58 percent) and audience alignment (56 percent) were the top selection criteria for buyers. In CreatorIQ’s 2025 research, brand suitability had become the most important factor, while follower count was cited by only 8 percent.

Also consider whether you want one leading face, a small group with different profiles or a mix of a well-known personality and several creators. A celebrity creates broad recognition; creators add depth, niche communities and volume.

3. What should the ambassador contract include?

• Period and scope: how long the agreement runs and how many posts, stories, videos, events or appearances are included.

• Exclusivity: which competing brands or categories the ambassador may not work with during – and possibly after – the agreement.

• Usage rights: where, how and for how long the brand may use the content, including in paid media. CreatorIQ found that securing usage rights is a barrier for 54 percent of paid media marketers – so negotiate this from the start.

• Approval process: who reviews content and how quickly.

• Ad labelling: clear instructions that all collaborations are labelled according to the Marketing Act.

• Values and conduct: what happens if either party acts in a way that damages the other.

• Compensation: fixed fee, product, performance-based elements or a combination.

• Termination and follow-up: how the agreement can end and how results are reported.

4. How do you plan content over time?

An ambassador program needs a rhythm. Plan big moments – launches, seasons, holidays, events – and let everyday content fill the gaps. Give the ambassador room to tell the story in their own way: Sprout Social’s research shows that creators want to be involved in creative strategy rather than follow rigid briefs, and content that feels genuine performs better. Combine organic posts with paid amplification so the best content reaches further.

5. How do you measure an ambassador program?

Measure on two levels. In the short term: reach, engagement, traffic and sales from each activation. In the long term: brand awareness, association between the ambassador and the brand, consideration and sales trends over time. Brand lift studies, search volume for the brand and recurring surveys are useful for the long-term effects that individual posts do not show.

6. How do you develop the relationship?

The strongest ambassador relationships develop over time – from posts to events, from campaigns to co-created products. Regular check-ins, shared planning and openness about results make the ambassador a real partner rather than a supplier.

What rules apply to brand ambassadors in Sweden?

Ambassador agreements are commercial relationships, and posts within them must be clearly labelled as advertising under the Swedish Marketing Act. Konsumentverket states that the company has the main responsibility for marketing published on its behalf – including content the influencer creates on their own initiative without specific instructions. That matters in ambassador programs, where the ambassador often mentions the brand spontaneously. Serious violations can lead to a market disruption fee of up to four percent of annual turnover.

A newer question to cover in the contract is AI. If the brand wants to use AI to edit, translate or version content featuring the ambassador, the agreement should state what is allowed – and it should never be assumed that a person’s face or voice can be recreated synthetically without explicit consent. The transparency rules in the EU AI Act now also require deepfakes and certain AI-generated content to be disclosed.

What are the most common mistakes in ambassador programs?

• Choosing ambassadors based on follower count instead of fit.

• Contracts that are too short to build any real association.

• Too many rules and scripts, so the content stops feeling genuine.

• Forgetting usage rights for paid media.

• Measuring only individual posts instead of the long-term effect.

• Unclear ad labelling in spontaneous mentions.

What can an ambassador program look like in practice?

At Collabri we work with well-known Swedish personalities such as Pernilla Wahlgren, Carolina Gynning, Carina Berg, Laila Bagge, Marko “Markoolio” Lehtosalo, Sofia Wistam and Husmorstipset. A program might start with a launch campaign, continue with recurring content around seasons and events, and develop into deeper collaboration over time. Campaigns like the one for Ellos with Carolina Gynning and Carina Berg at Tough Viking – which reached more than 756,000 views – show how a strong concept with well-known personalities can become a recurring platform rather than a one-off activation.

Key takeaways

• An ambassador program is a long-term partnership that builds recognition and credibility over time.

• Choose ambassadors based on fit with audience and values, not follower count.

• The contract should cover scope, exclusivity, usage rights, approval and labelling.

• Give ambassadors creative freedom and combine organic posts with paid amplification.

• Measure both short-term results and long-term brand effects.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a brand ambassador agreement be?

Long enough for the audience to start associating the ambassador with the brand – often at least several months, and preferably a year or more. Many agreements start with a shorter period and an option to extend.

What is the difference between an influencer and a brand ambassador?

An influencer collaboration is often limited to one campaign or a few posts. A brand ambassador represents the brand over a longer period and in several contexts, such as events, launches and product development.

Should a brand ambassador be exclusive?

Usually, yes – at least within the brand’s category. Exclusivity protects the credibility of the collaboration, but it also affects the price, so define it precisely in the contract.

Do brand ambassadors have to label their posts?

Yes. All posts within a commercial relationship must be clearly labelled as advertising in Sweden, including spontaneous mentions during the agreement period.

Want to build an ambassador program with some of Sweden’s best-known personalities? Collabri helps with everything from choosing ambassadors to contracts, content and measurement. Contact us at info@collabri.se.

Sources

• Digiday – WFA sees 54% of multinational brands boosting influencer spending – with more relying on agencies to find creators (2025): https://digiday.com/marketing/wfa-sees-54-of-multinational-brands-boosting-influencer-spending-with-more-relying-on-agencies-to-find-creators/

• Sprout Social – Influencer marketing trends 2026 (2026): https://sproutsocial.com/insights/influencer-marketing-trends/

• Sprout Social – The State of Influencer Marketing Report: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/influencer-marketing-report/

• IAB – Creator Economy Ad Spend to Reach $37 Billion in 2025, Growing 4x Faster than Total Media Industry (2025): https://www.iab.com/news/creator-economy-ad-spend-to-reach-37-billion-in-2025-growing-4x-faster-than-total-media-industry-according-to-iab/

• CreatorIQ – Creator Marketing Enters the Era of Efficacy (2025): https://www.creatoriq.com/press/releases/creator-marketing-enters-the-era-of-efficacy-brands-demand-scalable-roi-as-creator-budgets-surge-171-creatoriq-report-finds

• CreatorIQ – Creator Content Now Powers 44% of Paid Media Creative (2026): https://www.creatoriq.com/press/releases/creator-powered-funnel-report-2026

• Paul, Weiss – EU Finalises Transparency Rules for AI-Generated Content (2026): https://www.paulweiss.com/insights/client-memos/eu-finalises-transparency-rules-for-ai-generated-content

• Konsumentverket – Influencers reklaminlägg – regler för företag: https://www.konsumentverket.se/marknadsratt-foretag/influencers-reklaminlagg-regler-for-foretag/

This article was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Collabri.