Guide to Brand Ambassadors

Hiring students to work as Brand Ambassadors (also known as Student Ambassadors, Campus Ambassadors or Campus Representatives) is an effective way to have an on-campus presence. Get the most out of your Brand Ambassador by following this guidance.

What is a Brand Ambassador?

A Brand Ambassador is typically a student hired by an organisation to informally, positively promote and represent the brand of an organisation on campus.   

What do Brand Ambassadors do?

The main advantage of hiring students as Brand Ambassadors is the peer-to-peer access they have to the student body.

You could ask your Brand Ambassadors to:

  • Support you in the activities you are involved in on campus – e.g. joining you on your exhibition stand at careers fairs/events, or presentations and webinars

  • Talk about you in their own networks – with friends, classmates, societies or club members

  • Spread the word about you via their own social media networks and/or add their voice to your official social media accounts

  • Give you feedback on how they and their peers are feeling – generally or about your organisation and your offer specifically

  • Tell you about what’s happening on campus – when students are busy, what timings seem to be working for events, what other recruiter activity they are aware of etc

  • Ask teaching staff if they can do a “shout out” at the start or end of lectures or tutorials or if they can post an announcements on class discussion boards.

  • Come up with their own ideas! 

How do I find and hire a Brand Ambassador?

  • Invite students you have engaged with previously to apply for the role – this could be students you have met at insight days or careers fairs/events 

University expectations in relation to hiring Brand Ambassadors

Hiring organisations should:

  • Ensure Brand Ambassadors are paid at least National Minimum Wage for their work

  • Share the below University of Edinburgh expectations with their student Brand Ambassadors 

Brand Ambassadors should:

  • Get in touch with the Employer Engagement Team in the Careers Service by emailing emolyers@ed.ac.uk for further advise on appropriate and effective ways to promote employers on campus

Brand Ambassadors should not:

  • Use the student email system for commercial purposes e.g., use an internal mailing list to circulate promotional material – this may be viewed as an infringement of the University’s Computer Regulations and may lead to disciplinary action

  • Distribute promotional materials such as flyers/posters in University buildings, including Halls of Residence, without permission from staff in that area.

  • Conduct surveys – permission is required to conduct a survey on University premises. In the first instance please contact employers@ed.ac.uk for advice

Careers Service approved organisations will be supported to work with Brand Ambassadors as long as both parties adhere to these guidelines.

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