Mad Rabbit, a tattoo care brand that sells products such as balms and body washes, is benefiting from an ambassador program.
Mad Rabbit, which launched in 2019, has encouraged customers to show off their tattoos and Mad Rabbit products on social media since the beginning, co-founder Oliver Zack told Modern Retail. But it was two years ago that Mad Rabbit created a more formal ambassador program. In the past year and a half, the program's membership has grown from 3,000 to nearly 8,000.
Barriers to entry are low. Mad Rabbit considers the social following of its applicants, but aims to accept anyone who is a fan of the brand, Erin Murray, Mad Rabbit's vice president of marketing, told Modern Retail. Ta.
Most of Mad Rabbit's ambassadors are not tattoo professionals, but around 800 are tattoo artists or apprentices. Participants will receive a variety of perks, including first access to new products, a trip to his Mad Rabbit headquarters in Los Angeles, and participation in focus groups. An ambassador can participate in the program in three ways: Through an affiliate model. Earn points, cash, or rewards by completing social media challenges. Or both. Approximately 75% of Ambassadors are responsible for both, and in the past year, Ambassadors have brought Mad Rabbit nearly $500,000 in revenue for him.
Mad Rabbit is valued at $56 million as of March 2023. The brand initially started as an online-only company, but is now sold at major retailers such as Walmart and GNC.
In addition to being a revenue channel, Mad Rabbit also treats its ambassador program as a kind of talent and employment pipeline. This is due to his two systems for tattoo artists: “Sponsored Artists'' (which Mad Rabbit considers to be producing top-notch content) and “Pro Teams'' (some of the top tattoo artists in the United States). We achieved this by building more hierarchies. Murray said about 60 people will participate in the sponsor tier, while about 15 people will participate in the professional tier.
To become a Sponsored Artist, tattoo artists must go through an application process and have Mad Rabbit judge the quality and style of their work. Once given the green light, sponsored artists will be able to get tattooed at an event alongside Mad Rabbit employees and receive “a ton of free product and other deliverables,” Zak said. And he added, “The hope from there is that after they spend a year on the sponsored artist team, they graduate to the pro team, which is a paid position, and they really represent our brand.'' That's true.''
Mad Rabbit wants to grow its overall ambassador program, with a particular focus on strengthening its sponsored artist segment. “What we are trying to create is [the program] It's becoming more and more immersive, especially as we expand into retail and go deeper into delivering live events,” Zack said.
Brands across all sectors, especially consumer goods, are increasingly relying on ambassador programs to spread the word about their products. According to eMarketer, this year his 83% of marketers plan to collaborate with influencers, and this figure will rise to over 90% in 2027. Additionally, EMarketer predicts that influencer marketing spending in the US will increase by 16% this year to reach $8.14 billion.
Sky Canaves, senior retail and e-commerce analyst at eMarketer, told Modern Retail that a well-constructed ambassador program is critical for brands to connect with their desired audience. “Authenticity tends to be an overused word, but when creating an ambassador program that resonates, brands need real-world fans – fans who use their products and are passionate enough to talk about them. It’s really important to take advantage of it, it happens naturally,” she said.
Many ambassador programs now invite members to actively participate in decision-making. Bubble asks its ambassadors to think about product names and packaging, while Claire's relies on ambassadors to help with in-store events and photo shoots. Sarah Engel, president of digital media company January Digital, told Modern Retail that both of these brands appeal to a younger audience, a demographic that wants to see real interactions between businesses and consumers. told. She recommends that any brand looking to resonate with Gen Z or Gen Alpha “strongly consider” an ambassador program.
Still, it's important for brands to be disciplined with their ambassador programs, Kimberly Ring Allen, founder of Ring Communications and adjunct professor at Suffolk University, told Modern Retail. Rather than hiring a wide range of ambassadors who may put little effort into the program, brands should hire people who believe in the brand and have a personal attachment to it, she said.
Allen said Mad Rabbit's decision to use tattoo artists as ambassadors falls into this second bucket. “At the end of the day, this person who's talking about this product… wants to believe that she has first-hand experience and knowledge about the product,” she told Modern Retail. “It won’t work if the ambassador comes across as overly promotional.”
