In a BoF LIVE session on rethinking success metrics for brand ambassadors, Launchmetrics’ CMO Alison Bringé, Moschino’s global head of marketing Nicole Baum and the consultant Carlota Rodben agreed on one thing: a famous name and a high follower count no longer guarantee influence.
Most of the value is in the echo
According to Launchmetrics’ report on brand ambassadorship, 77 percent of the Media Impact Value generated by ambassadors now comes from what it calls the indirect echo: media, creators and consumers picking up, remixing and talking about a campaign. The post itself is only the start.
I see this in my own projects. When Kilian Paris reposted TingTing Lai’s cut of the Her Majesty film on its own Instagram, the campaign reached a second audience. When TingTing’s Numéro Berlin cover went live, the editorial travelled on through the photographer’s and make-up artist’s portfolios. Neither shows up if you only count the creator’s own post.
Cultural fluency over fame
Rodben describes the best ambassadorships as almost editorial: a story bigger than the product. Ten years ago people accepted endorsement as aspiration. Now they look for shared values, and they can tell immediately when someone does not belong in the context. It is no longer about being famous. It is about being believable.
Bringé adds the test I use in talent sourcing: will this person start a wider cultural conversation? If not, sustained relevance is hard to build.
Start small, close to the community
Baum’s experience at Moschino is that many of the strongest launches started with small, carefully chosen seeding to niche communities. When those audiences respond, the amplification follows. It is the same logic as seeding in DACH: find the people who already care before paying anyone to.
She also watches how much creative ownership an ambassador wants. People who arrive with ideas usually make partnerships that feel real.
Design for participation
Bringé calls out a common mistake: putting everything into one hero post or press release. Campaigns with a strong echo are designed for participation, a story that unfolds across platforms and invites response. You cannot engineer virality in a lab, Rodben adds, but you can create the conditions for it.
Measure what moved
The panel’s conclusion is to combine performance data with qualitative signals: how the brand is perceived, whether it feels relevant, what people say. Some effects show up months later, in perception and credibility, and short-term ROI misses them.
In my reports I show three layers: the direct numbers (reach, views, engagement), the echo (reposts, press, brand and partner amplification) and what changed (comments, saves, sentiment). It is how I report on influencer marketing for brands in the German-speaking market.
Source: “Rethinking Success Metrics for Brand Ambassadors”, BoF LIVE with Launchmetrics, The Business of Fashion.
