Rethinking Success Metrics for Brand Ambassadors

Today, traditional metrics of influence — from celebrity endorsements to follower counts — are no longer sufficient in measuring brand impact and resonance.

A single viral moment may generate brand visibility and momentary reach, but the brands that win in the long-term are those that prioritise authenticity and culturally attuned connections that spark conversation and build community over time.

“The idea that a big name celebrity or a high follower count automatically guarantees influence is outdated. Today, consumers expect brands to demonstrate cultural fluency and a genuine understanding of the communities they want to reach,” Alison Bringé, chief marketing officer AI-powered software, data and insights company Launchmetrics, shared in a recent BoF LIVE entitled “Rethinking Success Metrics for Brand Ambassadors”.

Launchmetrics is a leading AI-powered software, data and insights company for fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands, working with more than 1,700 clients to transform brand strategies and initiatives. At the core of its offering is the proprietary Media Impact Value (MIV) algorithm — the industry standard to monetarily quantifying the value of brand performance. With this, brands are enabled to evaluate impact with greater consistency and clarity, identify emerging opportunities and drive brand equity amidst the crowded landscape of today.

According to Launchmetrics’ latest report, “The New Rules of Brand Ambassadorship”, 77 percent of MIV generated by brand ambassadors now comes from what Launchmetrics calls the “Indirect Echo” — the amplification created when media outlets, creators and consumers organically engage with or remix a campaign.

This ripple effect has become an increasingly critical indicator of success as social media user behaviour adopts evolving content formats. For one, Stitches — a format that allows for one creator’s video to be integrated with another on TikTok — creates a sense of digital intimacy and community online between users, with brands and their ambassadors.

With this, brands can no longer rely on visibility metrics alone to define success. It also requires qualitative insights — those addressing brand identity and cultural relevance — to make faster and more meaningful decisions for impact.

It’s something that Launchmetrics has expanded its data capabilities with this year — combining predictive and generative models with human expertise to empower brands with a new layer of AI-driven analysis. Here, results become not only about how much impact is generated, but why it resonates — fundamentally changing not only how to measure, but also how brands design ambassador strategies from the outset to optimise resonance overall.

In the recent BoF LIVE, moderated by BoF’s Shenel Wickramaratne, Launchmetrics’ Bringé was joined by Nicole Baum, global head of marketing at Moschino, and Carlota Rodben, founder of Beyond Luxury Group and co-founder of Memora, to discuss these evolving digital strategies and metrics of success — sharing insights on how brands are redefining influence and engagement in today’s landscape.

Below, BoF shares key highlights from the BoF LIVE, “Rethinking Success Metrics for Brand Ambassadors”.

Authenticity starts with cultural fluency

CR: There has been such a fundamental shift in [consumer] expectations. Ten years ago, people accepted that celebrity endorsement was about aspiration. Now, they are looking for alignment and shared values. I think the most effective ambassadorships today are almost editorial in nature — they tell a story that is bigger than the product itself.

That is why cultural fluency is so important. If the ambassador doesn’t feel credible in the context you are trying to enter, consumers pick up on it immediately. It is not just about being famous anymore — it is about being believable.

AB: The idea that a big name celebrity or a high follower count automatically guarantees influence is really outdated now. Today, consumers expect brands to demonstrate cultural fluency and a genuine understanding of the communities that they want to reach.

It’s no longer enough to say “we stand for this,” you have to show evidence that you’ve built real relationships and that you’re willing to invest over time. Otherwise, it just comes across as opportunistic — and people will call you out on it.

So, when you think about how you choose an ambassador, you have to ask: “Will this person inspire that kind of wider cultural conversation?” If not, it is very hard to build sustained relevance.

NB: At Moschino, we have seen that if you approach ambassadorship as purely transactional — you pay someone to show up, to wear the clothes and post — the impact is shallow and short-lived.

The collaborations that have really worked for us are the ones that feel like genuine cultural moments, not just marketing tactics. That means finding people who are already part of the communities and subcultures we want to speak to and building those relationships over time.

We also look at how much creative ownership they want to bring to the process. If they have ideas and want to help shape the narrative, that is often a sign that the partnership will feel authentic to their audience.

Building resonance with sub-cultures and communities

NB: Micro-creators can be some of the most effective partners, especially in the early stages of a campaign. A lot of our most successful launches started with very small, carefully chosen seeding efforts to niche communities on TikTok or Instagram. When you get authentic traction with those audiences, the amplification comes naturally.

AB: When you look at the campaigns that generate a high Indirect Echo, there’s always an intentional effort to design for participation. It’s not about a brand broadcasting a message — it’s about creating a moment that people want to engage with.

One of the most common mistakes brands make is focusing all their resources on a single hero post or press release. Instead, you have to ask yourself: “How can we build a story that unfolds across platforms and feels alive?” Data can guide that process, but it starts with that cultural curiosity.

CR: Brands often underestimate how quickly people can sense whether something is transactional. If an ambassador doesn’t feel empowered to bring their own voice or own perspective, the collaboration usually falls flat.

The campaigns that really resonate are the ones that allow room for experimentation, and even a little bit of risk. You can’t engineer virality in a lab — you have to create conditions for it to happen organically — and that requires trust on both sides.

Providing marketing teams with the tools and metrics for success

NB: For us, the challenge has been training our teams to spot the cultural spark before it becomes mainstream. Once something is everywhere, it is already too late. So, we spend a lot of time scanning what’s happening in subcultures, in emerging communities only and building those relationships early on.

We have developed an internal playbook for how to approach these partnerships — it’s about co-creation rather than dictating everything from the top down. That is where you see real engagement. [...] We have [also] put processes in place internally to make sure that when we find something promising, we can act quickly — because the window of opportunity is so short now.

AB: Brands are starting to combine traditional performance metrics with what we call qualitative insights — measuring brand identity and relevance, as well as visibility.

Historically, these have been harder to quantify, but AI tools are making it possible to capture those signals at scale. And when you blend them with hard data, you can make decisions faster and more confidently. It’s a huge step forward in how brands can measure and understand impact.

CR: There’s still a tendency in the industry to focus too narrowly on short-term ROI and that creates blind spots. If you only measure immediate conversion, you are missing all the layers of influence that happen over time.

Cultural impact isn’t always linear or predictable. Sometimes the most valuable outcomes show up months later — in the way a campaign changes perceptions or builds credibility. The brands that are willing to invest in understanding those less tangible effects are the ones that ultimately win.

Download Launchmetrics’ latest report,The New Rules of Brand Ambassadorship.

This is a sponsored feature paid for by Launchmetrics as part of a BoF partnership.