Student brand ambassadors connect the corporate with the campus

Imagine this job description: meet goals while having fun, interact with new people and maintain your social media presence. 

Student brand ambassadors have that job, serving as the liaisons between companies and target audiences around campus. 

Lilly Washburn, a junior public relations and advertising major, is an ambassador for Rent the Runway, a clothing rental company. 

She said she was initially drawn to it because of the emphasis the company places on sustainable fashion and the ability she has as an ambassador to show others how the brand can improve their lives. 

Jane Moody, a senior majoring in public relations and advertising, said her experience as a campus ambassador for Anheuser-Busch — the company that owns the Natural Light beer brand — has allowed her to have fun and build her professional portfolio. 

“What drew me to it was more from a professional standpoint — gaining connections with Natty Lite or Anheuser-Busch — and learning how to actually apply the skills that I’m learning in academic settings and putting them into professional settings before I'm graduated,” she said.

Moody said the job has allowed her to build connections in the company, hone her skills and solidify future positions. 

Washburn said ambassadors also often receive priority consideration for internships. 

For some campus ambassadors, the position helps boost their public presence. 

Lionel Means III, a sophomore majoring in nursing, works for L2 Brands — or League-Legacy — a company that produces custom apparel and home decor. Before starting, he wasn’t as known.

“I had a presence, but it wasn’t significant in any way,” he said. 

Means now has more than 3,000 followers on his personal Instagram account. When he became an ambassador, he made his account public, which he said made him become more open as a person. 

“My personality is more of a public account than a private account," Means said. "It made me think deeper about why did I think it needed to be private.” 

As part of the contract, Means said he receives a certain number of apparel items to wear around campus or promote on his social media accounts. 

Washburn said she also posts photos of Rent the Runway's clothing on her accounts, relying on her own creativity to relay the brand on campus. 

“Since we know our campus the best, we can do what we want with it to get the idea across,” she said. 

Moody said she sees social media as an equal platform to any other marketing strategy. 

“If you don’t have social media, what are you doing?” Moody said. 

But being an ambassador goes beyond social media, as well. Washburn said about half of the job is over social media platforms and half is in real life. 

Means said one of the things he liked most about the job is the people he's met that he would not have connected with otherwise, such as the other brand ambassador for L2 at UNC. 

“I like that aspect that it’s allowed me to express that sociable side.” 

Washburn said meeting new people around campus is something she likes about the job. 

Moody agreed. 

“It forces me to engage with communities I wouldn’t usually engage with," Moody said.

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